How to protect
yourself from a virus
continued from Hot tips
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How do viruses get into computers?
The four most common virus infections come
from the following:
- A file received as an attachment or
downloaded from the Internet
- A macro embedded within another document
or file
- A Visual Basic Script embedded in a file
or a website
- An Internet Worm
The impact of a virus can be very costly.
ICSA Labs estimates that the cost of a virus disaster is between
$50,000 and $500,000. A server that has become infected by a virus
has an average downtime of 14 hours.
Basic virus defense
- Don't open files that you are not
expecting.
- Suspect messages that appear more than
once in your Inbox.
- Learn file extensions and only open ones
that are safe.
The following file types are risky file
types that should never be opened:
Office protection
- Office files are mostly data with some
program code
- Office macros are programs, which can be
viruses
- Office will prompt you to enable macros.
Only enable macros from sources you know
are safe.
If you need a file that Outlook has blocked,
call the Information Technology department of your company. Do not
assume that because the file made it through Outlook that it is
safe. If you see something unusual, it is better to be safe than
sorry and check it out first!
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