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| Year
2002 |
How
to Avoid Virus Attacks and Security Threats
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A simple set of precautions can go a long
way in keeping your computer healthy, virus free and
safe against hacker attack.
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E-mails are primary source of virus
infection Install an anti-virus software with
e-mail scanning facility immediately.
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Keep the anti-virus software up-to-date.
Update virus definition every week. All anti-virus
software provides for on-line updating through
Net.
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Never, never open a file attachment
unless you are absolutely sure of its content.
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Do not execute software that is
downloaded from the Internet unless it has been
scanned for viruses.
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Simply visiting a compromised Web
site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities
are not patched. Always use latest browser software.
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Turn off and remove unneeded services.
By default, many operating systems install auxiliary
services that are not critical, such as an FTP
client, telnet, and a Web server. These services
are avenues of attack. If they are removed, blended
threats have less avenues of attack and you have
fewer services to maintain through patch updates.
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Set a maximum size for e-mails you
receive in your browser (e.g. 35 Kb). All mails
exceeding that size will remain at server, not
reach your computer. You will instead receive
a notification from mail administrator - with
an option to download the over-sized e-mail. Most
virus-carrying e-mails are bulky (because of the
file attachments) and get filtered out automatically.
You can selectively download the e-mails you know
genuine for sure - and delete the rest from server.
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO DELETE THE UNWANTED MAILS
FROM SERVER EVERYDAY OR ELSE YOUR MAILBOX GETS
FULL AND STARTS BOUNCING ALL INCOMING E-MAILS
HACKING
- A REAL DANGER
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Anti-Virus software with latest
updates can keep you safe from virus but not hackers.
Unscrupulous fellows, perverted minds and plain
cheats - generally known as 'Hacker' can steal
confidential information from your computer and
even damage your databases and important files.
They can even use your computer as pawn to attack
large systems (e.g. Yahoo, Microfsoft etc.).
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If you store important information
in your computer that is connected with Internet
(directly or through LAN) and/or you use Internet
for long hours - hackers may target you.
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Turn off and remove unneeded services.
By default, many operating systems install auxiliary
services that are not critical, such as an FTP
client, telnet, and a Web server. These services
are avenues of attack. If they are removed, blended
threats have less avenues of attack and you have
fewer services to maintain through patch updates.
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Consider a Personal firewall. There
are many free and paid Firewalls available in
the Net. We have listed a few below.
SYSTEM MAINTENANCE
Regular maintenance can keep your system
fast and efficient.
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Defrag and Optimize your hard disk
frequently
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If possible, add more RAM
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Remove unnecessary programs from
Start-Up
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Keep enough free space at C: drive
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Take regular back-ups. You may consider
CD-RW as back-up option - it is fast, convenient
and comparatively affordable.
Personal Firewall
Software
Following is a list of well-known personal
firewall software. There are many good ones outside
this list, we obviously can not list all in limited
space.
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| Happy and Productive
Surfing Dr.
Amit K Chatterjee
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Related Links :
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Author
: Dr.
Amit K. Chatterjee
(Amit worked in blue-chip Indian and MNCs
for 15 years in various capacities like
Research and Information Analysis, Market
Development, MIS, R&D Information Systems
etc. before starting his e-commerce venture
in 1997. The views expressed in this columns
are of his own. |
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