What Not to Do! When it comes to computer security, it's often as important to learn what not to do as it is to learn what you should do to protect yourself. If you have a family computer used by children, your spouse, or other family members , this is the section you should review with them. Good computer security habits are as critical as good security software. Here's what not to do: -
The majority of viruses come via email attachments these days, so don't open attachments you are not expecting, especially if they arrive from someone you don't know. -
Be cautious of attachments from people you do know, especially if you are not expecting something from them. If your friend's computer is infected with a virus, it can send an email to you that looks like it's from your friend. Your virus scanner should scan all inbound attachments, but if it doesn't, right-click suspicious attachments and save it to your Windows desktop. Then use the file scanner feature in your antivirus program to scan it before opening it. Or better yet, call your friend and ask him if he sent a file via email to you. -
Don't use peer-to-peer (P2P) programs for downloading music, software, or other files. Teens like to download files from P2P services such as Kazaa. The company says it scans for viruses on its P2P network and has built-in antivirus protection in its software, but suggests you should use an antivirus program on your computer as well. -
Never turn off your antivirus protection for any length of time. You will be instantly vulnerable. If you need to turn it off to service the computer, consider disconnecting it from the Internet first. -
Although less common these days, infections from floppy disks and home-burnt CDs and DVDs can still contain infected files. Don't copy files from disks, CDs, DVDs, and other external sources without your antivirus program running on your computer. -
Make sure your computer is protected with a software or hardware firewall. It will help protect you against worms. Learn more about firewalls on p. 90 . -
Don't accept unsolicited files from people you don't know when using Internet chat programs such as MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger. Infected files can also be transmitted via Internet Relay Chat (IRC), an open type of chat service on the Internet. |
