Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter – October
2003
Viruses are a real problem for computer users today. This
months Newsletter is dedicated to the topic of Computer Viruses.
We look at ways of safe guarding your computer from viruses,
how to protect your computer from them and limit their impact.
Also in this month we have listed a few websites that contain
interesting information about Computer Viruses |
HOW
TO KEEP YOUR COMPUTER SAFE FROM VIRUSES.
Computer viruses are mysterious and grab our attention.
On the one hand, viruses show us how vulnerable we are. A
properly engineered virus can have an amazing effect on the
worldwide Internet. On the other hand, they show how sophisticated
and interconnected human beings have become.
For example, the things making big news right now are the
MSBlaster worm and the SoBig virus. The Melissa virus -- which
became a global phenomenon in March 1999 -- was so powerful
that it forced Microsoft and a number of other very large
companies to completely turn off their e-mail systems until
the virus could be contained. The ILOVEYOU virus in 2000 had
a similarly devastating effect. That's pretty impressive when
you consider that the Melissa and ILOVEYOU viruses are incredibly
simple.
Here are a few pointers to help you protecting yourself from
viruses and other digital disasters.
1. Develop A Backup Plan.
I am hopeful that if you've never had any problem with lost
data, you will not assume that this will always be the case.
However, there are a number of us (myself included), who will
ignore this advice until they suffer from some terrible tragedy
and lose something of vital importance. It may be a virus,
a hardware failure, an act of God, or even a human error that
causes this loss. By having all your vital information backed
up, you will rest easier at night and remain fairly calm if
tragedy does strike.
2. Know Your Software Source
Be careful when picking up new shareware, games, or even packaged
software. There are loads of terrific programs to download
off the Internet. Consider the source before you download,
and check it out with anti-virus software. This practice should
be applied to all new programs that you introduce to your
computer—even the shrink-wrapped kind.
3. Invest In Some Sort of Anti-Virus Software.
One of the most important things you can do is buy a good
Anti-Virus Software Program and remember to keep it updated.
4. Enable Micro Virus Protection.
You should make sure that Macro Virus Protection is enabled
in all Microsoft applications, and you should NEVER run macros
in a document unless you know what they do. There is seldom
a good reason to add macros to a document, so avoiding all
macros is a great policy.
5. Beware Of Email Attachment.
In the case of the ILOVEYOU e-mail virus, the only defence
is a personal discipline. You should never double-click on
an attachment that arrives in your email box, unless you know
who it’s from. Once you open the attachment, you have
given it permission to do anything on your machine. The only
defence is to never open attachments that arrive via e-mail
from an unknown source.
To finish off, here are a few important facts to remember
about Computer Viruses:
- You can't get a virus just by reading your email.
- A virus cannot attack without your help.
- Never open an attachment unless you're sure it was sent
on purpose, the sender can explain what it is and you recognise
who sent it to you.
The above information is supplied from the following sources:
-The Help Web: Practice Safe Computing -The Internet Tour
Bus: Virus Prevention: http://www.tourbus.com/vp101.htm
-How Stuff Works: Work Computer Viruses Work:
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm
|
* More than 80% of Men and 67% of Women use the Internet
to locate products or services before making a buying decision.
Unlike traditional advertising, having an interactive web
site means that your customers can access your latest products
and services to the depth that you would both like. They can
even place orders online securely 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. The internet can be accessed at anytime from anywhere
in the world quickly and easily.
* On a 2003 study conducted on more than 2,800 business
people it was found that of those that use the internet for
product searching: 30% use the Web to research competition
and industry trends, 30% go to the Web first for product/service
information, 26% read work-related marketing e-mails and 19%
seek new partnership opportunities through the Internet. This
therefore highlights the fact of how important the Internet
is to people in business for research purposes.
* 85% of Fortune 500 companies now list their Internet
Address in their advertising. It is increasingly
recognised that companies Websites are a vital part of their
company. When advertising and in correspondences the Web address
of the company is just as important as there address. |
