AntiVirus Protection

Viruses are always a threat to computer users and will remain so for the foreseeable future. But, you can take precautions.

First, remember this: e-mail is still safe to read; it's the attachments that can be dangerous when launched.

The Melissa virus taught us that even e-mail from known sources can't always be trusted. Sometimes, as with Melissa, the anti-virus software community wasn't ready, so we were all caught off guard. Of course, all the software vendors were quick to respond and came out with a fix, but not until after a lot of inconvenience, although no damage, was done.

Fortunately, Melissa was what we call a "benign" virus, in that it did not destroy data. What it did, however, was to send out so many e-mails that it shut down many e-mail servers around the world and caused great inconvenience.

The CIH virus, timed to hit on April 26th, destroyed not only data, but also critical information contained in the BIOS. This virus is much more serious.

So, my advice used to be that it's OK to open an e-mail attachment from a known, trusted source. Melissa made me alter that advice. Now, my advice is that even if you know the source, be very careful!

Nothing in life is 100% sure all the time, and computers are no exception.

Clearly, your best protection is to get anti-virus software installed on your computer and keep it updated.

Check the vendor's web site once a week to see if there's a new update. At least this way, you'll minimize your risk.

Remember, there is only one way to avoid getting a virus via e-mail and that's to never open any attachment. For many of us, that's just not practical, so the next best choice is to keep your anti-virus software updated frequently.

Here's to your system's good health.

Stay well (and virus-free),
Doc

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