5 Don’ts for Anti-virus Protection

Here at SCIP we have come up with the most important tips to prevent you and your computer from deadly viruses.

1)    Don’t trust an email from someone you don’t know

If you don’t know the source then don’t touch it. Often you’ll get an e-mail persuading you to click a link. DON’T DO IT! Before you know it you’re infected big time. The email may be disguised to look like something you might receive from your bank or a company you work with. This is all part of the scam to trick you into thinking you’re on safe territory. Some emails may be written in a friendly tone and seem to be sent from someone alluding to be a long lost friends. Steer clear. E-mail can be 'spoofed' to appear to be from someone other than the real sender, perhaps someone you know, if you get an unexpected email there is no shame in ringing the sender to check it is legit. 

A useful place to go if you want to quickly screen you’re an email or suss out an attachment before you download it is www.virustotal.com. Virus Total checks your mail with several online services to find malicious software. 

2)    Don’t fall for scare-tactics

You navigate away from your page and before you know it a hazard box appears saying you are at threat from a 1500 viruses and you must click on the link before they attack you. Does this sound all too familiar? This is a typical example of Scareware, designed to scare you into clicking on something, which then infects you. Another common example is a hacker method ‘cracking’. A ‘cracker’ will use your IP address to determine your location and unleash a whole load of threats that relate to where you live. I.e. ‘natural disaster on its way to [inserts your location here]’. As soon as you click to read more you’re ‘cracked!’  Please don't forward virus warnings to your friends and colleagues, many of the hoaxes propagate around the net through such well meaning clicking on the forward button.

3)    Don’t assume you are safe

Make sure you install an Anti-Virus program (ex. Vipe, BitDefender, AVG) and then make sure it is set to automatically update and run a full system scan weekly. Make sure that both it and your operating system are kept updated. (Windows Update)

Install an Anti-Spyware program (ex. SpyBot, Super Anti-Spyware), that operates against Internet malware and spyware. Just like Anti-Virus, keep it updated, and do a full system scan weekly.

 4)    Do not use disks that other people have given you, even from work

This particularly applies to pen drives and memory sticks. They should be scanned regularly for viruses. Disable any autorun options so that when you plug in an external drive or disk the contents can be scanned first. If you want to wipe a disk, check out DBAN. Darik's Boot and Nuke is a self-contained boot disk that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk that it can detect, which makes it an appropriate utility for bulk or emergency data destruction.

If you have any queries about the safety of your hardware please contact your IT support company.

 5)  Don’t download software from just any old website

By common sense, if the website is popular and widely used then it’s probably trustworthy and safe.

Be aware of downloading documents without knowing their extensions, e.g. .doc, .exe, .jpg. What you can’t see WILL hurt you and could have destructive ends. Make sure you enable file extension viewing. By default, Windows does not have file extension viewing enabled. This allows virus writers to distribute executable files disguised as something non-executable. For example, an .EXE file might appear to be an innocuous text file.

A powerful way to keep your computer secure online is to install a virtual PC for any insecure task such as web browsing. For a free solution to running virtual systems visit www.vmware.com

Finally, all these reduce your risk dramatically, but nothing can ever be 100% risk free. Make sure all your important data is backed up, so if the worst does happen you can recover easily.

SCIP say stay safe on the net!