Virus Protection and Security

Viruses

Viruses | Security

Computer viruses can cripple your computer and quickly spread to your network, rendering both inoperable. For example, some viruses can invade an email address book and then send copies of themselves to all addresses listed in the book.

Clearly, viruses are a problem on the web, but with some precautions you can minimize the risk. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Virus Information website recommends these two steps:

• On personal computers, install and use anti-virus software capable of scanning disks, attachments to email, files downloaded from the web, and documents generated by word processing and spreadsheet programs.

• Use anti-virus software at Internet gateways or firewalls to scan email attachments and other downloaded files.

There are many anti-virus commercial software vendors and the NIST Virus Information Center has a resource list of links. Two of the more popular companies are McAfee and Symantec. In addition to the original cost of the anti-virus software, users are licensed to update their machines periodically with downloads from the vendor's web site. After you purchase and install your software, new viruses may be released, therefore updating your machine with new virus detection definitions at regular intervals is a good idea.

The second part of a good defense against viruses is vigilance on your part. As mentioned in the email section on Attachments, users should be wary of opening an attachment from someone they do not know and should be aware that an "odd" file extension could be a potential virus.

How Bad Are Viruses?

Certainly viruses are nasty enough to merit the precautions we have described here, but in general they are not as widespread or horrific as you would often be lead to believe. There are many virus hoaxes that are proliferated by email chain letters and sometimes even by the national media. You should be vigilant, but you should not panic. You may want to visit Hoaxbusters or Vmyths.com, especially at times when the media seems awash with stories about the next ultimate killer virus that will reputedly bring the internet and civilization as we know it to a screeching halt. These two websites are dedicated to identifying and debunking the myths and hoaxes surrounding viruses.