Tips
ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE IS REACTIVE. In general, protection is provided after a new virus has been spawned. The following are some suggestions to make your computing safer.
Viruses spread easily on computer networks, and the UMF network is no exception. A virus can damage or destroy data on your hard drive--homework, research papers, music files, e-mail--and can cause your computer to stop working entirely. If your computer has a virus that endangers other machines on campus, we may even be forced to disconnect your computer from the internet.
The Computer Center can't prevent viruses from reaching your personal computer, but we've put together some tips to help you keep your computer virus-free:
Do not open
Delete chain emails and junk email
Do not download
Exercise caution
Install an anti-virus software package. Information technology directors are also urged to install
Ten Commandments for Your Computer Sanity
If you're visiting your parents over the holidays, it's a good time to bring the parents' computer up-to-date or to make sure it's protected from viruses and the like. (Consider doing so whether or not they ask you!) When you're packing for the trip, take the time to prepare a USB memory key or a CD-ROM with some useful software.
If you forget the password to the password-protected features of Norton AntiVirus 2007, you won't have to call Symantec for help.
It is quite easy to protect your computer from viruses, worms, and Trojan horses: install a good antivirus program (for example, Norton AntiVirus 2007, McAfee or ZoneAlarm) and keep it up-to-date. A good antivirus scanner will not only be able to detect and block any viruses, worms, or Trojan horses that try to enter you system, it will also be able to remove any malware already installed on your PC.
Microsoft beats the drum harder for SP2's new Security Center than for any other slice of the update, touting it as proof that the new-and-improved Windows XP is a lot more secure, thank you, than earlier editions.
Security Center, which you can reach from the Control Panel or from the new icon plopped into the Taskbar's system tray, is a bare-bones dashboard that shows the status of three things, Automatic Update, firewall protection, and antivirus defense, and warns you when, for instance, your virus definitions aren't up-to-date or the firewall has been turned off.
The Center isn't a new idea, although Microsoft may want you to think so. Frankly, similar displays have been around for ages. Worse, the new Center might not actually even detect your antivirus software or firewall (assuming you have them in place), which could lull you into a false sense of security (pun intended). And worse yet, its firewall, although better than no firewall, isn't up-to-snuff.
Antivirus software is so serious--how about a little fun? If you use Avast antivirus software to monitor your PC, you can also download a variety of skins (e.g., Spider-Man, ones that look like a Mac) for your antivirus software at the Avast Web site. There's also a tutorial on creating your own skin.
If you want to get the best from your PC, you don't want to have adware or spyware running on it. Many antivirus packages (for example, Norton AntiVirus 2007, McAfee VirusScan or ZoneAlarm) can detect and remove certain adware and spyware, but it's best to have a separate program to look for and remove these unwanted PC pests.
|
