Web Corner

Avoiding viruses not so easy

Jan 20, 2005 1:00 AM

“Never take candy from strangers!” In one form or another, that is probably the most frequently and universally volunteered advice given to children. But, for some reason, we fail to apply that lesson when we are on the Internet.

It’s plain and simple: Most viruses enter your computers via e-mail attachments. If you never open e-mail attachments, you will rarely, if ever, get computer viruses.

Computer viruses exploit security lapses in your software. Because of the popularity of Microsoft products — more than 95 per cent of all computers use Windows operating systems — Outlook and Internet Explorer are often attacked by hackers who aim to create havoc. You don’t often hear of Macintosh operating systems being infected.

Guidelines for avoiding viruses

The first thing everyone should do is install some commercial anti-virus software and use it frequently. Most virus detection software that you purchase comes with a year of free updates.

It’s important to update your software regularly to install new fixes for current viruses. This will help you make sure that your system is protected from the latest viruses. I set my software to scan every night at 3 a.m. and search for updates every Friday.

Do not open attachments from individuals you don’t know, or when you receive unexpected attachments from friends. Check to see if they actually sent the attachment before you open it. Remember that viruses can propagate randomly and if they are new may not be immediately detected by your anti-virus software.

Many viruses are worms. A worm spreads by e-mailing a copy of itself to everyone in the infected computer’s address book every time the worm is executed.

Never open an e-mail attachment that contains the following extensions:

• .exe and .com: These are executable files that can take over your computer.
• .vbs, .js, .pif. and .scr: These types of files may not be as damaging but may disable numerous Windows functions like Explorer.
• .doc: These files aren’t really dangerous unless someone exploits some macro function in MS Word.

The first step to take if you are using Windows is to go to My Computer and change the settings so you can view extensions, view hidden files and folders and protected operating system files. To make the changes go to My Computer, click on Tools, then, click on Folder Options.

This step is important because sometimes attachments have hidden extensions. A document could have multiple extensions. For example, a document called letter.doc.vbs might be a real problem. You wouldn’t know it unless you could see the extensions. A good rule of thumb is to never open files with multiple extensions.

If you are using a Windows-based machine, make sure you regularly check to see if Microsoft has added patches that protect its operating systems. Since hackers are always looking for new ways to exploit vulnerabilities, it’s a good idea to check www.windowsupdate.com every month or two.

WindowsUpdate executes a program that scans your machine and determines which security patches it thinks are necessary to install. But it also does more than that. I recently installed the latest service pack for Windows XP, and my computer has been operating more efficiently ever since by eliminating some quirky behavior in Windows Explorer.

Install a personal firewall

Many users, who now have broadband connections, leave their computers on even when they are away from the machine. That’s one reason why it is important to install firewall software.

Firewall software acts like a security guard at the entrance of a building that asks you whether a visitor should be allowed in. Firewall software, however, can be too restrictive so you have to understand how to control the levels of security that you require.

There is a free firewall available from Zone Alarm that should be enough to handle most of your issues. Go to www.zonelabs.com and click on Free Zone Alarm and Trial.

Anti-virus software

If you don’t have any anti-virus software installed on you computer then you should definitely visit www.housecall

.trendmicro.com to regularly scan your machine. By the way, this is a good site to learn about the newest and meanest viruses that are out there.

Symantec, the company that produces Norton Anti-Virus is another excellent resource and also provides a free virus scan.

Free anti-virus software is available online from Grisoft at http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1. I’ve used this product for years and it seems to do the job as well as other products.

Finally, if you remain vigilant and take most of these steps, you should be able to avoid the malicious viruses that pollute the Internet.