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Top 8 Tips for a PC Clean and Safe From Viruses Eric Koshinsky http://www.antivirus-report.com
Viruses aren’t a mystery - there are some simple steps that everyone should take to avoid becoming a victim of computer viruses and also avoid spreading viruses to others. Unfortunately a lot of people don’t bother taking these precautions and make evil work of spreading viruses much, much easier.
1. Never open an E-mail with an attachment you were not expecting. Many viruses are spread by E-mail automatically from an infected computer without owner’s permission. This means that even if an email is addressed from someone you know and trust, don’t open it if you were not expecting it. Even if you were expecting something, avoid opening attachment until you have scanned it with up-to-date virus software. Remember malicious code, like Trojan horses, can slip into your system by appearing to be from a friendly source.
2. Turn off 'automatic preview' in your email program. A lot of people don’t realise that automatically previewing an email message has exact same effect as opening and reading an email. Many of newest internet worms, trojans, and viruses simply need to have an email message read in order for them to be activated. Turning off preview feature allows you to scan any email BEFORE you actually read it.
3. Beware of floppy disk! Floppies are still one of most common ways viruses are transmitted. If you are using a floppy disk while working on your computer, remove it when you shut machine off. If you don’t computer will automatically try to boot from floppy when you restart and this can launch any viruses on disk. Similarly, don’t share floppies - even a well-meaning friend may unknowingly pass along a virus, Trojan horse, or worm. Label your floppies clearly so you know they're yours and don't loan them out - there are other methods of file sharing. In any case, scan floppies before using them. You could have easily picked up a virus from an insecure network and introduce it into your system. Running a virus scan before launching any of programs on disk will prevent infection.
4. Keep your web browser set to its highest security level. Of course it’s a pain to get warning messages on every other web page you visit, but it is best way to protect yourself - especially if you use Microsoft Internet Explorer and Outlook.
