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Virus
Information and Resources
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Now more than ever, it is important for EVERYONE to have adequate virus protection installed on their computers. If you do not have an anti-virus program, I highly recommend that you get one immediately. I have received numerous infected e-mails from various AWC club members, some of the latest being quite aggressive. Thanks to excellent anti-virus protection and an ability to recognize most suspect e-mails, my computer has not been infected - but not everyone in the club falls into that category. Having anti-virus software installed protects not only you, but everyone from which you receive e-mail as well as any of your potential recipients (i.e., those you have listed in your address
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The latest e-mail viruses cleverly disguise themselves to appear as legitimate e-mails from people you know. They come with attached files, and opening these files (and sometimes even BEFORE you have a chance to open them) reeks havok on your system. There is a wide range of viruses, and they mutate very quickly. So even if you have an anti-virus program, it must be updated regularly and OFTEN. |
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DO NOT OPEN E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS, EVEN FROM PEOPLE YOU KNOW WELL, WITHOUT BEING COMPLETELY SURE WHAT THE FILE IS FIRST! If it is a legitimate file, then your friend or family member won't mind including a personal note (which you should be able to recognize as genuine or not), letting you know what the file is. If you're not sure what it is, then write to them and ask what they've sent to you before you open it. And keep in mind that not all e-mail attachments are potentially dangerous; only executable files (files that run a program or process) can contain a virus. In other words, a graphic or text file cannot hurt your computer. Also, try to avoid sending attachments when possible to save your recipients potential
worry.
I recently received an e-mail disguised to look like it had come from Microsoft, "warning" me of the latest virus dangers and advising me to open and install the attached "patch" file to protect me and my system. I threw the mail directly into the garbage, and you should do the same if you encounter something similar! Please know that Microsoft or any other similar company would NEVER send out patches for their products via e-mail! Rather, users would be advised to go to these companies' websites where one can be sure of receiving a genuine product update or upgrade from a reliable source. Remember - e-mail viruses can only spread successfully when unsuspecting or uninformed users are tricked into opening e-mail attachments containing a virus - don't be one of
them!
Please note that there are also plenty of virus HOAXES which may fool you into thinking that you have a virus even if you don't, and which may even trick you into removing legitimate files from your own computer. If you receive an e-mail advising you that your computer may have been infected, check out the HOAX information at the resources listed below BEFORE removing any of your computer's files and BEFORE forwarding the warning e-mail on to others.
Once your computer has been infected with a legitimate virus, it can be very difficult to clean up - but there is help available. Here are some sources on viruses, hoaxes, virus removal and anti-virus programs:
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(Just
a little P.S. Download.com
and Tucows.com are just
two great places to gets lots of different kinds of free downloads - games,
desktop themes, screensavers, translating programs, typing programs, antivirus
programs - you name it!)
If
you have a PC running Microsoft Windows, it is also a good idea to
occasionally run WINDOWS
UPDATE to get the latest security packages for both Windows and Internet
Explorer from Microsoft.
With
kind regards,
Webwoman,
AWC Gothenburg
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Last
updated February 16, 2005
http://www.awcgothenburg.com/virusinfo.htm |
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