HOW TO PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER FROM VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, AND OTHER INVADERS
YOU SHOULD HAVE:
• Always have CURRENTLY UPDATED virus protection running to protect your computers, and especially to protect from invasion riding on incoming email. I find Norton to be fastest to have updates available for new threats, and their "live updates" are easy to use.
• Especially if you have on and available internet access, have a firewall. Both free and inexpensive firewall software are available.
• DO NOT IGNORE update warnings. Update frequently. Give priority to "critical updates." When you postpone making updates hackers WILL use the weaknesses because they have to be published when the update is available. Most important updates are related to operating systems and browsers (Microsoft Outlook). Subscribe to critical update notifications.
• NEVER OPEN AN ATTACHMENT from someone that you don't recognize and know!! THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL!!!!!!
• Run your virus scanning and spyware scanning software regularly. Schedule it in options if you are apt to forget to manually update.
• Anything from a college has a VERY HIGH likelyhood of having a virus or a Trojan Horse. (A Trojan Horse is a small program that sneeks unto your computer, and can be accessed easily by an invader running a scanning program).
• Don't believe that any firewall is foolproof. You still need virus protection and software security updates too!
• Windows 2000, Microsoft NT, and Windows XP are much harder to invade, but they do have a number of weaknesses. When the hackers find a weakness, a patch is often available to fix the vulnerability within days. The majority of successful invasions by hackers are made possible because AVAILABLE patches haven't been installed.
Be careful with WIRELESS internet connections. It is VERY easy to hack thru these into your computer. Use WPA encryption if available.
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Material Copyright © 2004 James E Reynolds CPA