Now I Have Your Attention...


Let's say I have made you a little worried (a little fear can be a good thing, right?) and you want to ensure your computer never gets infected with a virus. To help with this, I've divided the virus protection help into two sections.

The first gives you a list of easy-to-do defense strategies that thwarts most virus attacks. The steps should only take about 10 minutes.

That's not all you'll have to do, however. The 10-minute strategies are like putting a screen door on a castle. It'll keep the local peasants out, but if you really want to fortify your keep against the angry pointy helmeted hordes, you'll need to spend a little more time. That's where the second part of the section comes in. It requires more time, perhaps a couple of hours in an afternoon.

Here's your to-do list:

  • Be sure to update Windows with security patches from Microsoft.

  • Update your virus signatures if you have an antivirus program installed.

  • Install an antivirus program, or upgrade if your program is old.

  • Install Service Pack 2 if you have Windows XP and turn on key SP2 features.

As you can see, we have lots of work to do, so let's get to it.

Tip

If you run Windows Update and it offers to download SP2, choose not to download it. It takes longer than 10 minutes. We'll deal with this issue more in the next section called "Fortify Your Computer: Strong Virus Defense in a Few Hours" that starts on p. 32 .





Absolute Beginners Guide To. Security, Spam, Spyware & Viruses
Absolute Beginners Guide to Security, Spam, Spyware & Viruses
ISBN: 0789734591
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 168

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