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While I've Got You On The Phone...
I was speaking with my friend Matt
today. As anyone who’s in the computer industry knows, conversations
with friends generally drift into the “How do I do something on my
computer…” mode. This was no exception. Mind you, I’m not
complaining. What better way to discover the types of information people
are looking for than to have the questions posed by good friends? Anyway,
Matt was concerned about the steps he should take to defend his PC from
viruses. Typically, he’d been using a computer for a few years and for
the first time had just updated the virus protection that came with it.
This article, then, is for all the Matts, and Kareys, and anyone else who wants
to know how to better protect their system.
Antivirus Software
If you don’t have antivirus software installed, get it. Once you have it
installed, keep it updated. I recommend a minimum of every two
weeks. Once a week is even better. Most products have either an
update feature that can be scheduled to run automatically or a simple one-click
mechanism to download and install the needed files.
Keep Informed
Subscribe to a mailing list to keep abreast of virus outbreaks that may
necessitate updating immediately. Most antivirus vendors have security
mailing lists you can subscribe to as well.
Stealth that PC
Trojans are increasingly problematic. The best defense is a good personal
firewall. I recommend ZoneAlarm.
Free for personal use and moderately priced for the enterprise, it puts your PC
in complete stealth mode. Unlike some firewall products, ZoneAlarm blocks both
incoming and outgoing unauthorized transmissions. This means that if a remote
access or password stealing Trojan should infect your system, ZoneAlarm will
prevent it from contacting the hacker’s server portion.
Think Security
Microsoft releases close to a hundred security patches a year. Of course, not
all of these apply to your system. If you’re using Windows, visit the Microsoft
Windows Update website. Microsoft has done an excellent job of
presenting those updates you don't have on your system. Be aware that not
all the updates are appropriate so you need to pick and choose.
And finally,
Practice Safe Hex
When it comes to viruses, E-Mail attachments pose the greatest threat to
security. Unfortunately, attachments are like Pandora’s Box and many cannot
resist the temptation to open them. Please, don’t open E-Mail attachments that
arrive unexpectedly – even if from someone you know.
Precautions
There are several precautions you can
take to help prevent a virus from infecting your machine.
- Do not open any
files attached to an E-Mail from an unknown, suspicious or untrustworthy
source.
- Do not open any
files attached to an E-Mail unless you know what it is, even if it appears
to come from a dear friend or someone you know. Some viruses can
replicate themselves and spread through E-Mail. Better be safe than
sorry and confirm that they really sent it.
- Do not open any
files attached to an E-Mail if the subject line is questionable or
unexpected. If the need to do so is there always save the file to your
hard drive before doing so.
- Delete chain E-Mails
and junk E-Mail. Do not forward or reply to any of them. These
types of E-Mail are considered spam, which is unsolicited, intrusive mail
that clogs up the network.
- Do not download any
files from strangers.
- Exercise caution
when downloading files from the Internet. Ensure that the source is a
legitimate and reputable one. Verify that an anti-virus program checks
the files on the download site. If you're uncertain, don't download
the file at all or download the file to a floppy and test it with your own
anti-virus software.
- Update your
anti-virus software regularly. Over 500 viruses are discovered each
month, so you'll want to be protected. These updates should be at the
least the products virus signature files. You may also need to update
the product's scanning engine as well.
- Back up your files
on a regular basis. If a virus destroys your files, at least you can
replace them with your back-up copy. You should store your backup copy
in a separate location from your work files, one that is preferably not on
your computer.
- When in doubt,
always err on the side of caution and do not open, download, or execute any
files or E-Mail attachments. Not executing is the more important of
these caveats. Check with your product vendors for updates which
include those for your operating system web browser, and E-Mail. One example
is the security site section of Microsoft located at http://www.microsoft.com/security.
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