Is your computer crashing like never before? Surely you have too many programs installed, you say to yourself? Or you ask yourself how it can be possible, given that you installed the most recent anti-virus update only a week ago. Behind these popular ‘facts’ that we all accept as true, there are realities we never would have suspected. Here are a few unusual unfounded myths in terms of computer problems.
1/ Paid antivirus software is better
In fact the opposite is true. Generally, the free antiviruses are more reactive and more effective than those developed by large businesses (as strange as it may seem). Because the Google community never stops evolving and is more aware of the new viruses that emerge in real time.
2/ You can’t get a virus if you have antivirus software installed on your computer
Sure, you have antivirus software that protects you from existing viruses, but unfortunately, new viruses are always being created, and the installed anti-virus software doesn’t have the time to catch up and effectively fight against them. This is one of the reasons you should regularly update your antivirus software.
3/ Deleting programs and folders from your PC will make it work faster
This is an unfounded belief, but one which is widely accepted in society. Because even if this was true for computers in the past, these days it is no longer like that, as computers no longer draw their memory from the hard drive. A slow PC is more likely to be slow because of a virus, some malware or a large programme being open that is slowing down your computer.
4/ You need to defragment the disk so that your computer runs faster
A few years ago computers could not do this on their own, but nowadays, Windows regularly defragments the hard drive in the background. Leave it do its job!
5/ If a PC is slow, it’s sure to have a virus!
Malware, spyware and Trojan horses are the three most common types of virus among PCs that are running sluggishly. But what the users don’t know is that in almost 95% of cases, it was in fact them who installed the viruses without realising it! They also don’t know that it is very easy to get rid of them: you simply need to install a good programme, which is often free (for example, Spybot).