Some Guidelines for Safe Computing:

"It's just going to get worse," said Ken Schneider, chief technology officer at spam-filtering company Brightmail Inc. "Traditionally, virus writers were driven more by reputation and trying to impress each other. Now, there's an economic motive." - Source: Computer Times - Technology.

Make sure you always have the latest version of your Anti-virus installed on your computer and update the virus signature files regularly: (As of 3/12/04 we suggest every 2-3 days.)

Be extremely careful in opening e-mail from anyone you don't know. Attachments are especially dangerous. Never run an attachment unless you know exactly what it is, even if it appears to have been sent to you by someone you know, check with the sender first if they sent it. Most worms now have the ability to falsify the "From" address.

Make sure that your operating system is up-to-date. If you are using Windows, use Windows Automatic Updates and download the service packs when they are released. For more information on keeping Windows up-to-date, please visit Microsoft's Windows Update web site. (For Windows XP users we recommend this step about every 1-2 weeks.)

If you are using Internet Explorer, Outlook Express or Outlook, make sure that you always have the latest versions. Old versions may contain security holes that are used by virus writers to access your computer. Please visit Microsoft's Windows Update web site to update Internet Explorer and Outlook Express and Microsoft's Office Update web site to update Office and Outlook.

Use a firewall, espically if using a Broadband Internet Connection. When you are browsing the Internet, the firewall creates a shield between your computer and possible malicious content on the Internet. There are hardware and software firewalls; we reccomend a hardware firewall (built into some Routers) for home and office networks.

Scan all removable media (CD-ROM, floppy, etc) before you open or run the content on it, even if you are absoultly sure the media is okay. When in comes to viruses, "better to be safe than sorry".

Scan all files that you receive through the IRC, MSN, ICQ, Kazaa and other such on-line services before usage. (We abhor Kazaa because it has been proven that approxamately 40% of Kazaa downloads consist of Viruses, Malware, and Spyware.)

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