Random Synapses

Preventing an infection is easier to do than trying to recover from an infectious disaster. Here are a few guidelines for measures you can take:

• Update your Windows regularily to prevent getting infected because of newly discovered bugs.

  It is so easy to install all needed patches for Windows: just open WindowsUpdate.Microsoft.com with Internet Explorer. There is a link for Windows Update in the Start menu, another one in Favorites, and a third one in Tools menu of Internet Explorer. Microsoft releases patches for Windows bugs about once a month, so make sure you visit the site and follow the steps to discover which patches you need and let them download and install automatically. It’s very simple to use, and the downloads shouldn’t take more than an hour on a slow dial-up connection; if you update monthly, it should only take a few minutes!

  If you don’t install the patches, then virus creators will create viruses that exploit the bugs in Windows, and your PC will become infected as soon as it is connected to the Internet, even if you don’t download or do anything. Your infected computer will try to send the virus to other computers, making your Internet connection almost impossible to use.

• Do NOT connect to the Internet or to a local network with a freshly installed Windows!

  This is a very serious problem and most people ignore it. NEVER install Windows when you are connected to the Internet; unplug your network cable from your network card. The clean installation of Windows doesn’t have the needed patches (see above paragraph), and it can become infected a few seconds after it is connected to the local network or the Internet. After you have completed installing Windows, you need to:

  1. Install a personal firewall to protect your computer online, such as:
     • ZoneLabs ZoneAlarm Free (not Pro, not with antivirus) - free for personal use, very simple to use and good for beginners;
     • SyGate Personal Firewall - free for personal use, more powerful than ZoneAlarm;
     • Kerio Personal Firewall - free for personal use, a very powerful firewall for advanced users, will go to basic functionality after 30 days unless you purchase the full version, but free version is also good;

     and

  2. connect to the local network or the Internet and update your Windows by visiting WindowsUpdate.Microsoft.com (read above about it); if the firewall detects an incoming connection from the Internet to your computer while you are connected to the network or the Internet, forbid/block/disallow the connection.
• Do not open files obtained from untrusted sources without scanning them with an antivirus program with its virus definitions updated daily.

  “Files obtained from untrusted sources” means files received by e-mail from people you don’t know or from who you did not request such a file, files downloaded from personal websites or peer-to-peer networks, or files obtained on CDs or floppy disks from friends.

  If you need to download software, do it from reputable websites such as Download.com and TuCows.com, or directly from the product’s homepage.

  Do not open file attachments received in e-mail unless you requested those files or you know what the files are! Most computers in the world become infected because people open attached files without thinking they might be dangerous.

  Do not obtain software from peer-to-peer networks such as Kazaa, eDonkey and others; these files have a high risk of being infected with viruses, and downloading copyrighted materials from these networks is most likely illegal. A person I know has become infected with over 180 viruses from a single program downloaded from Kazaa!!!

• Do not share folders and files with full access and without a password.

  If you really need to share files and folders on the local network, make sure that you set read-only permissions and also set a password for each share. Don’t share sensitive information on your computer, such as your entire C: drive where Windows is located, because ill-minded people will try to find your passwords, e-mails, documents, financial information (credit card numbers) and so on. Create a separate folder with the stuff you want to share and set read-only share permissions to it; create another folder for receiving files, with full access permissions.

• Do not use the computer logged in with unlimited Administrator priviledges.

  The Administrator account has unlimited permissions to access the software and hardware on the PC; this freedom is a potential security risk, because if a virus becomes active by accident it will have full access to infect all files on your hard drive. Create a separate password-protected account for each person using the computer, set the username membership to Users group (with limited access to other files outside the account’s home folder), and rename the Administrator account to make it more difficult for bad people to obtain access to the computer. Disable the Guest account and create separate password-protected accounts for all users on the network you wish to allow to access your shared files. All these are done in Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Local Users and Groups - Users.

• Use an antivirus program and keep its virus definition list updated.

  Find an antivirus program you like (most can be used as trial versions to help you decide) and pay for it; the antivirus is a good investment into your computer’s security and your lack of headaches. Set the antivirus to update its list of known viruses automatically every day or at least every week and use it every time to scan downloaded files before opening them. When you become a “computer power user,” you will be able to keep the antivirus’ options turned off (so it doesn’t scan constantly the files on your computer, which you know they are clean) and only scan manually the folder of downloaded files before using them.

This is not a comprehensive list! Computers have become powerful instruments, and their users should be responsible and learn to use them correctly and safely. Use your brain for every action you take, learn about using a firewall and an antivirus program, and know that being a part of the global network - the Internet - can be a risky activity if you do not take minimum precautions to defend yourself. All of the above are simple things you can do yourself for free, but if you ignore them you can lose your files or become unable to use the computer or the Internet.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 16th, 2004 at 8:02 am and is filed under PC stuff, Security. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.