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_SaFeTy FiRsT_

By taking the following precautions, you can help reduce the risk of your computer being infected by a virus:

1. Use the default security settings in Microsoft Office Office has safeguards in place to help protect your programs and data from viruses. We recommend that you do not change the Office default settings to less secure security settings.
2. Turn on the security features in the Microsoft Windows Security Center, and keep your computer updated The easiest way to do this is to visit the Protect Your PC site, which guides you on how to use the Windows Security Center to enable the following:
   • Internet firewall
   • Antispyware software
   • Antivirus software

     For more information about antivirus software vendors that you can sign up with, see the Microsoft Antivirus Partners site.

   • Automatic updates from Microsoft Update

   Tip To locate the Windows Security Center in Microsoft Windows, do the following:

   • In Microsoft Windows Vista, click the Start button , type security center in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
   • In Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Security Center.
3. Try a subscription to Windows Live OneCare Windows Live OneCare is a round-the-clock protection and maintenance service that you can subscribe to. Windows Live OneCare helps protect and maintain your computer by providing all-in-one functionality including virus scanning, firewall, antispyware, PC performance tuneups, and file backup and restore capability. Visit the Windows Live OneCare site for more information and to sign up for a free 90-day trial.
4. Find out whether you really have a virus Viruses often run without your knowledge. However, if your computer is acting strangely or if one of your programs is not working correctly, this does not necessarily mean that your computer has a virus. It is important to be aware of the specific symptoms that a particular virus causes. On the Microsoft Security Antivirus Information site, you can find information and alerts about the latest viruses, their severity, and the symptoms they cause.
5. Check the Microsoft Security Bulletins regularly An up-to-date list of security issues that affect Microsoft products is available on the Microsoft Security Updates site. This site provides technical information about security issues that affect specific products. If you don't want to remember to check the site regularly, you can subscribe to get security bulletin e-mail notifications for free that let you know about important security updates from Microsoft. In the past, hackers have attempted to mimic these notifications to send bogus information. However, it is not difficult to determine whether a Microsoft security-related message is genuine, because authentic Microsoft security bulletin notifications are always digitally signed and never include software updates as attachments. Instead, the notifications always link to the update on the Microsoft.com Web site.
6. Download files only from trusted sites When you download a file from a Web site, be sure you know the source! You should download only files that are from known, well-established companies. When in doubt, don't download the file. As an extra precaution, you can download files onto a disk separate from your hard disk, such as a floppy disk or a zip disk, and then scan the files with your virus scanner.
7. Install only from authentic CDs In general, installing software from authentic, commercially distributed CDs is the safest method. For example, all Microsoft CDs have holograms to prove their authenticity.
8. Back up your data regularly If a virus erases or corrupts files on your hard disk, a recent backup may be the only way to recover your data. Back up your entire system regularly. At the minimum, back up files that you can't afford to lose, such as documents, pictures, favorite links, address books, and important e-mail messages. For details about how to back up your specific program's data, search the Microsoft Office Online Web site. You can also use the System Tools in Microsoft Windows to back up your data, as follows:
   • In Microsoft Windows Vista, click the Start button , click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and then click Backup status and configuration. Follow the instructions provided.
   • In Microsoft Windows XP, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup. Follow the instructions provided.
9. Don't open suspicious e-mail messages or files Even though the Junk E-mail Filter in Microsoft Office Outlook helps to protect your Inbox from spam and phishing messages, it is a good idea to avoid opening any attachment in a message that you did not expect to receive, especially if the message is from a source that is unknown to you.

_SyMPtoM Of ViRuS_

Computer Virus Symptoms

If your computer is infected with a malicious computer virus, it may begin to show a series of symptoms that indicate that a virus is present. Computer viruses can be very harmful and damaging to your computer system, root files, and various program files. A computer virus can also increase the risk of hacker threats and attacks, and open the door to even more unauthorized downloads and software installations. Once you diagnose the computer virus symptoms, then computer viruses can be counterattacked with the appropriate antivirus software and suite packages, but this needs to be installed well before the virus has infected the system.

Some other symptoms of a computer virus involve the computer hardware itself. CD-ROM drive trays may open and close by themselves, without the user directing the function. Programs may launch at their own, and unusual sounds may play randomly. Some e-mail messages may not be sent or received properly, and e-mail attachments may disappear. If the computer is freezing consistently, or files and folders seem to disappear or will not open, these are clear signs that an area of the hard drive is “malfunctioning” (actually is not, but is affected by a virus). The computer may also display a series of pop-up ads and strange messages upon startup; this is a clear indicator that adware programs have been installed, and these are very difficult to remove manually.

Finally, the best way of recognizing computer virus symptoms and preventing computer viruses and other Internet based threats to invade your computer is to have the latest, up to date computer security software, which can be a basic version of antivirus program or some of the all-in-one software suites.

_AnTi ViRuS_

BITDEFENDER
Ease of Use:
In less than a half an hour, you can download, install, follow the prompts, re-boot your system and voilá, you're protected and can forget about viruses, trojans, spyware, worms, and malware.
One of the best advancements in the latest version of BitDefender has been the increase in scanning speed.

Effectiveness:
BitDefender received their highest rating for having removed 98% of all viruses and spyware in their rigorous tests. In addition, BitDefender has received the highest ratings for effectiveness by Virus Bulletin (VB100%)BitDefender is great at removing viruses and spyware, it excels at protecting your system from incoming viruses. The new BitDefender can actually strip viruses from your incoming HTML stream before the virus makes it to your browser.

Updates:
BitDefender updates its virus signatures every hour unless you adjust it to a longer interval.



KASPERSKY
Ease of Use:
With the release of version 7, Kaspersky dramatically improved their interface giving this software an interface that matches the quality of the overall package. Further improvements have been made for the 2009 version. From a geek’s perspective, Kaspersky's interface is probably the best of all the software reviewed.

Effectiveness:
Like BitDefender, Kaspersky was able to remove over 98% of all viruses it encountered in the most recent objective tests of AV-test.org. Kaspersky is also certified by all of the major virus/malware testing laboratories. Tests confirm Kaspersky's effectiveness. It found every virus on the test computer.

Updates:
Both Kaspersky and BitDefender update their signatures every hour.

NOD32
Ease of Use:
ESET has made some excellent and necessary improvements in their interface with version 3. The package is just 34M making it among the lightest antivirus packages we have ever seen. Fortunately, NOD32 works as it should in its default configuration and most users will never have to do anything but simply install this excellent software.

Effectiveness:
ESET's NOD 32 is among the most effective antivirus software products on the market today. Independent tests show that NOD32 removed about 98% of the virus threats it faced, putting it on par with BitDefender, “TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award” winner, and Kaspersky, “TopTenREVIEWS Silver Award” winner. In addition, NOD32 is certified by all the major independent testing laboratories the world over.

Updates:
Unlike Kaspersky and BitDefender, ESET's NOD32 only updates its virus signatures once a day. That's probably a short enough interval considering that ESET has the power to “push” updates to your computer in the instance of attack.



AVG
Ease of Use:
Though AVG Antivirus is mostly a hands-off program, there may be some instances when you may need to configure some advanced options. For 99% of the population though, the default options will be more than sufficient. The menus within AVG Antivirus are very simple and offer all the options and information needed to keep your system safe from Internet threats.

Effectiveness:
AVG Antivirus is one of the most complete programs we have found to date. It includes many new options to make it one of the most effective virus scanners on the market. It is still plagued by horrible slowdowns at times. That dual core processor you bought is actually going to start getting a workout now. AVG also includes support for Windows Vista and the 64 bit versions of Windows XP and Vista

Updates:
AVG Checks for updates every 4 hours by default. You can change this to any interval you wish. The updates section of AVG Antivirus also shows you which virus database version you have, as well as when the last update was. It also tells you when the next update is scheduled.