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What you should know about viruses (in English)
Most viruses come from an email attachment. Like the biological virus, a computer virus will try to spread itself to other hosts (computers). If you are not protected, your email address book can become a carrier and send a virus to everyone in the book. This is tricky because your best friend or a family member who trusts you might receive an email from you with the subject line "check this out". If they are not protected properly they will be infected too. Today's viruses can be simply annoying or completely destructive. A virus can sit in your system for months waiting for you to perform a task that will enable its destruction. A virus can dial up the Internet and download more components to complete itself. If you have cable or Adsl it is even more insidious. A virus can act as the server application that allows a remote user to control and retrieve information from your system. Some of the capabilities might include searching, retrieving and sending files, stealing passwords, changing the colors and resolution, playing sounds, and changing the date and time. A virus can block you from certain websites. A virus can disable virus scan software if it is not kept up to date. There is even a virus that presents itself as an IQ test. (If you take the test you had better get all ten questions right.) There is much much more viruses can do and will be able to do in the future. A good example of this is an airborne Pda virus, or cell phone virus. These aren't a big problem yet but likely will be. When you purchase Virus Scan software you are getting two things:
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| 1. | The first is the scanning software, sometimes called the scan engine
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| 2. | The second is the right to update your software to allow protection from the latest viruses these are often call virus definitions or Dat files.
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There are products now that will scan your system using your Internet connection, eliminating the need for constant updating.
I don't recommend purchase of the software over the Internet as is can be problematic if your system crashes and you need to re-install the software. In order to update your software you should have a connection to the Internet. It is possible to update in other ways, but not very practical. Generally when you purchase the software you get a year of both engine upgrades and definition updates. Some software provides free definition updates for years. Remember that the latest engine will work best with your new system and will co-operate better with your other newer software. If you installed virus protection software when you purchased your computer but have never updated it because you didn't know how or didn't think it was important you are part of the majority and are wide open to virus attack. Virus protection software uses a great deal of your system's resources and it is impractical to have it on all the time when it is virtually useless to you. Do you need Virus Protection? If you have any contact with other people's floppies, use email, or browse on the Internet you NEED some protection.
I have seen people loose everything on a hard-drive due to a nasty virus.
I have seen businesses lose hundreds of hours of productivity due to a virus. Businesses usually only make that mistake once. If you have anything on your computer that is important to you, I highly recommend using and updating virus software.
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| 1. | Do not open any files attached to an email from an unknown, suspicious or untrustworthy source.
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| 2. | Do not open any files attached to an email 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 email. Better be safe than sorry and confirm that they really sent it.
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3. | Do not open any files attached to an email 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.
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4. | Delete chain emails and junk email. Do not forward or reply to any to them. These types of email are considered spam, which is unsolicited, intrusive mail that clogs up the network.
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5. | Do not download any files from strangers.
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6. | 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.
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7. | 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.
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8. | 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.
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9. | When in doubt, always err on the side of caution and do not open, download, or execute any files or email 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 email. One example is the security site section of Microsoft located at http://www.microsoft.com/security.
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Here are Links to Virus Protection Websites
McAfee
http://www.mcafee.com/anti-virus/default.asp The good news is that with good habits you can prevent most infection to your system. It is also possible to have your software update itself and scan your drives too. My services include virus rescue and implementation.
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