Computer Safety
We
are pleased that we have been able to help a number of our
clients, whose computers have been disabled by the many computer
viruses that have been going around. The most recent internet
threat making the rounds is the Sasser worm, which has infected
tens of thousands of computers worldwide.
While we will be happy to help you if your computer becomes infected, in order
to prevent your computer from becoming infected in the first place, we advise
you to take the following three steps.
1. Anti-virus
protection and updates.
We recommend you use Norton Anti Virus.
Even If you already
have this program, you must keep it updated. To update your
Norton Anti Virus program, simply open the program and click
the Live Update button.
Moreover, you do
not even need to manually update the Norton Anti Virus program
because it can be set to update automatically. Simply refer
to the Help section of the program to find out how to set
this up or give us a call and we will walk you through it.
2. Firewall.
We also recommend
the Norton Firewall.
The Sasser worm
enters your computer through open ports in your Microsoft
Windows program. You do not even have to download mail or
open any attachments to become infected by this worm. Just
being connected to the Internet is sufficient.
The Sasser worm is just the start of a new generation that can attack your
computer by just being online.
If your computers
are not currently protected by a firewall, simply click on
the following link to purchase Norton Internet Security 2004.
This software bundle will give you anti-virus protection,
a strong firewall plus a great anti-spam feature that will
help you wade through the tons of spam that we all get.
or if you already have some of this software you can purchase the modules separately
This is the software that we recommend at this point in time. If you have chosen
to use other software, it might be just as good. However, we will not be
familiar with it and we will not be able to give you support on how to
use it.
3. Windows
Update.
Visit the Windows update
site weekly or set your computer to auto update. By simply downloading
updates and patches from Microsoft, you can keep your computer
safe and running smoothly. Whenever there is a new threat out
there that infects computers through a weakness in the operating
system, Microsoft reacts quickly and develops a patch that will
correct the problem, but for them to work on your computer, you
must download the patches.
Click the logo below to visit the Windows Update site:
4. Spyware
removal software.
When you are out
on the web, there will be times when a website you are visiting
will insert programs into your computer to gather information
about you (usually your purchasing preferences). Generally,
these programs are not a direct threat to your computer,
but your personal information may be sent to people you don’t
know. Moreover, if you have hundreds of these programs running
in the background while you are working or on the Internet,
they will slow your computer down and you will not be getting
the performance you should have. We are often amazed at how
many of these programs will get into our computers in just
a few days.
You
can sweep and clean your computers by using a simple and
free program called
Spybot Search and Destroy. It is very effective. You can
download it for free by clicking on the following logo.
Click
here to download Spybot Search and Destroy
ABC will
be happy to assist you in removing viruses and spyware if your
computers should become infected in spite of your best efforts.
Please do not hesitate to call or email us with any questions.
We hope this information has been of interest and will help you
enjoy virus free computing.
