It came in
an instant. The screen went ballistic and the dreaded message appeared: You
Have a Virus!
Lee Strouse, the editor of Overnight
Lite, was stunned. He had virus protection on his computer, and Macs are
supposed to be less vulnerable to virus, spywear and phishing attacks.
A follow-up with the internet service provider determined that his Norton antivirus subscription had unexpectedly expired. So, Lee quickly downloaded the latest software suite and thought he was home free. No such luck. A routine scan a few days later detected a Trojan Horse residing on his hard drive.
What
followed was the loss of nearly a day's time, performing system and files
scans, and a lengthy 1½-hour session with Norton to get rid of the
infection.
The moral of this story? Don't assume that you
are protected from nasty virus infections.
1. Make
sure that you have antivirus and malware protection installed on all of your
computing devices.
2. Update your virus definitions
often.
If you don't have the resolve to manually update
regularly, consider a subscription service. Antivirus software will
automatically update your definitions.
3. Be
suspicious of attachments, especially uninvited e-mail. When in doubt, trash
it.
4. Set up your software to scan all files you receive
over the internet, your computer network or removable media.
5. Confirm that you are using the best virus protection
possible on your workstations with your company's network administrator. Also
verify that personal devices that you may use are virus-protected.
Check to see if your company has a server based virus
protection system installed. If so, you should also clarify that it protects
all of your company's computers including portable devices.
6. Keep
software and security patches up-to-date.And, periodically run your live update
software.
7. Configure security settings for operating
system, internet browser and security software.
8. Back up your computer often. If you do have a problem, it won't be a total disaster. Ransomware attacks, for example, can only be remedied with complete backups.
9. Follow
the same procedures wherever you work…with your desktop, and laptop
computers, at the office and at home-and don't forget your children or
grandchildren's devices.
10. If you get a virus,
immediately disconnect from all networks, contact your administrator,
associates and friends and tell them about the problem.
Consider the use of social media like Facebook or
LinkedIn. This will allow you to send private messages to your contacts, even
if your email address book isn't accessible.
To sum it
up, viruses are an unfortunate fact of life in today'swired world.
Left unchecked, viruses can spread their infectious
diseases around the globe-and into your domain-in a matter of minutes.
The good news is that these infections can be eradicated
with a healthy dose of antivirus therapy.
Viruses are deadly, but they can be contained. A little time spent every day can save you a big hit later.
So, please take Copresco's advice to heart. Put your antivirus protection plan into action today!
The most popular
Mac protection site, but also for PC.
Most popular for Windows.
Using a separate malware
scanner adds another layer of protection.
Check out Halloween safety tips for your kids or
grandkids.
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