Volume 1 - Issue 7
Hello, Is there anybody out there ?
I wonder if anyone is reading my articles. Please respond so I can find this out. This is the only way that I can further assist you in your ongoing education in the wonderful world of computers. If you contact me I can tailor what I write to help with topics you want to understand.
We moved to the mountain area in Hamilton and as you can probably figure we are busy as can be. We packed up 21 years of stuff and Boy ! Was there a lot of junk. But I'm really happy cause I finally got a garage to keep my scooter in. No more bumping my elbows in the little shed it's in now.
I've had a lot of work lately repairing damage to peoples computers from viruses. So I think it is time to revisit that topic so that all will understand how important this subject is to the safe and long lasting life of your computer.
Viruses can do everything from putting a simple graphic on your screen to destroying your hard drive as well as propagating itself and moving to your friends and clients computers and repeating the damage and chaos to theirs. In this day and age there are people who take great pride in destruction and do not care in the least that the viruses they release not only affect the corporations and people that can afford to do the repairs. It also has an impact on people who are devastated as the computer is their only window
( no pun intended ) to the outside world.
The first thing to understand is that doing backups is the first important step in virus protection and recovery. If you do end up with a virus your data is safely stored on a removable medium ( floppy disks, cd -r/rw ). You can even use those USB thumb drives ( Those little mass storage devices that your friend might have shown you ). They can be used as a portable hard drive for storing important data. I cannot stress the importance of this.
The most obvious part of preventing viruses is of course good anti-virus software and as mentioned in my very first article free is best because we don't all have money. My personal opinion is to use AVG Free By Grisoft.
It installs easily, is very easy to setup and operate. I've used it in every computer that I have reloaded for customers and have had only good things said about it. There are others and I invite you to use them without question because the fact is at least you are using protection (Hmm ! Sounds odd , haven't I heard that line used before? ). As with any software you must update !!!!. Do the online updates as these will keep your software and virus detection data current. Also you must use the software to scan your computer regularly, whether you do it manually or schedule the software to do it by itself. If you aren't sure how to do this Use The Force Luke. Sorry wandered off for a second Use The Help Files !!! These files will tell you everything you need, all you have to do is look .
The next step is doing the Windows updates as they are important in patching security issues in all Windows Operating systems. Yes there are holes in the software allowing other people to hack in to your computer and do all sorts of nasty things. So make sure you use the Windows Update function in your version of Windows.
To do this go to Start and then scroll up to the button that says Windows Update and left click your mouse and follow the steps as they come up . Remember that you must be online to do this so you need an ISP ( Internet Service Provider ) or otherwise known as Dial Up , DSL and Broadband ( Cable ) connection.
While we're on the subject of Windows, one of the viruses going around disguises itself as an update patch in your E-mail and says that it is from Microsoft. Trust Me Bill Gates and Microsoft don't know you and how would they have your E-mail address. Don't open it !!!! This is not how you get your updates for your operating system.
E-mail, or nowadays mostly known as Spam mail must be scrutinized carefully. If you accept attachments Scan for viruses before you open them. Even if it is from someone you know because they may not be as careful as you and the virus in their computer could be sending out copies of itself through your friends address book without them knowing it.!!!
If your ISP has an E-mail Virus Protection package as ours does for the $2.00 a month charge it is well worth it .
As the commercial goes" You can pay me now or you can pay me later " !! Now all it costs is the time it takes to follow a few safe practices, later it could cost you possibly a hard drive, all the data and a replace and reload bill from a Techy to get your computer up and running again.
