Hardly a day goes by when you don?t hear about a computer virus
in the news or from someone you know. As a matter of fact, there
are well over 8,000 active computer viruses in the world in any
given twenty-four period and 5 new viruses are introduced daily.
The majority of computers will catch a virus through an e-mail
attachment or link. Most viruses will use an infected computers
address book to distribute themselves, so you are much more
likely to receive a virus from someone you know rather than a
total stranger. However, the best way to identify whether or not
any attachment could be a potential virus hazard is by looking
at the extension (suffix) of the attached file. Hazardous file
attachments are .pif, .exe, .com, .vbs, .bat, .bin, .dot, .reg,
.js, .scr, .xlm and .dll. While this list is by no means
exhaustive these are the definite ones to be on-guard for. In
case you?re wondering, catching a virus by file sharing is the
second most popular way to get infected. File sharing whether
you use removable disks, CDs, DVDs, memory cards/sticks or even
synch cables can make your ?never connected to the Internet?
computer, vulnerable to catching a virus. Protecting your
computer from a computer virus infection is relatively easy if
you follow these simple steps: 1. Put anti-virus software on all
your computers whether they are Internet connected or not. 2.
Don?t open or download file attachments (attached files) in your
e-mails. Especially the ones with the extensions .pif, .exe,
.com, .vbs, .bat, .bin, .dot, .reg, .js, .scr, .xlm and .dll. 3.
Don?t click on links in the body of your e-mails. 4. Don?t
download software from web sites that you do not know. 5. Never
install software on your computer unless you know where it came
from. 6. Run a manual anti-virus scan for every 24 hours you use
your computer. 7. Be sure that your anti-virus software is
up-to-date. All anti-virus software products usually provide
updates every 2 ? 4 weeks and this service is free of charge to
registered users for up to a year. 8. Received an e-mail from
someone you know but didn?t expect them to send you a file
attachment? Call the person first, before downloading or opening
the file attachment to confirm that it really came from them.
Some virus programs are very good at making it look like they
are just files sent to you from someone in yours or your friends
e-mail address book. 9. Put firewall software on all your
computers that are temporarily or permanently connected to the
Internet. If you follow these simple steps you should be able to
stop a virus before it infects your computer.
About the author:
Dr. Robert Ing is a forensic intelligence specialist and has
appeared on North American news networks on the issues of
technology crime, computer security, privacy and identity theft.
For more articles by Dr. Robert Ing please visit
|
