Tuesday, June 16, 2009

How can I protect myself against viruses?

There is one fool-proof positive method. Never run any program that
isn't already on your computer and never use anybody else's disks.
Unfortunately, that is practical. So what is the next best thing?

þ Backups - Make frequent backups of the files on your hard disk.
Remember that at any given moment you may lose your entire hard
drive and its contents. Do you have backups of all your important
files? Things like Phone directories and passwords are especially
hard to get back. So be prepared for the worst.

þ Rescue Disk - Many programs such as TBAV and Norton Utilities will
allow you to create a 'rescue disk', which is a floppy disk that
can be booted from in an emergency. On this disk will be stored a
copy of important system info that could be very hard, if not
impossible to come up with manually. This includes a copy of the
partition table, Master Boot Record (MBR), CMOS settings, and other
important system info.

Also on this disk, you should store utilities that can be used to
detect, clean, and remove viruses from your hard disk. This disk
should be write-protected, and should be updated any time you
make changes to your system.

þ Knowledge - Keeping yourself well-informed about how viruses work,
any new viruses, and that kind of info is very important. Most of
the computer using public is entirely ignorant when it comes to
viruses. By readin this article, you have already made a big step
at reducing your odds of being hit by a virus.

þ AV Software - There are plenty of good Anti-Virus programs
available on the market. Most of the good ones are usually
shareware or freeware. Some are commercial. Many of the commercial
ones are lousy, too. Using some of the less effective virus
software can provide a false sense of security.

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