These days, most consumers know that they must protect themselves against computer viruses and worms. News articles describe the destruction or inconvenience caused by malicious applications circulated around the Internet via email and other methods.

What Is A Virus?

Types of Viruses

How Your Data Gets Infected

How To Check For Viruses

How To Protect Your System From Viruses

Consider this before Downloading Files or using Information from the Internet

What To Do If You Have A Virus

Anti-Virus Software

Firewalls

What Is A Virus?

A computer virus is a piece of software that has been written to surreptitiously enter your computer system and "infect" your files. Some viruses are benign and won't harm your system, while others are destructive and can damage or destroy your data.

Typically a computer virus will replicate itself and try to infect as many files and systems as possible. If your system is infected, when you save a file to a disk you will probably infect the disk, and in turn whoever uses that disk will infect their system. As you can see, it's a vicious cycle, not unlike the viruses that plague us humans.

New computer viruses are being written all the time, and it's important to understand how your system can be exposed to them, and what you can do to protect your computer.

What are the different types of viruses

When you listen to the news, you hear about many different forms of electronic infection. The most common are:

• Viruses - A virus is a small piece of software that piggybacks on real programs. For example, a virus might attach itself to a program such as a spreadsheet program. Each time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs, too, and it has the chance to reproduce (by attaching to other programs) to wreak havoc.

• E-mail viruses - An e-mail virus moves around in e-mail messages, and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to dozens of people in the victim's e-mail address book.

• Worms - A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine using the security hole, and then starts replicating from there, as well.

• Trojan horses - A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game) but instead does damage when you run it (it may erase your hard disk). Trojan horses have no way to replicate automatically.

How does my data get infected?

Viruses can be written into almost any type of file, so it's important to be aware of this when you add software to your system. There are known instances of viruses being accidentally included in licensed, shrink-wrapped software, but generally you are safe when installing legally purchased software that you've obtained through normal channels.

The two main ways viruses enter your system are through files added to your system via removable media such as floppy disks or Zip disks, and from downloading from the Internet. You can also get a virus through an e-mail attachment, and, in rare cases, through a plain text e-mail message alone.

How do I check for viruses?

Some common symptoms that could indicate your system's been infected are:

• Unusual messages or displays on your monitor

• Unusual sounds or music played at random times

• Your system has less available memory than it should

• A disk or volume name has been changed

• Programs or files are suddenly missing

• Unknown programs or files have been created

• Some of your files become corrupted or suddenly don't work properly

• There are many programs (called virus protection software, anti-virus software, or virus checks) that will check your system for known viruses, scan incoming files, and warn you before any infected files are let in. An important fact about these programs is that they are only as good as their database of known viruses. Since new and different viruses are being introduced all the time, anti-virus databases need to be updated often.

• If you have a system that is not currently running virus protection software (for example, AVG Antivirus or NOD32), the first thing you should do is get your hands on one of these programs and have it scan your hard drive. It will identify any files that have been infected by any virus it recognizes and offer you the option to repair the file if it can. In some cases infected files can be "cleaned" by your virus protection software; in others, the files will have to be discarded.

Once you have determined that all the files in your system are virus-free, this would be a good time to do a complete backup of your system. If you get infected in the future, you will really appreciate having clean copies of your files.

Tip:  If your DATA really is very important to you, then you'll make reliable backup copies regularly. Your original install disks or CDs are an automatic backup of your programs, but any data files which you generate, or rare but trustworthy programs which cannot be replaced should be backed up as soon as possible. Remember: At any moment, your hard drive might fail due to a mechanical problem, and without ever having come across a single virus you could lose ALL of your files!

The most effective way of protecting your computer from viruses is to purchase reliable virus protection software. We are authorized resellers of AVG AntiVirus Software ,  NOD32, and McAfee.  Please contact us to discuss your needs further.

Other than virus protection, there are many less-obvious ways to protect your computer from viruses.  Once you've scanned your system for viruses and determined it to be clean, it's a good idea to put in place procedures to protect your system. Here are 13 tips to protect your computer from viruses:

1. Install anti-virus software and keep the virus definitions up to date. Anti-virus software scans files for unusual changes in file size, programs that match the software's database of known viruses, suspicious email attachments, and other warning signs. It's the most important step you can take towards keeping your computer clean of viruses.

Most anti-virus software can be set to scan all removable media inserted in your system and to scan files that are downloaded to your system, including email attachments. We highly recommended that you set up your software to do this. This is the most important thing you can do to protect your system. Virus protection can only be effective if the virus signature file and the virus engine are kept up to date, so it's extremely important to keep your antivirus software current, and you should check regularly with your chosen vendor for updates to their product. This can usually be done at the vendor's Web site.

2. Don't automatically open attachments and make sure your email program doesn't do so either. This will ensure that you can examine and scan attachments before they run. Refer to your email program's safety options or preferences menu for instructions.

3. Scan all incoming email attachments. Be sure to run each attachment you plan to open through the anti-virus check. Most anti-virus software can be setup to check files automatically. Do this even if you recognize and trust the sender; malicious code, like trojan horses, can slip into your system by appearing to be from a friendly source.

4. Get immediate protection. Configure your anti-virus software to boot automatically on start-up and run at all times. In case you forget to boot up your anti-virus software, configuring it to start by itself will ensure you are always protected.

5. Update your anti-virus software frequently. An anti-virus program is only as good as the frequency with which it is updated. New viruses, worms, and Trojan horses are born daily, and variations of them can slip by software that is not current. Most anti-virus software is easy to update online with options to do so automatically.

6. Avoid Bootleg or Pirated Software. With popular software packages running upwards of $200, it can be hard to resist the lure of the bootleg versions freely available on Internet file sharing utilities such as FreeNet and Gnutella. Virus writers take advantage of the insatiable market for bootlegs to disseminate their creations across the Internet and around the world.

7. Be careful whenever you're installing software or downloading files. Avoid downloading files you can't be sure are safe. This includes freeware, screensavers, games, and any other executable program - any files with an ".exe" or ".com" extension such as "coolgame.exe." Unreliable sources such as Internet newsgroups or Web sites that you haven't heard of may be willing providers of viruses for your computer. If you do have to download from the Internet, be sure to scan each program before running it. Save all downloads to one folder, then run virus checks on everything in the folder before using it. 

8. Don't boot from a floppy disk. Floppies are one of the most common ways viruses are transmitted. If you are using a floppy while working on your computer, remove it when you shut the machine off or the computer will automatically try to boot from the floppy, perhaps launching any viruses on the disk.

9. Don't share floppies. Even a well-meaning friend may unknowingly pass along a virus, trojan horse, or worm. Label your floppies clearly so you know they're yours and don't loan them out. If a friend passes you a floppy, suggest an alternative method of file sharing.

10. Scan floppies before using them. This is always important, but especially if you are using the disk to carry information between one computer and another. You could easily pick up a virus from an insecure network and introduce it into your system. Running a virus scan before launching any of the programs on the disk will prevent infection.

11. Use common sense. It's always better to err on the side of safety. If you're unsure about an attachment, delete it. Especially if it's from a source you don't recognize. If there are tempting animations on a site that look highly unprofessional, don't download them. Also beware of strange links or unexpected attachments that come through instant messaging programs. They could hide malicious code.

12. If you have a Cable or DSL Internet connection, then your computer is a possible target of hackers.  We strongly recommend the use of a Firewall product.  Contact us to discuss your individual needs.

13. If your computer suddenly begins performing strangely, you should run a virus scan on your entire computer. While most antivirus software always monitors the computer for viruses, some can get by it.

What do I do if I have a virus?

If you have installed virus protection software and it has detected a virus in your system, first try to get the software to "clean" or "disinfect" the files. If this doesn't work, you'll most likely have to delete these files from your system.  If you are confident, then precede with file deletion.  However, be aware that removal of certain files can cause unrecoverable data loss.  Please contact Axiom Networking Solutions if you require assistance.

If you receive an email attachment that your anti-virus software flags, delete it immediately. It is a good idea to play it safe with attachments in general and not open any that aren't from a trusted source. If you receive an email message with an attachment containing a virus you will not infect your system as long as you do not open the attachment.

In extreme cases, it may be necessary to reformat your hard drive, destroying all of the data on it. Then you'll have to reinstall your software and data, assuming you have the original software disks and clean backups of your files. In this case, it's a good idea to install your virus protection software first on the empty hard drive, so that the integrity of your backup files and original software can be verified.  This is best performed by an experienced technician, so please contact us.

You might also want to contact all the people that you've recently exchanged data with -- via floppy disks, e-mail attachments, Zip disks -- and let them know your system's been infected and theirs may be infected as well. You'd want to advise them to check their system for the appropriate virus or symptoms.