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The Risk
The chances of getting a virus might now be very great. But how great?
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Minimum Risk
If you can answer NO to all these questions, then your risk of virus infection is
extremely low.
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- Is your PC totally stand-alone (ie. not connected to any network, and never connected to the Internet)?
- Do you ever receive files from other people on a disk (ie. a floppy disk, CD etc., or even on a magnetic
tape)?
- Do you ever receive software (eg. games, etc.) from other people on a disk or other media?
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Medium Risk
If you answer YES to just some of these questions, then your risk of virus infection
is moderate, and you should take precautions.
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- Do you connect your PC to the Internet by a dial-up phone line, and use any Internet service such as e-mail,
or on-line chat?
- Do you sometimes receive files (eg. documents, spreadsheets) from other people on a disk or via e-mail
as attachments (or downloaded)?
- Do you sometimes receive software (eg. programs or games, etc.) from other people on disk or via e-mail
as attachments (or downloaded)?
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Very High Risk
If you answer YES to even some of these questions, then your risk of virus infection
is fairly high.
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- Is your PC connected to a large network (eg. a LAN)?
- Is your PC connected to the Internet by a cable modem, or some other permanent or semi-permanent connection?
- Do you often receive files from other people on a disk or via e-mail as attachments (or downloaded)?
- Do you often receive software (eg. programs or games, etc.) from other people on disk or via e-mail
as attachments (or downloaded)?
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How to guard against them
To help guard against virus infection, and to readily recover from infection, as
many as possible of the following should be done:
- Install a good Anti-Virus (AV) program on the computer.
- Have the AV software monitor the system continuously, and monitor files that are received and opened.
- Because new viruses, and new variants of viruses, are continually being created, the AV software needs to be
updated often (at least monthly, but preferably more often).
- If you have a LAN environment, and perhaps a server, then appropriate AV software should reside there as well.
- If you have a cable connection to the Internet, then a software firewall is necessary.
- When you receive a file (e.g. document, spreadsheet, program, game, etc.) scan it for a virus with the AV software
before opening or executing the file.
If you have taken these precautions, then you probably won't need to read the next Web page.
But it might be a good idea to just glance at it anyway, to see the "fun" that you will be missing.
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