Viruses

Don't let your computer get infected

When a widely publicized computer virus dubbed Michelangelo failed to live up to media hype a few years ago, many computer users may have decided that viruses weren't much of a threat. But that false sense of security probably lasted only until the Melissa virus surfaced last March, causing worldwide havoc. People who ignore viruses do so at their peril.

Viruses are programs that can infect a personal computer and reproduce themselves inside it. There are tens of thousands of known viruses on the loose, traveling rapidly via e-mail and the Internet and spreading worldwide in a matter of days.


Virus basics

How they travel. A virus can be embedded in programs downloaded from a web site, hidden in word-processing documents, on a diskette, or as an attachment to an e-mail message. One of the newest viruses, BubbleBoy, can do its work if you merely preview the list of incoming e-mail messages using Microsoft Outlook. Fortunately, it's not harmful and is easily eliminated.

How they surface. A virus may quickly announce itself via a message on the screen, or it may lurk undetected for months. It may reproduce itself inside your computer; as you share data with other computer users, you may unwittingly spread the virus.

What they can and can't do. The most destructive viruses can erase data on your hard drive--or even every bit of data on the drive. But the typical virus cannot harm hardware, including the hard drive itself.

Virus symptoms. Look for such things as unusual messages or sounds, windows on the desktop that suddenly appear and disappear, or programs that slow down or don't work properly.

How to treat a virus. If you think your system is infected, don't panic. You may be seeing a more conventional problem. If you do have a virus and rush to fix the problem yourself, you could make things worse.

Instead, cease all regular computer activity and run an antivirus program (see the box below). It's important to use the latest available version of any antivirus software. Manufacturers update their products very frequently; you can usually download free updates from the web.

If the antivirus software finds a virus, notify any friends to whom you may have unwittingly passed it. If no virus is detected but you still believe your machine is infected, contact the antivirus software manufacturer and ask for help.


How to protect yourself

Install antivirus software before you experience problems, then regularly update it. If you often download software from new or unfamiliar web sites or use diskettes obtained from friends, you should update as frequently as possible--weekly wouldn't be out of the question. With safe computing, you'll probably be OK with less frequent updates. Some antivirus products can be set to remind you when to update, or programmed to download automatic updates when you're online.


Practice safe computing

New viruses sometimes outrun the antidotes. That's why you should follow these practices:

Never open or save an e-mail attachment unless you know the person who sent it and what's in the attachment.

Do not open a document unless you created it or are sure you know what it contains. It could harbor a dangerous macro. If a software application asks whether you want to enable macros when you open a document, select "no" unless you know what the macros do.

Set your antivirus software to examine all diskettes, CD-ROMs, and e-mail attachments. Some products have features that provide enhanced security by examining almost every program your computer runs. You can adjust things to trade security for speed.

Back up the hard drive regularly, so you'll have copies of important data files.

If you have a question or a suggested topic for Tech Life, send e-mail to techno@consumer.org or write to Technology Column, Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Ave., Yonkers, N.Y. 10703-1057. Because of the number of inquiries we receive, we can't answer them individually.

4/18/2001