Tech Directions - August 2007 - (Page 15) knowledge. Some virus writers write viruses for the intellectual challenge, never intending to release them. Some of these viruses get released accidentally. Web sites and online chat rooms exist in which virus writers ask questions, trade tricks, and boast of their exploits. Protecting Yourself The first line of defense against viruses, as with every potential computer disaster, is to make regular backups of the vital data stored on your hard drive. Ideally you should periodically do this to a medium that’s not continuously connected and accessible, to prevent a virus from infecting it too. The next safety step is to use antivirus software. Top programs include Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus, available separately or as part of other Symantec products (www. symantec.com), and McAfee VirusScan (www.mcafee.com), also available separately or as part of a larger suite of other products. Antivirus programs scan relevant files looking for the specific pro- gramming code or signatures of known viruses. They also look for common behaviors of viruses. To avoid conflicts, you should use only one anti-virus program at a time. Another excellent program, that you can use in conjunction with antivirus and other security programs, is Spybot Search & Destroy (www. safer-networking.org), a program that removes spyware and other malware. It’s a superb example of international altruistic entrepreneurship. The program is written and supported by German software engineer Patrick Kolla and the volunteers who work with him, and it’s distributed by Kolla’s Irish company Safer Networking Ltd. The program, which has won many awards for its effectiveness, is free for noncommercial use, supported by donations. Fees for institutional use depend on the size of the network involved. from people you don’t know. If you receive an attachment from someone you do know but weren’t expecting it, you may want to contact the sender to verify that the person actually intended to send it. It’s also important to keep your operating system up to date, ideally directing it to download bug fixes and other updates automatically. It’s equally important to keep your antivirus and other security software up to date by doing the same. Users of Microsoft Windows and Windows programs are most vulnerable to viruses, in part because of their large market share and in part because there’s a hostility in the virus underground toward big business that Microsoft represents. But Apple Macintosh and Linux users also need to be careful. See more from Reid Goldsborough on page 16! Reid Goldsborough is a syndicated columnist and author of the book Straight Talk About the Information Superhighway. F The Threat Via E-mail Along with protecting yourself with the software shields described above, you should use care with email attachments. Don’t open any www.techdirections.com MASTERING COMPUTERS 15 http://www.safer-networking.org http://www.safer-networking.org http://www.symantec.com http://www.symantec.com http://www.mcafee.com http://www.graymarkint.com http://www.graymarkint.com http://www.techdirections.com
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