Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 00:28:28 -0500
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Comments: Originally-From: Patrick Douglas Crispen
From: Patrick Douglas Crispen
Subject: TOURBUS -- 19 JUNE 1999 -- CRISPEN'S FIVE ANTIVIRUS RULES
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TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S): Crispen's *Five* Anti-Virus Rules
Howdy, y'all, and greetings from sunny Alabama!
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Crispen's Five Antivirus Rules
------------------------------
In light of the recent Melissa and WormExplore.Zip virus outbreaks, I
decided to rewrite my rules on how to protect yourself from computer
viruses, Trojan horses, or worms. Regardless of your operating
system, these five rules will protect you from most of the over FORTY
THOUSAND viruses that are currently floating around the Net.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. PURCHASE A GOOD, COMMERCIAL ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM LIKE NORTON
ANTIVIRUS OR MCAFEE VIRUSSCAN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Most commercial antivurus programs usually cost between US$40
and US$50 and can be purchased at almost any computer store in
the world. [You can usually save about US$10 if you purchase
the software online -- visit http://www.shopper.com/ for more
information].
Antivirus program manufacturers also release minor upgrades
every two to three months and major upgrades every twelve to
eighteen months. YOU NEED THESE UPGRADES. Minor upgrades are
usually free, and major upgrades usually cost anywhere between
US$20 and US$40, depending on the manufacturer [think of this
as an expected expense -- just as you have to change your
car's oil every 3,000 miles, you have to upgrade your
antivirus software every year to year-and-a-half].
To see if any minor or major upgrades are available for your
antivirus program, visit your antivirus program manufacturer's
homepage. A list of antivirus manufacturers' homepages can be
found at http://www.yahoo.com/ or at AOL keyword "virus."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2. UPDATE YOUR VIRUS DEFINITIONS FREQUENTLY (AT LEAST ONCE A
WEEK).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
With over 250 new viruses being discovered each week, if you
don't update your definitions frequently you won't be
protected from ANY of the new viruses floating around the Net.
How do you update your virus definitions? That depends on
the antivirus program you use. Norton Antivirus has a "Live
Update" button built into the program; click on it, and Norton
automatically downloads and installs the latest virus
definitions from Net. McAfee VirusScan has a similar update
function (go to File --> Update VirusScan).
If you are unsure of how to update your virus definitions,
visit the homepage of your antivirus software manufacturer and
look for their "download," "update," or "technical support"
section.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3. NEVER DOUBLE-CLICK (OR LAUNCH) *ANY* FILE, ESPECIALLY AN EMAIL
ATTACHMENT, REGARDLESS OF WHO THE FILE IS FROM, UNTIL YOU
FIRST SCAN THAT FILE WITH YOUR ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This is probably the most important rule of them all. There
are currently over forty thousand viruses out there, there are
over 2.8 trillion possible files names out there, and any one
of those viruses could be hiding in any one of those file
names. A lot of people think that you can protect yourself
from a computer virus by being on the lookout for one
particular virus or one particular file name (hence all of the
virus warnings you have received in your email inbox lately).
That's not only silly, that's dangerous. If you want to
protect your computer from viruses, you need to ignore ALL of
the virus warnings you receive and instead beware of EVERY
file you see, especially every file that is attached to an
email message.
It is important to note that, despite all of the warnings to
the contrary, there is no such thing as an email virus. You
can open your emails, regardless of their subject lines,
without fear of infecting your computer, provided your email
program doesn't automatically open attachments (most don't) .
It is the files that are ATTACHED to emails that you have to
fear.
Think of a computer virus as a well-packaged letter bomb. You
can move a letter bomb from room to room in your house without
any danger. Open the letter bomb, however, and you die. The
same is true with computer viruses. You could download a
billion virus-infected files from the Internet and receive
another billion virus-infected files attached to email
messages and your computer still wouldn't be infected with a
virus. Open just ONE of those files, though, and your
computer is dead. Remember, to infect your computer with a
virus, you have to launch (or double-click on) a file that
contains a virus. As long as you don't launch that file, you
really have nothing to fear.
How can you scan a file for viruses? It depends on the
antivirus program you use. The best bet is to read your
antivirus program's instructions or read their online help
section. If you use Norton Antivirus or McAfee VirusScan,
right-click (or, if you have a Mac, click and hold) on the
file in question. A pop-up menu should appear, and one of the
choices should be "Scan with ..." and the name of your
antivirus program. If that doesn't work, just open your
antivirus program and try to scan the file from there.
Do you have to scan EVERY file, even if that file is from your
friends or coworkers? Yes! Both the Melissa and the
WormExplore.Zip viruses distributed themselves by opening your
email program, looking at either your 'friends' list or the
list of email addresses in your inbox, and then distributing
virus-infected files to everyone on that list.
In the world of computer viruses, you can't trust anyone.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4. TURN ON MACRO VIRUS PROTECTION IN MICROSOFT WORD, AND BEWARE
OF ALL WORD MACROS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT MACROS
ARE.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Word Macros are saved sequences of commands or keyboard
strokes that can be stored and then recalled with a single
command or keyboard stroke. They enable advanced Word users
to easily accomplish what would otherwise be difficult tasks.
They also allow virus writers to do serious damage to your
computer. For example, the Melissa virus was actually a Word
Macro virus.
If you use Word 97, go to Tools --> Options. Click on the
"General" tab. Make sure that "Macro virus protection" (at
the bottom of the list) is checked.
If you use Word 2000, Double-click on the Tools menu, point to
"Macro," and then choose "Security." Select the level of
security you want. High security will allow only macros that
have been signed to open. Unsigned macros will be
automatically disabled. Medium security always brings up the
macro dialog protection box that allows you to disable macros
if you are unsure of the macros.
With Macro virus protection turned on, Microsoft Word will
warn you every time you try to open a Word document that
contains a macro. The warning gives you three choices: the
option to open the file but disable its macros ("disable
macros"), open the file with macros enabled ("enable macros"),
or the option to not open the file ("do no open"). Chose the
first (default) option: "disable macros."
For more information, visit the Macro Virus Protection page at
http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/focus/articles/o97mcrod.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5. IF SOMEONE UNEXPECTEDLY SENDS YOU AN EXECUTABLE FILE -- IN
OTHER WORDS, A FILE THAT ENDS IN .EXE -- THROW IT OUT.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of the forty thousand viruses that are floating around
the Net right now are hiding in executable files. If someone,
even a close personal friend, unexpectedly sends you a file
that ends in .exe -- or if they unexpectedly send you a zipped
file that contains a file or files that end in .exe -- your
safest bet is to delete the file without opening it.
The key word here is "unexpectedly." If you are expecting a
friend to send you an executable file, you certainly don't
need to delete that file -- just virus scan it first before
you open it.
However, if you are in an environment (like a home) where you
don't often receive ANY files attached to your incoming email
messages, a better rule would be: "When in doubt, throw it out
... and doubt EVERYTHING."
How well will these five rules protect your computer from becoming
infected with a virus, Trojan horse, or worm? Take a look at the
following questions, and decide for yourself. How many people whose
computers were infected with the Melissa virus ignored at least one of
these rules? ALL OF THEM! How many people who followed these five
rules had their computers infected by Melissa? NONE OF THEM! How
many people whose computers were infected with the WormExplore.Zip
virus ignored at least one of these rules? ALL OF THEM! How many
people who followed these five rules had their computers infected by
the WormExplore.Zip virus? NONE OF THEM!
These five rules will not protect you from every computer virus,
Trojan horse, or worm, but they will so significantly decrease your
computer's chances of becoming infected that you can all but forget
about the next virus scare and all the ones that will follow.
---------------------------------
TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE WEEK
---------------------------------
SKOO (Noun). Educational institution.
Usage: "Bubba's the scholar in the family ... he didn't drop out of
skoo 'til the third grade."
[Special thanks to "DonnelsonJ" for today's wurd]
You can find all of the old Southern Words of the day at
http://netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html
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