virus protection

Imagine you've created your masterpiece. Something that could rival Harry Porter. Just before you saved your work, a screen pops out, telling you that XYZ virus is in action, the pc crashes and everything is gone.

To avoid this scenario, you should install an anti-virus program to shield your PC from viruses.

Bear in mind that new viruses pop up daily. Your anti-virus software has to be updated regularly in order to catch these new viruses. You can automate the updating of your software and the actual scanning of your disks as an added precaution.

When you receive an email with an attachment that you are not expecting, don't open it. Viruses are often spread through email as attachment.

How viruses spread via email

Viruses are often stored as executable files -- the .exe files.

When a pc is infected by a virus, the virus often scans the pc's address book and sends and email with a copy itself to everyone on that list. That way, viruses are spread exponentially.

The recipient of the virus would receive an email with an attachment. The .exe file. Once the email is opened and the attachment launched, the pc is infected.

Antivirus software can block this by deleting the attachment from the email, or very least, quarantining the virus, so it can do no harm.

Macros

Macros are programs you can create within word documents, excel spreadsheet or most microsoft applications. These programs are a method you can use to automate your work.

On the flip side, malicious programmers can create a macro within an innocent looking word document and distribute it through email. Once opened, the macro can do whatever malicious acts the programmer coded it to do.

As a precaution, do not open word documents with macros. If you open a document and it asks you if you want to enable the macro, say no.

To protect yourself, you can set your microsoft word to enable macro virus protection.

These instructions are for Microsoft Word 2000

Open Microsoft Word
Click on tools, macro, security
You'll see this screen
Make sure that the High selection is selected.

That should protect you from the macro viruses in word documents.

Don't share floppy disks

Another way viruses spread from one PC to another is through the sharing of floppy disks, or any media that could have been infected by viruses.

If you need to use someone else's floppy disk, always scan it first for viruses before you use it.

Ideally, keep your floppy disks write protected to prevent viruses from writing themselves to your disks.

Another thing is that you should avoid booting your pc from a floppy disk as far as possible. Their are boot sector viruses around which activate when a PC is booted up using an infected disk or hard drive.

If your hard drive is infected by a boot sector virus, then you have to boot your pc from a bootable floppy disk (a system disk) that should always be write protected.

Once your PC is booted up, use an antivirus software from your floppy disks if possible, to clean up the virus.

Damage control

Never be complacent. Always backup your work. Save your work regularly when you work on it for long stretches of time.

That way, if your work gets destroyed by a virus, you can always use your backup copies to recover your work.

Once you find your PC has been infected, notify (but do not email) the rest of the people you normally email and tell them to check their pcs. If possible, try to find the source of infection (which email brought that virus) and tell the person who sent you their email to check his or her pc for viruses too.

Good luck

Computer Department : Software : Norton

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