Virus Protection and Removal Advice by Myrddin

A virus is any program that spreads itself. That means that the virus itself does what it can to send itself to other computers, infect them, and then spread farther. Most viruses do nothing but spread... some viruses have a 'payload' that also causes havoc on your computer, such as deleting or corrupting files.

The most common way for viruses to spread is through email. Once a virus infects a computer, it searches the persons address book and then sends more emails out to other people. It may lie about who it is from. It almost certainly lies about what the attachment is... the virus does what it can to convince you it is safe to open. It may pretend to be from a friend. From Dotnet. From a bank. You cannot trust anything you read in an email to be accurate, so there is one golden rule to protect yourself from email viruses: If you are not expecting an attachment, don't open it. This rule applies to all emails. If you get pictures from your brother about his vacation, that is probably fine to open (at least, as long as you knew he went on a vacation). But any attachment you are not expecting should be treated with the same respect the secret service would treat a ticking box from UPS.

Not all viruses go through email though. Some spread right through the Internet itself... just dialing the Internet can make you vulnerable to this kind of virus. These viruses can be blocked by using a personal firewall, or by keeping Windows up to date with the latest patches. These viruses are particularly dangerous to computers that are connecting to the Internet for the first time, or computers that have recently been formatted, because they do not have the latest patches on them, and are vulnerable. Most places you buy computers patch the computer before selling it, but some (most notably Wal*Mart) do NOT, and you should be very careful when signing up on the Internet with an unpatched computer.

There are many programs that help protect you from viruses. The most common two are McAfee VirusShield Buy it Here and Norton AntiVirus Buy it Here. I recommend Norton rather than McAfee, because McAfee bundles their mediocre firewall and anti-spyware protection with their antivirus. If you purchase Norton over the Internet, make sure to purchase their 'Backup CD' for an extra ten dollars, or you will not be able to reinstall Norton if you need to. Another less common (but better) virus scanner is TrendMicro's PC-Cillin Get it Here. All of these programs cost between $30 and $50, and after the first year you need to pay another $30-$40 to keep the virus subscription active. Without a virus subscription, these programs are useless. Worse than useless, because if they are not kept up to date they still seem like they work, but any new virus will slip right past them. The virus updates are like daily vaccinations for the computer, inoculating it against the newest viruses.

One important note I would like to mention about Norton and McAfee especially, but it applies to Zone Alarm and PC-cillin too. Bundles are not good... in fact, the bundles from McAfee and Norton in particular are kinda crappy. Norton, McAfee, and PC-Cillin have great antivirus products. Zonelabs have a great personal firewall. But I have had many problems with the firewall from Norton and McAfee, and I don't know how good the Zonelabs antivirus is. In general, avoid bundles because usually you can get a better product for free that covers the things a bundle does. For example, Norton combines its antivirus with a firewall, anti-spyware, and other tools... their antivirus is a good product. Their firewall and anti-spyware are subpar, there are better FREE solutions out there. So save yourself some money, and just buy the antivirus product from Norton and McAfee, and just get the free firewall from Zonelabs.

The most important thing to do is not get a virus in the first place. Don't open attachments if you were not expecting them, no matter who they are from. Make sure you have an active, working, up-to-date virus scanner on your computer. And keep Windows up to date as well with the latest security patches... visit Windows Update to check for Critical Updates.

But, perhaps this advice is too late... maybe you already have a virus. Here are things you can do to clean it off. First, if you can visit websites, try going to House Call. Follow the instructions and it will scan your computer for viruses. But, some viruses prevent you from visiting House Call. If that happens, you can visit a friends house and get McAfee's Stinger Get it Here tool. This little tool fits on a floppy disk, and finds the 45 most common viruses. If neither of these work, you may need to take your computer into a computer shop to get the virus cleaned off.

Once your computer is clean, make sure to KEEP it clean. Install and use a virus scanner. Not all virus scanners cost money... one free virus scanner is Grisoft's AVG Get it Here. It is not as good as Norton, McAfee, or PC-Cillin, but it is far better than nothing. You can also signup for Dotnet's Virus Filtering Buy it Here for your email. This service is an additional $2.99 per month, and it prevents any viruses in your email from even reaching your computer. It is updated more often than a home virus scanner, and never 'expires'. But, it can only protect your email... you still need a virus scanner on your computer, but AVG works fine with our virus filtering, and is no extra cost.

And to protect your computer from viruses that spread right through the Internet, it is a good idea to use a personal firewall. One good one is included with Windows XP, and should be automatically turned on if you have fully patched your computer... if your computer asks you to install Service Pack 2, say yes. If you do not have Windows XP, you can use ZoneLabs Zone Alarm Get it Here free firewall. They also offer virus filtering, but I do not know how good it is... I know their firewall is better than that provided by Norton and McAfee, and it is free.

Q. I get tons of viruses a day from all different people... how do I stop it?

A. You can't. The reason you get all those viruses is because someone who knows you is infected. Until that person cleans their computer off, you will keep getting those viruses over and over. It can be a big hassle, and changing your address usually does not work... because as soon as you tell your friends and family the new address, you start getting viruses again because the virus learns your new address too. There are only two solutions... you can track down who is sending you the email by studying the headers, or you can signup for Dotnet Virus Filtering Buy it Here.

Q. Is this email from [dotnet.com / my bank / eBay / Paypal / Nigeria] legitimate, or is it a scam?

A. Short answer: It's probably a scam. Long answer: Whenever you get an email that is requesting personal information... perhaps it wants your bank number, or credit card, or a 4 digit PIN, or your social security number... then it should be treated with utmost caution. If you click a link in an email, it may LOOK like it sent you to a legitimate website, but looks can be deceiving. The best solution is to not follow a link from your email when it involves sensitive information (like your bank or eBay account). Instead, type the address to that site in yourself... www.citibank.com, or www.ebay.com. Log in from their front page, and if there is something they need you to do, it will appear there. Don't trust email.