Help
Keep The Computers On Earth Clean And Healthy - Protect
Your Techno-Friends From Viruses And ‘Sickness’
by: M6.Net
Help keep the computers on Earth clean and healthy:
Protect your techno-friends from viruses and ‘sickness’.
“Aaaaaahhhhhh! I’ve been invaded by a
virus!” Getting a virus means getting sick and
no one in their right mind wants to be ill. Well,
now that computers have become our close friends,
it’s a shock to learn that foreign bodies too
can invade them with malicious intent. No, your computer
doesn’t get a runny nose or diarrhea. This is
a sickness that stops your friend from functioning
properly, sick in bed, incapacitated.
Well in Nature viruses occur from a power outside
of our control. But, with computers it’s different,
humans, mean or ignorant humans are creating these
viruses. Why? Usually these are disgruntled people
who want to wreak some havoc on others or companies
that they feel have done wrong to them. In any case
we have to be in the know and prepared to deal with
these debilitating scourges.
There are many ways to approach the protection of
your computer. First of all there’s the step
of awareness. Be aware of how viruses are transmitted.
You can catch them from a disc but in most cases it
is through your email system. Check your email carefully.
Be very wary of anything that has an attachment. Check
whom it’s from and look at the title of the
mail, is it something you were expecting? Even if
it’s from someone you know, be careful as their
computer could be infected and the virus being transmitted
without their knowledge.
Next, read the cover message, you can’t catch
the disease without actually opening the message.
Look at the name of the attachment; remember viruses
are written to entice you. Beware of free offers and
generally anything from people you don’t know,
as well as messages that sound irrelevant to your
contact’s usual style. Delete them straight
away. Delete, delete, delete. This will ensure you
of a lower risk of infection. You can even send the
message back to the sender without opening it to make
sure it is valid.
Now for the heavy protection: Virus scanning and virus
protection software, and rescue discs are all readily
available and easily utilized. Some are free, and
others are obtained for a very small charge. Most
software manufacturers offer subscriptions for updating
services, which automatically download protection
to the latest viruses.
There are two main types of virus scanning software:
one searches through your entire computer files looking
for recognizable viral signatures, the other scans
your incoming and outgoing emails. Alerts will show
you when a file needs to be erased or repaired. If
you do receive a virus that none of the software can
repair you can send a copy of it to a company like
Symantec who will be happy to develop a cure for it.
The main message here is not to get too worried about
your good friend Mrs. PC getting ill or sick. The
humans are on top of the case and they seem much better
adapted at fixing their technology than they are at
beating the viruses that attack our physical bodies.
If only we could cure human virus and illness as easily
as we solve the problem of computer sickness.
By Jesse S. Somer
M6.Net - http://www.m6.net
About The Author
Jesse S. Somer is an analyst hoping to show fellow
humans how far the computer age has come in terms
of its strengths and weaknesses.
priyankaa@m6.net
