Safety Survey
Read through this page and compare your answers to the recommended answers. If you are not observing these important safety rules, then your computer may be at risk from viruses and your data at risk of being lost.
Do you use virus protection software? Using a quality virus protection program is your number one defense against viruses. But simply having a program installed is not enough. You should also follow these guidelines:
If you don't have virus protection software installed, running and updating regularly, then your computer is at risk. (note: if you need it, you can purchase the most popular virus protection software right here from us)
What Windows service pack is your computer at? You can determine this by going to: Start >> My Computer (right click) >> Properties >>
Microsoft routinely updates the Windows operating system with new security patches and security features. If you use Windows and you are not at Service Pack 3, then your computer is not as protected as it should be. (Make sure to read this important information from Microsoft before updating your service pack level.)
Do you use a firewall? You have the option of using either a software firewall or a hardware firewall (router). Windows provides a built in firewall right within the operating system. You can turn on the Windows firewall by go to: Start >> Control Panel >> Windows Firewall >>
If you are not using a firewall, then your computer is at risk.
Do you use a wireless router? Wireless routers can be an easy way for hackers to access your private information. They can do this by opening your router's configuration page, which is nothing more than the default IP address of the router. Once they are on your router, they can then "see" what your client IP addresses are. From there they can access those PCs and search all the shared folders and everything inside them.
If your home or business uses a wireless router, make sure the access to the router is protected in one of these ways. 1. Turn on the encryption scheme and use a good password. This will require anyone using your wireless connection to enter the same password to gain access. 2. Use MAC address filtering to only allow computers within your network to access the router. 3. Change your router's default IP address to something other than the address it is shipped with.
Do you do peer-to-peer file sharing? If you routinely download files such as music, videos or games from untrusted sources such as Limewire, then your computer is at risk. These sites do not normally monitor the files being shared by millions of people, which makes them extremely vulnerable to infection.
Do you open email attachments from unknown sources? Email attachments can contain viruses that can launch when you open them. Make sure you know exactly what you are opening before you open it. Be especially careful of any attachments that end in the .exe file extension. These are programs and once they've been run, they cannot be stopped.
Do you run macros from within Microsoft Word or Excel? Macros are nothing more than Visual Basic programs that are used to automatically execute a function within Word and Excel. It is very easy for hackers to hide malicious macros inside Word documents and Excel spreadsheets that can automatically be activated just by opening the document.
Do you use portable USB storage devices? Thumb drives, SD cards and external hard drives are a great way to store data, but they're also a very easy target for viruses. It is very common for viruses to get transferred to one of these devices simply by plugging them in to an infected computer. Likewise, an infected USB device will quickly transfer viruses to a host computer. This happens for 2 reasons: 1. The USB device contains a program file called autorun.inf. Whenever you double-click your USB drive this program automatically runs so it can present you with options such as which software to open to play your music files. It is this autorun.inf file that the viruses will hide in, and will execute when you double-click your drive letter from Windows Explorer. It is recommended that you delete this file (you need to check the option to Show hidden files and folders within your Folder Options View tab first so you will see it) which will prevent the autorun feature from executing on your USB device. 2. The Windows Autorun feature is enabled in your version of the Windows operating system. You should turn this off for all devices. This will prevent your USB device from automatically running when you plug it into your computer. See the instructions for how to turn this off immediately below under Other Recommendations.
Other recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Disable the Autorun feature in Windows XP This will prevent all devices from automatically running when you plug them into your computer and reduce the chance of having a virus automatically copied to your hard drive. The procedure for disabling this is different for Windows XP Home Edition and XP Professional. Click here for the complete information on how to disable Autorun from Microsoft.com
For Windows XP Home Edition: 1. Download and apply the following Windows update (Update for Windows XP (KB967715)) http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c7dbcde3-7814-47c5-849e-e64ecfb35d74
2. Change the registry entry that controls Autorun
[Important note: This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows]
Follow these steps:
For Windows XP Professional:
1. Go to Start Menu > Run and type gpedit.msc [Group Policy Edit] 2. Locate the following path: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System 3. On the right panel, right click Turn off Autoplay
4. Change the radio button to Enabled 5. In the dropdown box Turn off autoplay on: select All drives 6. Click OK
Important note: Autorun viruses run (using the autorun.inf file on the USB device) when you double click the USB drive icon from Windows Explorer or even right click and select Explore. Therefore, whenever you insert a USB device into your computer, you should always hit the WINKEY+E to start explorer.exe. Then click on the USB drive from the left hand file tree. This will not run the virus from the autorun.inf, but will directly display the content of the drive instead.
Recommendation 2: Turn on System Restore Turning on the system restore feature allows you to restore your system from an earlier time. This will restore operating systems features and applications, but will not overwrite your personal data. You can turn on system restore by going to: Start >> Control Panel >> System >> System Restore.
Important note: You should always run a full virus scan immediately after performing a system restore from a restore point. This is because the restore may actually bring back an old virus from the past.
Recommendation 3: Always back up your computer You should always keep a current backup of your important data, such as bank records, documents, photos, music, etc. There are many reasons you may need to recover a backup. 1. A serious virus can delete your data before you have a chance to fix it. 2. A hard drive can fail without warning giving you little or no chance of recovering your data, at least not without spending a fortune. 3. Your computer could become damaged beyond repair or stolen.
Recommendation 4: Keep your Windows install CD and key in a safe place In the event of a complete system failure, you may need to simply reformat your hard drive and start over. In this case, you will need your Windows install CD and the key it came with. Make sure you store this in a safe place... AND make sure you remember where that is!
