Security > Viruses, Spyware & Malware

Dealing with viruses

By Lasa Information Systems Team

Viruses are one of the main causes of problems with computers today - but, if you take a few simple precautions, one of the easiest to avoid. By following these rules, you'll keep your PCs clean and safe.

Preparation

As they say, prevention is better than cure. Taking the following steps should greatly reduce the risk of your organisation's PCs picking up a virus in the first place.

• Draw up an anti-virus policy stating how your anti-virus system will work, what machines are to be covered, how it will be updated, who is responsible for keeping it updated and so on
• Install a recognised anti-virus product. Common solutions include McAfee, Norton, Sophos, and Grisoft AVG.
• Keep your anti-virus up-to-date - download and install the latest files on a weekly basis. Out of date anti-virus has limited use and gives you a false sense of security.
• Make sure your anti-virus is configured to check all incoming and outgoing files either on the Internet or on physical media such as floppies and CDROMs
• Scan your hard drive for viruses regularly and set the software to run a system scan each time you start the machine
• If you receive and email from someone whose name you don't recognise and there's an attachment, just delete it. Or scan it first before you open it
• Some viruses exploit security holes in the operating system or other software so it is important to keep up to date with the latest operating system patches. Windows users can visit the Microsoft site for the latest security patches or use Windows Update (click on start button and select Windows Update).
• Back up your work regularly - depending on how much you produce this could be daily or weekly. If a virus does get through, you'll need to be able to restore your files with fresh copies
• Make rescue disks if prompted when you install the software and store them somewhere safe
• If you have a server make sure that is also covered - especially if you have your own mail server like MS Exchange Server or Novell Groupwise
• If all your PCs aren't on the Internet or you don't have a network, work out a way of being able to distribute the new virus definition files around the organisation. This might mean putting a CD Rewriter drive on your Internet machine in order to copy the download - it will probably be too big for a floppy
• If you are a big organisation and are handling large numbers of emails daily, consider subscribing to a virus scanning service such as Message Labs.

If you do discover a virus ...

... or think you might have one - some advice:

• Don't panic!
• If your PC is still working, make sure the virus definitions are up-to-date, scan the drive and see if that helps
• Check the website of the anti-virus manufacturers e.g. McAfee or  Norton and search their sites for remedies - if it's a particularly common problem they might have developed a small program which you can download to cure it. If not they should have documentation on how to put your machine right again
• Don't try sending anybody any emails until it's fixed - a "worm" might have infected your email client (such as Outlook or Outlook Express) and mass mail everybody on your address lists
• If you get a warning about a virus, even if it's from someone you know, check it's not a hoax - see the Knowledgebase article Virus Hoax Alert.