Guest Author - Debbie Jacobsen

It is estimated that out of the one billion computers on the internet worldwide, only around 40% are protected from computer viruses. That means that right now, roughly 600 million computers are either infected with a virus, or are at risk of infection. Have you ever wondered where in the world all these infections are?

A large percentage of computer viruses spread via email, and since nearly everyone who accesses the internet uses email on a regular basis, a computer virus can quickly spread around the world. An interesting site to check out for current information on computer viruses worldwide is f-Secure. This antivirus company monitors virus activity 24 X 7, and they have a virus world map that shows the current state of viruses for given time periods.

With the f-Secure world virus map, you can see a visual representation of the level of computer virus activity from a global view, or zoom in to a specific continent. By default, you will see the world virus conditions for the past hour, but you can change this to see activity for the previous day, month, or year to date. Virus activity is color-coded to show the degree of severity, ranging from “quiet” to “epidemic”.

I found it interesting that the United States and Europe have had the most “epidemic” virus situations so far this year.

It is very easy to protect yourself from dangerous computer viruses. All that is required is antivirus software and regular updating. Anti virus software contains a database of known virus “definitions” or “patterns”. When a virus is introduced onto a computer, the anti virus software scans it to see if its characteristics match any of the definitions in its database. If there is a match, the antivirus product destroys the virus before it can cause any harm.

New viruses are introduced onto the internet every day, and antivirus software definitions must be updated on a frequent basis (daily is best) in order to ensure protection. Anti virus software normally includes an annual automatic update subscription, which ensures that you receive the newest virus definitions. Many people forget to renew their subscription, and don’t realize that there computer is no longer protected.

If you have not purchased an anti virus product, or renewed your update subscription within the past year, chances are your computer is at risk for a computer virus. You can easily find out if your virus definitions are up to date by opening your antivirus software program. Look for something that says “last update”, subscription status”, or “virus definitions”. If the date showing is more than a week old, your virus definitions are not up to date and your subscription may have expired. If this is the case, either renew your subscription or uninstall the software and buy a new product.


f-Secure World Virus Map