Keeping your system fully protected against all of the destructive junk that can get on it (Spyware, Viruses, Worms, Malware etc.) requires keeping your virus/spyware programs updated with the current definitions. The reason? Because there are new types of (Spyware, Viruses, Worms, Malware etc) that are being unleashed all the time. So it makes sense that Companies who manufacture Virus or Spyware Protection Programs have to continuously be on top of new types, in order to keep their products updated, which in turn, keeps our computers protected.

That is a good thing, right? Yes, but there is one critical piece to the puzzle that is often not considered, and that is, time frame.

Consider this, if a new virus strain is released exactly at this moment, your system would not be protected from that type of virus. It is the amount of time that a Virus Protection Company takes to identify the new virus, develop a solution to protect from that virus, and disseminate this solution as an updated virus definition to all of it's customers. But during that time, prior to the update being released, your computer is at risk and can be infected even with full virus protection, firewall, spyware protection.

I can't answer the question of, how long does it take for a Virus Protection Company to protect their customers, but I will say that it is probably longer than you would like. This is a huge problem. What that essentially means, is your system will never be fully protected from everything, it's impossible. The only way to be protected from everything is to stop time, which the last time I checked, wasn't possible.

If you are experiencing a problem, don't rule out the possibility that your problem may be caused by viruses/spyware just because you have full protection. So what can you do? There are a few tips that I will share with you in Part II (Part II of this article can be found on my website, FixMyXP.com; Here is a link to Part II) of this article on how you can do some investigating of your own.