Beware of "VIRUSES"!!

Having computer with u?

Then better u read this to keep your computer healthy and live a long life without attack of deadly viruses !!

Yes i am talking about computer viruses..

If you access the internet, share files or your

computer with others, or load anything from diskettes, CDs, or DVDs onto your computer, you are vulnerable to viruses which are deadly and have the power to corrupt the whole system :(

A virus is a small computer program that can copy and spread itself from one computer to another, with or without the help of the user. It remains silent until an an unsuspecting user does something to make the virus execute its programmed function. This could be as simple as clicking on an innocent looking file attachment with the .exe (executable) extension.

"Prevention is better than cure" as we all know.

So these are some protection measures..

• Antivirus software:
  

1. While chosing an antivirus software make sure its compatible with your operating system.



2. Automatic and frequent updates are a must as new viruses appear everyday ! So the antivirus software should be regularly updated.



3. Software with a recovery utility to help you get your system back to normal after a virus attack is always good to have.
   
   
4. Software should have the ICSA ( International Computer Security Associatioin) certification.


5. select a package that offers free technical support. Popular vendors in market are Symantec Corporation (Norton AntiVirus), McAfee Corporation (McAfee VirusScan), Trend Micro Inc. (PC-cillin), and Zone Labs Inc. (Zone Alarm Suite).
   
   

• Virus alert!

If u have an attachment which you are dying to open (your favourites wallpaper, screen saver etc ;) ) save it in computer desktop, run the software on it first.If the attachment is dangerous the software may neutralize it or report virus alert. (after getting this warning dont open it :(

• When in doubt about the origin of an e-mail, the best thing to do is delete it without previewing or opening it.
  
  
• Viruses often live on files with these extensions - .vbs, .shs, .pif, .Ink - and they are almost never legitimately used for attachments.So beware of filename extensions.


• NEVER trust a file with a double extension - it goes against Nature.eg:happyaniversery.doc.exe.
  
  
• Viruses in attachment files have been known to assume the shape of familiar looking icons.So watch out for icons.
  
  
• If you share your computer, it's a good idea to assign everyone a password.To assign passwords in Windows XP, click the Start button Control Panel User Accounts. Follow the prompts to assign/change passwords.

These are some important measures to prevent a virus attacking your computer.

Last but not the least

Always have a backup of all your important files in a seperate diskette,CDs etc and scan it for virus before keeping it away.

Make a boot diskette:Put a blank floppy disk in the drive. Open My Computer, then right click the floppy drive. Click Format. Under Format options, click Create an MS-DOS startup disk. Click Start. Keep the disk in a safe place. With luck, you'll never need to use it.