Everything is questionable, when it comes to viruses; and because most operating systems do not come with built-in anti-virus program, it is necessary for one to know what to do in order to reduce the risk of infecting their computer system. Here are a few tips:
- When buying an anti-virus program, look for one that runs automatically in the background. If one does not yet have an antivirus program, they should get on the Web and look for one; even a free trial offer will suffice for a few weeks. Simply buying and installing an anti- virus program is not enough, however.
One must also remember to upgrade the program regularly to ensure that the virus database stays current, that way the virus checker is kept smart enough to recognize the latest viruses. Without the most up-to-date definitions, anti-virus programs can detect older viruses, but would not recognize the newer ones sprouting up daily on the Internet; and the newest viruses always spread most quickly and cause the most harm.
- Set the antivirus program to scan everything downloaded, as well as anything that arrives through e-mail, social network sites or a messaging program. At the same time, one should refrain from opening attachments that they are not expecting.
- Refrain also from running two anti-virus programs simultaneously because they often conflict with each other. Should one desire to test a different anti-virus program, they must first uninstall the existing one using the ‘Unstall Program’ utility in the Control Panel before installing another one.
Internet Explorer Security Zones
Another way to reduce one’s chances of contracting a virus from the internet is to use the Internet Explorer’s Security Zones settings. Internet Explorer’s security zones come preset to offer the most protection with the least amount of effort. If one is curious about these zones, choose Internet Options from the program’s Tool menu, and click the Security tab and play around with the settings, then restore it to preset positions.
Internet Explorer offers four security zones, and each offers different levels of protection. When different websites is added to different zones, Internet Explorer treats the sites differently, placing restrictions on some while lifting restrictions for other. The zones are as follows:
Internet: Unless one has played with Internet Explorer’s zones, Internet Explorer treats every web site as if it were in this zone. This zone offers medium-high security, which works very well for most needs.
Local Intranet: This zone is intended for websites running on an internal network. Home users do not usually have to deal with intranets because they’re mostly found in large businesses and corporations. And since internal web sites are created in-house and are self-contained, this zone removes some restrictions, allowing one to do more things.
Trusted Sites: Putting web addresses in here means that these sites are trusted completely.
Restricted Sites: If a website is not trusted at all, this is where it belongs. Internet Explorers allows one to visit it but not download from it or use any of its plug-ins.
As a rule, Windows Mail respects the settings used for these zones; it treats all in-coming e-mail as if it were a website in the Restricted Zone. Many e-mails, these days, come formatted as web pages; to change the zones that Windows Mail uses, choose Options from its Tools menu and choose the Security tab.
Avoiding viruses in one's computer should be taken as seriously as maintaining a backup for one's computer system; and maybe more so.
William Ekpa - William Ekpa majored in Computer Science and has worked for several Information Technology firms as a consultant ever since he left ...
