Viruses - precautions

Here is some basic information about viruses which you may find helpful.

A Virus is an unwanted program on your computer, hidden in one way or another from you. It may do little damage, or be of nuisance value only.

However, it may send itself out to people whose e-mail addresses are in your Windows Address Book, and may do damage to your computer as well.

A Trojan is a program planted on your computer which can be accessed when you are connected to the Internet, so that the 'owner' can control your computer if they want. These are generally less of a threat, but you should nevertheless try to guard against them as far as possible.

Viruses and Trojans can arrive on your computer by a variety of routes, most commonly by e-mail.

Virus Hoaxes are warnings sent around that can generate enormous amounts of emails as people try to warn their friends (needlessly) about the 'threat'. A recent one also instructs you to delete a file from your computer - this is in fact a valid Windows System file, and deletion can cause problems.

There are a few simple precautions which will reduce the threat:

1. Install anti-virus software, such as Norton, McAfee or similar - there isn't a great deal of difference between them.

2. Anti virus software needs an up-to-date list of "criminals" together with their "mug-shots" - for this reason, you need to update the list of virus definitions regularly. Most anti-virus software will do this via the Internet using a simple process - all you have to do is start it and follow any instructions. Anti-virus companies are usually very quick to make updates available when new viruses appear and in my opinion their products are well worth the money Note

3. Anti-virus software will recognise the sort of actions taken by viruses as you use your computer, and will warn you even if they don't recognise the virus itself - take heed of any warnings.

4. Run regular virus scans and follow any suggestions made by the anti-virus software. It may be a good idea to do this when you have a break from the computer for a coffee break, they can take a while.

5. Windows may be set to disguise filenames so that you can't recognise potentially dangerous files you receive by e-mail. You can change this:

a. Right-click on the Start button and select Explore from this menu. This opens Windows Explorer - you don't need to bother with the details of what this does unless you are interested.

b. Go to the View menu and select Folder Options. On the