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By Ann Westerheim, PhD
Always keep your definitions up-to-date. If you are unsure whether they are current, click on the anti-virus icon in the tray of your screen (lower right hand corner) and look for the date of the last live update. If it’s been more than a week, click on “run live update”. Note that these instructions are specific to Norton Antivirus, but all anti-virus software operates similarly.
As hackers invent new viruses, you’ll need the new definition on your system to protect against the specific, new bug.
Software Updates: When opening a pdf attachment, you ay see a message on screen saying, “There are updates to Acrobat, would you like to install them now?”
The message above from Adobe Acrobat was legitimate. Your version may not have been the latest one.
Or, you may be using your laptop and suddenly see a pop-up stating, “There are updates for your Viao computer.”
The software is enabling you to download the latest update via the Web. The message may be intrusive, but it is legitimate.
Downloads: The good news is that before software is downloaded, pop-up windows often ask, “Do you want to open this file? Though files from the Internet can be useful, some can potentially harm your computer. If you do not trust the source, do not open this file. “
If downloading a file from the Web, as long as you know you’re on the right site, then it’s alright to download it. As a precaution, don’t download links from emails. Instead, enter the URL directly into your browser. This way you know you’re going to the right site in the first place.
The Bad news is that it sometimes a pop-up can appear that might look legitimate, but is actually an attempt to get spyware on your system.
How can you tell if a file download is legitimate? If you’re planning on downloading a file and also running a firewall on your system, you may get warnings to either block or allow the download. Spend some time getting familiar with the real warnings, and you’ll be less easily tricked by the false ones.
Never reply to pop-up ads. For example, if you get a message that says something like, “Your computer may contain spyware, click here to remove it”, watch out. Often these messages are carefully crafted to look like Windows messages. These are often tricks to get you to download spyware onto your system. A random, unsolicited message is a warning sign.
If you are running anti-spyware software on your system, get familiar with the messages it produces and how it works. For instance, does it scan constantly? Or, do you need to conduct scans on demand? If you’re not running anti-spyware, you should be. But, don’t purchase it from a random ad.
A man in Oregon was recently fined almost $84,000 for sending out e-mails falsely claiming that recipients had spyware on their computers. His email was a scam to get its recipients to buy a spyware removal tool for $49.95.
To help watch out for this kind of fraud, try Microsoft Windows Defender or AdAware by LavaSoft.
Hoaxes: Be on the lookout for hoaxes, which are fake warning messages that typically arrive by email. Some of these messages are designed to frighten you into thinking your system may have a virus. In fact, it’s the frightening message, itself, that may contain the virus or spyware.
Whenever you get one of these suspicious messages go to the Symantec web site: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html. It’s a great security resource on the Web that provides a way to check on the legitimacy of any virus.
To Outsource or Not to Outsource
At some point after you’ve mastered the “conversation with your computer messages”, you’ll need to ask yourself, “Do I know enough about technology to continue to be my own IT department and help my business grow at the same time?" If you cannot answer “yes”, then your next step is to locate a reliable IT outsource partner who will guide your decisions and grow with you– before you need it!
In the meantime, being your own IT department and addressing the important technology issues your computer helps you to focus on is worth your time. Your business will appreciate it!
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