Preventing Computer Viruses

Far too many company and household computers become infected with viruses annually, and the affects of these infections can be devastating to the user. Since there are so many ways a virus can enter your computer’s system, it’s important that you know how to block off those entrances. Here are several ways to decrease the chances of your computer becoming infected:

-Don’t solely rely on anti-virus software, although you should have it installed. Be sure to update often to detect and protect your computer from the most recently created viruses.
(It also doesn't hurt to install a spyware, malware, and adware removal application)
-Read the headlines. Stay on top of the news to educate yourself about new viruses.
-Try not to open an e-mail attachment until you are sure it is safe. Make sure you know the person or why it may be sent to you.
-Once again, surf the web for news about viruses so you know common subject lines and file extensions relative to those viruses.
-Disable automatic attachment viewing in your e-mail settings.
-Set your Word and Excel settings so that Macros are disabled when a file is opened up for viewing.
- Use search engines that are well-known for generating results relevant to search terms. A site is probably safe if a lot of people have linked to it, but keep in mind that this isn’t always the case. This way, your chances of being directed to a site that hosts a virus is less likely.
-Make sure you set your security settings to ‘high’ in your web browser.
-Try to avoid downloading free applications from unverifiable websites.
-Configure your settings so that you can always view file extensions.
The following are examples of file extensions to be suspicious of when they show up in e-mail:

ADE, ADP, BAS, BAT, CHM, CMD, COM, CPL, CRT, DLL, EXE, HLP, HTA, INF, INS, ISP, JS, JSE, LNK, MDB, MDE, MSC, MSI, MSP, MST, OCX, PCD, PIF, POT, REG, SCR, SCT, SHB, SHS, SYS, URL, VB, VBE, VBS, WSC, WSF, WSH

It is easy to tell yourself you will regularly take these measures to maintain your computer security and implement virus protection, but it is also quite easy to forget. This is often how viruses end up finding their way into your computer.

Written by Melissa Cocks

IT: The Secret Weapon of Competitive Business

By Art Gib

Apr 9, 2009

Information Technology or IT as it has been aptly nicknamed is the culmination of every aspect of business that incorporates computers. Essentially IT cover the spectrum of business needs from data storage and backup to building and maintaining computer networks to providing hosting and web services to developing customized software solutions and providing help desk support for business. In today's competitive marketplace IT solutions are the lifeblood of industry that keep small, medium and large businesses in business.

IT support is among the fastest growing industries, with the advent of newer and faster technologies that are designed to exchange more data quickly and store extraordinary amounts of information the need for IT service providers has steadily increased over the past decade. There are now in the United States over 1.6 million people working in the IT industry. Projections for employment growth are between 18 and 26 percent for all IT related employment by 2014.

With customized solutions available and the growing need for qualified technicians the IT industry has expanded to service not just large corporations that house hundreds of employees and network the entire office together through a system of servers, firewalls, and exchange interfaces, but the small and mid sized business is also experiencing the need for IT solutions that handle any computer related quandary such as web hosting or spam filtering or even the scaled down networking of three or four computers into a single server so that interoffice information can easily be shared with each employee.

The question posed to the small and medium sized business is one of cost effectiveness in finding an IT service provider that can meet the growing needs of small business and offset the expense of hiring a staff IT specialist. Some business owners are under the impression that IT can be handled by an existing employee that services the companies limited IT needs in addition to their other duties.

This thought process may be detrimental to the small business owner as technological advances require continued training and experience with emerging technology that the layperson does not understand. It is one thing to connect a computer to the Internet, but quite another to effectively network and entire offices exchange server and data storage.

Selecting the right IT solutions provider shouldn't be a difficult or costly prospect. With a little research business owners can find an IT provider that has the knowledge and experience to effectively and efficiently enhance business performance, keeping both small and medium sized businesses competitive with larger corporations.

NSK Inc is an information technology consulting company offering IT support in Boston and IT support in San Francisco.

About the Author
Art Gib is a freelance writer.