Virus Tips & Alerts

Viruses are an unfortunate reality of the Internet and there are new ones being released everyday that can cause more and more problems for everybody. However, there are some things that you can do to protect yourself. By following good security practices and using common sense, you can minimize your risk of becoming the next virus victim. Please read through the following tips.

Do not open attachments unless you know someone was trying to send one to you

Only open an attachment if you are expecting one. Even if the sender of the attachment is your friend or a relative, make sure you confirm that the attachment was meant to be sent to you. Some viruses will use the email address of the infected user as the Sender so that it appears legitimate. Or viruses will take email addresses from the address book and use that as the Sender.

If you receive an email with an attachment from someone, email or call them to see if they did mean to send it. Do not open the attachment until you confirm that is was meant to be sent to you.

Use an Anti-Virus program and keep it updated

There are quite a few anti-virus programs that you can purchase, and if they are updated, they should all do about the same thing for you, protect your computer from viruses. Whether you get Norton, McAfee, or another anti-virus program, the most important thing is to keep it updated. New viruses come out all the time, and after they do, the anti-virus companies will release new definitions for the new virus. If you do not download the new updates to your computer with these new definitions, you will be susceptible to new viruses.

You should update your anti-virus program at least once a week, but If your anti-virus program prompts you for updates before then, go ahead and do the update at that time.

Also either set your anti-virus program to do regular virus scans, or manually scan your computer for viruses frequently. After you download updates, you should run a full computer scan after you get the updates.

Keep your Windows Operating System updated

The recent Blaster worm exploited a security vulnerability in Windows 2000 and XP. Windows had released a security update with the fix for this vulnerability about a week before the virus came out. Those who downloaded and installed the update were protected from the Blaster worm. Those who ignored the Windows Update reminders on their computer, or just didn't know what a Windows Update was, were open to attack from Blaster.

The lesson here is to always follow through with any prompt to update Windows. Yes, it is annoying and can take some time, but it is better than leaving your computer and whatever sensitive information you have on it at risk.

Back up important data

If you do get infected by a virus or worm, you may end up either losing data, or the virus may mess up the computer so much that you will have to reinstall Windows. By backing up important data like your Address Book, important email, tax documents and so on, you will prevent permanent loss of vital information.

Only download files from trusted sources

You should only download files from websites you trust. If you are unsure about a file's legitimacy, do not download it. With online security, it's always better to err on the side of caution. It is not unusual for several additional programs to download along with the program you initially wanted to download. This is especially true when downloading freeware or shareware programs. Pay attention during the download and installation process for any software that you get off the internet to see if there are additional spyware or adware programs being installed at the same time. Do not allow those "add on" programs to be installed if you can help it.

Helpful links

The following links can help you how to do some of the suggested actions listed above. The anti-virus and firewall links here are not the only source for those types of program, but just a collection of common programs used.

Windows Update
How to backup Outlook Express files

Norton Anti-Virus
McAfee Anti-Virus

Sarc.com (run a free virus scan of your computer, will not fix what it finds, but you'll know which ones you have)
Scroll down and click on the graphic on the right side that says check for Security Risks. On the window that opens choose Virus Detection.