Virus authors are more skilled than ever. There is no way to keep your PC or network 100 percent safe except to stop using it, which isn't practical. But there are ways to make sure your systems are as secure as possible.
Train your users to be careful. Most viruses enter your PC or network through inadvertant user approval; someone clicks on a link or clicks the "yes" box when they should click "no". A good policy is to never open e-mails from people you don't know, and don't ever click on advertising banners or the pop up windows from web pages.
If a pop up box says its going to scan your PC or install software, shut down the PC immediately and reboot.
Keep your antivirus program up to date. All AntiVirus programs distribute updated definition files several times a week. Find out how to update your antivirus and make sure you get regular updates. You may still pick up a new bug -- one that hasn't been diagnosed by the software companies -- but by staying up to date your chances of remaining virus free are much better.
Understand how Phishing schemes work. A phishing e-mail is an e-mail disguised as being from a business or person you know with a malicious link that leads to a virus or trojan. You can usually identify a malicious link by holding your mouse (not clicking) over the link and reading the destination in the hyperlink line at the bottom of the screen. A malicious link never goes to the correct website address, but read carefully. Because of the
proliferation of phishing schemes banks, the IRS and most businesses will never send you an e-mail with a link that requires you to enter a login and password.
We recommend that anytime you will be using a login and password, you should open a new browser window and type in the website address.
