There are often hoax viruses doing the rounds which encourage you to delete files that are in fact needed to run Windows. They also warn you of "problems" and encourage you to e mail all your friends with this warning. They are intended to generate increased traffic and are not usually viruses or security issues. If you receive an message requesting you to e mail all your friends it is almost certain to be a hoax, albeit perhaps well intentioned, and is best ignored. Click here to check for hoaxes, courtesy of Sophos

Mobile phone viruses have now arrived. The latest one is called commwarrior and spreads via Bluetooth. This link may help if your phone is infected. However, as with PCs do not download files from unknown sources.

It is becoming increasingly important to keep your system up to date, to protect from the latest exploits; get Microsoft updates here

Service Pack 2 for Microsoft Windows XP is available and is recommended by many pundits as a "must have" security enhancement. The few problem issues have been with some non-Microsoft, non mainstream software. As always back up essential data before installing it. Service Pack 2 is available here However a Broadband connection is essential as it is a huge download. Alternatively it is available on CD as a cover disk on many PC magazines.

Click here for a link to the Microsoft Security at home : resources page

Never open e mail attachments unless you know and trust the sender. Even then be circumspect as sender addresses are often spoofed Always be suspicious of e mails offering you free software or asking you to click on links to other sites. You could be inviting someone to damage your PC by allowing them to run code on your machine.

Keep viruses at bay with up to date antivirus software. Check it is updating. It should never be more than a week old. If it is do a manual update. Make sure you keep your subscription up to date if you have paid-for software. You can infect your PC purely by reading an infected E mail. Turn off the preview pane if you use Outlook or Outlook Express as your E mail client.

If you do not have an antivirus solution on your home PC get one today. A free antivirus program is AVG by Grisoft available from their website at the following link. Alterrnatively upgrade to their paid for solution. http://www.grisoft.com

Consider a Firewall if you have an "always on" Internet connection or if you spend significant amounts of time on line. A free software version is Zone Alarm. Alternatively if you have Windows XP turn on the Internet Connection Firewall

Recent viruses may not spread by attachments, purely visiting an infected website is sufficient to infect your machine if you do not have ant-virus software

Latest anti virus articles from Sopho

Spyware is especially prevalent today. It can hijack your home page, send information about your browsing habits and even cause Internet Explorer to crash. Adaware by Lavasoft (freeware) may help to resolve this. An alternative or additional programme which may be of use is SpyBot which disables much spyware that Adaware doesn't catch. Running both may offer greater protection. Whether you choose one or both don't forget to keep them up to date. Microsoft have now released their own free product Windows Defender. Click here to download it Windows Defender

Popular web based mail accounts often have significant quantities of spam (unsolicited E mail messages) and many of these are adverts for dubious or pornographic sites. www.care2.com is an environmentally friendly portal offering free mail accounts. You may care to try it alongside your existing web based mail account if you use one and decide for yourself if you prefer it

If you want to know about the latest viruses click on the links below. They are courtesy of Sophos who we use to protect our School network

Please note there are many other products available, both free and for purchase. These are not recommendations but purely suggestions of products and websites you may care to try.
IT Support Reigate Grammar School