Virus Protection

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One of the saddest things in the entire world is hearing the words, "I ...
been hit by a virus" or "my computer was ... by a virus, can youhelp me ...
time I hear these words I w One of the saddest things in the entire world is hearing the words, "I thinkI've been hit by a virus" or "my computer was destroyed by a virus, can youhelp me please?"Every time I hear these words I want to cry - well, actually I want toscream in frustration and a little bit of anger. You see, it's not hard toprotect your system from destruction by any one of the fifty thousand ormore viruses out in the wild.
In fact, it's so simple that it's pitiful thatanyone gets caught "with their pants down" more than once in his or herlives.By this time it's inconceivable that anyone with any contact withcivilization is ignorant of viruses and their destructive potential. A fewyears ago you could claim ignorance (what's a virus?) but no longer.
Inthese years after "I love you" and "Melissa", well, virus attacks appear onthe 6 o'clock news at least once a week and in the newspaper just as often.That's one of the reasons why I groan when I hear that someone has losttheir system to a virus attack. They cannot claim that they didn't know ordidn't understand.
In addition, protection is so simple and cheap that noone can use the excuse of "it's too expensive" or "it's too difficult".Sorry, that just does not hold water.Look at it this way - if someone is surfing the internet they must be payingfor a connection (say twenty dollars a month) and they have to have acomputer (perhaps a thousand dollars). It's hard to accept that they cannotafford another thirty or fifty bucks for virus protection (in fact, many newcomputers come with an antivirus program pre-installed).All right, preaching aside, what's the best way to protect your system fromvirus attacks? To begin with, assume that you or someone who uses yourcomputer might make a mistake and plan for the worst.
In other words, makethe assumption that if a virus is received, it will be executed, so makesure the things are removed or rendered harmless before you see them.Define and follow a good backup plan - First and foremost, figure out howyou are going to back up your data. Didn't expect me to say that, did you?You have to understand that no virus protection system is perfect.
If avirus does get through somehow, then you must be prepared to restore yourdata and files from a backup.It does not matter if you hand copy your critical files to a floppy diskevery night or if you have the most advanced optical or tape backup systemavailable. If nothing else, get a cheap ZIP drive plug it in and use thebackup software that comes with it (you can get this setup for around ahundred bucks).Don't even think twice about this - if you don't have a backup solution thenget one, now.
If you are not keeping a backup then you are living onborrowed time (this also protects you from system failures, hackers andother dangers as well). ALL good security plans begin and end with thebackup and restore strategy.
http://www.internet-tips.net/Security/Backups.htmChoose, install and maintain an antivirus solution - Personally, I reallylike the Norton Antivirus program. I've installed it in our office and in myhome, and I have not yet found a better program anywhere.There is far more to an antivirus program than just checking for viruses.All of them do that.
What Norton does that's different is very important -it also scans incoming emails for viruses so they are removed even beforeyou open the message. http://www.internet-tips.net/Products/nortonantivirus.htmSchedule virus updates at least once a week - More importantly, you canschedule virus updates to occur at regular (weekly) intervals.
This isextremely important. Your virus definitions MUST BE UPDATED AT LEAST ONCE AWEEK.
Otherwise, your protection slowly loses it's power to protect yoursystem. This is almost as bad as not having any protection at all - becauseyou think you are protected and you are not.Scan your hard drive as often as possible - Use your virus scanning programto scan your hard drive for viruses on a regular basis.
I've scheduled mineto scan every night while I sleep (the computer is not doing much else atthat time, after all). This way any viruses that do slip through yourdefenses should be caught.If you run Outlook, then download and install the Outlook Security patch(unless for some reason you want to use email scripting, which you probablyonly need if you are a developer).
This will prevent you or anyone on yourcomputer from accidentally opening an attachment which is actually a virus. http://internet-tips.net/Security/Virusoutlooksecuritypatch.htmInstall ZoneAlarm Pro - Not only is ZoneAlarm Pro an excellent firewall, itis also a virus scanner.
It actually scans files as they arrive on yoursystem and tags suspected viruses with a special file type. This willprevent you from accidentally opening an email attachment that is a virus.
http://www.internet-tips.net/Products/zonelarmpro.htmSubscribe to several newsletters about viruses - It's important to becomeaware of viruses and the associated problems and risks. My recommendation isto subscribe to the following newsletters.
They are all free and even aquick glance at each one will help you become more aware of what's going on.Symantec AntiVirus Research Center Newsletter http://www.sarc.com/avcenter/newsletter.htmlMcAfee.Com Dispatch http://dispatch.mcafee.com/default.asp?Trend Micro Virus Alerts http://www.antivirus.com/subscriptions/Additional InformationBacking Up Your stuff - Part 1http://www.internet-tips.net/System/backup00.htmBackup may seem to be a pain, but it's one of the most important things thatyou can do to protect your system.Backing up your system is an essential part of your security schemehttp://www.internet-tips.net/Security/Backups.htmBackups are extremely critical to keep your system secure. If your system isdamaged by a virus or an intruder you have a way to recover.
Remember,however, that you must think through and test your scheme. Outlook Security Patchhttp://www.internet-tips.net/Security/Virusoutlooksecuritypatch.htmIf you run Outlook and you want to protect yourself, you should install theOutlook security patch.Products - Norton Antivirushttp://www.internet-tips.net/Products/nortonantivirus.htmYou need antivirus protection for your computer.
Norton Antivirus is by farand away the best solution for the desktop.Products - ZoneAlarm Prohttp://www.internet-tips.net/Products/zonelarmpro.htmZoneAlarm Pro is quite possibly the best firewall product for personal homeuse that currently exists. Highly recommended.Viruseshttp://www.internet-tips.net/Security/Viruses.htmThe most important thing you can do to protect your system is install avirus checker (also known as an anti-virus program).
These programs willscan your system for viruses and Trojan horses and delete or repair them.There are several products including those by McAfee and Norton (Symantec). Article Tags: Virus Protection, Least Once, Antivirus Program Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .