Q1. |
Do I need an anti-virus software? |
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No anti-virus software can guarantee 100% that your computer is free
from viruses. But having one installed and properly configured will
minimize the chance of virus infection. |
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Q2. |
How often should I update the anti-virus software? |
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There are new viruses everyday. To protect your computer, make sure you
regularly update your anti-virus software. For some anti-virus software
packages, it will automatically update your anti-virus software everyday
and some even a few times a day. |
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Q3. |
What is real time protection? |
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For some anti-virus software packages, they provide a feature called
real time protection. An opening of a file will be scanned automatically
for known viruses. If your anti-virus software provides this kind of
feature, you should enable it. |
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Q4. |
Should I open a file attachment directly in an
email? |
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Never open any file attachment in an email. Before opening the file
attachment, download it to your hard disk and scan it with your
anti-virus program. |
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Q5. |
If I know the sender, should I open the file
attachment in the email? |
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Even though the sender is someone you know, never open any file
attachment directly in an email. Some viruses will pretend the sender to
be someone you know. Download it and scan it with your anti-virus
program before opening it. |
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Q6. |
What should I do if I need to read files from
floppy disks or CD-ROMs? |
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Always scan all files in the floppy disks or CD-ROMs with your
anti-virus program before reading them. |
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Q7. |
How can I keep my Operating System (OS) such as
Windows 2000/XP up-to-date? |
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When there are new security patches available to your OS, you should
apply them to prevent it from being attacked. For Microsoft Windows OS, please go to
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com to keep your OS up-to-date |
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Q8. |
In addition to installing anti-virus software, how
can I protect my important data? |
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You should back up your important data regularly and make sure the
procedures for restoring it is working properly. No anti-virus can
guarantee 100% your data but minimize the chances of virus infection.
Your regular backup task not only saves your data from virus infection but also
helps when there is hardware problem such as hard disk failure. |
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