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Computer Help Newsletter
Semiweekly Computer Help Newsletter
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Why do we need an Antivirus Program?Obviously the short answer to the above question
is to protect your computer. Please trust me, it goes well beyond that, as you will soon learn.
Don't let your computer become a ServerIf a virus infects your computer, in some cases
it can actually use your computer to send it's self to others. You will not know this is happening
until you start getting emails from your friends and relatives wanting to know why you are sending them a virus.
Some viruses can even send files from your computer to others, this could prove to be very embarrassing. Don't let
this happen to you. If you do not have an antivirus program on your computer, one that gives frequent updates, then
you are not only leaving yourself unprotected, but also everyone that is in your address book. I recently saw where one of these
viruses got into an address book then sent its self to others using the email addresses of the people that were in the address book.
In other words if this happened to you and you had Grandma's email address in your book, emails containing
the virus could be sent out saying it was from Grandma. People start calling Grandma to see what the heck she is doing.
Where does your email address go?We have all received emails that have been forwarded to us
and at the top you can see that it has been sent to lots of other people also. Then you read it and forward it on to someone else,
bad thing is you probably don't know some of the people on the list and the ones on the list don't know the ones you are sending it to.
In other words you have no idea who now has your email address. You might say only names appear at the top of the email, not addresses.
That would be wrong, all anyone needs to do is right click on one of the names, then click properties
and it reveals the email address. I think you get the idea and I don't want to beat this to death, but tell your friends
and relatives that you will not accept emails that are forwarded with everyone's addresses at the top of the page.
Watch out for fake emailsThere are many emails being sent out that are not what they say they are.
They are trying to get people to open the attachments. This could be to give you a virus or it could be just to take you
to a web site they are promoting. Either way, don't open them. Also don't make the mistake of thinking an email is from
a friend, so it is alright. Don't open any attachments even from friends and relatives, unless you are certain they are using an antivirus program.
If you don't know, call them and ask. Here is a fake email. Notice the attachment and it's size.
The ones I get all seem to be the same size.
Microsoft does not use email to send updates If you receive an email that looks like
it is from Microsoft and it contains an attachment that is supposed to be an update, DO NO OPEN IT. Here is a sample of a bad
email, Click Here. I am sure there are others, but this is the one I get the most often.
They all are the same size, at 106KB. If you get one of these, just delete it.
Expired Antivirus ProgramsIf you bought a computer that came with an Antivirus Program, it more then likely
expired after a short trial period. I have met people that think these programs are still protecting them, because it is
still operating. That would be a bad assumption, if it has expired you are no longer receiving updates, which means you are
not protected against new viruses. I have also had people tell me they run these programs and they show no viruses. That does not mean you don't have one, they will not be able to detect new ones.
Be very careful, remember it is not just your computer you are protecting, it could be someone else's as well.
This is a free Antivirus Program Avast
Here is another one, this is the one I use. Microsoft Security Essentials
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