andy- i think Computer Associates makes InnoculateIT (they have an entire ________IT naming convention
unless that product has been purchased by another computer. i'm pretty sure its not symantec though- they make Norton Antivirus.)
I've been really into computers for over 10 years now, been performing service and IT stuff part time for over 5, including the university. here are some general virus/computer security tips that i tell people:
- the old "don't open attachments from people you don't know" doesn't very well work anymore, since now a virus can come from a best friend. nor does "never open ANY attachments." a better piece of advice would be "Don't open attachments that you're not expecting." Arrange beforehand to recieve an attachment, otherwise, treat it as hazardous. IM or call on the phone and say "yeah, i'm sending you this file now/later. it's called _____.zip, the subject will be __________"
- it's unrealistic for me to say "don't run Outlook". Heck, i use it for some email accounts. in a perfect world, this security cheesecloth would have been fixed and have a lot of its automation features disabled. Its not a perfect world, so you might have to go about setting stuff up yourself: if you're running Outlook XP, go to tools->options and click the "security" tab. Set the security zone to "Restricted", click the "Zone settings" button, and make sure everything is disabled. this'll just affect email. i've never seen anyone send a legitimate email that uses features that you're disabling. so far, other non-MS email clients have not been nearly as succeptable to things like this.
- if you're using Outlook Express 6 (comes with IE 6, XP. the following *may* be applicable to earlier versions, but i doubt it): tools->options "security tab" click the "Restricted sites zone" radio button, check the "Warn me when other apps try to send mail as me". if you're not really confident with computer files and what not, then you might want to check the other box too: "Do not save attachments that could be a potential virus." IMHO, its a stupid option and i usually keep it off, but if you have kids or less tech-savy people using the machine, you might want to check it to CYA.
- if you're running an earlier version of IE, upgrade to 6 if you can. caution: if you're running McAfee Antivirus 4.x or 5.x, this could bring about some annoying side effects. McAfee might have a fix out by now, but i'm honestly not sure.
- make sure Windows is completely updated through Windows Update. Also, go here:
http://support.microsoft.com/suppor...hk.exe&rnk=1&src=DHCS_MSPSS_gn_SRCH&SPR=WINXP
and grab hfnetchk.exe, which grabs a list 7of current fixes that MS put out, and decides which are applicable for you, and tells you about them. its then your job to go grab these security fixes. run this every month or so, and every time a new virus makes its way onto the evening news.
- run an antivirus program and keep it updated. a free one for personal use is avg (
www.grisoft.com ), though i prefer Norton Antivirus or McAfee. (NAV can check incoming mail for viruses, but they require a subscription fee after the first year of free AV updates). i have no experience with InnoculateIT, but i respect CA as a company that knows their stuff.
- run a Personal Firewall. a Personal Firewall is sort of like airport security: it stops casual breaches cold, can severely inconvenience stronger attempts (enough to make someone else look like a better target), can be an inconvenience some of the time, but when things work perfectly, you never know its there, and are safer for it. They keep unwanted, possibly dangerous stuff out, and lets through only stuff that is safe. some also filter OUTGOING things, so only applications that you authorize can contact the outside world in certain ways.
Windows XP comes with a barebones personal firewall. Alternatives (or if you don't have XP), are Tiny Personal Firewall (
www.tinysoftware.com) and Zone Alarm (don't know the URL off the top of my head). I personally prefer Tiny. Its a bit more powerful than ZA and needs less memory, and i'm told by several people that its just as easy to set up. I've always thought that ZA was easier to set up and run for beginners, so if you are not familiar with any networking whatsoever, i'd suggest going with ZA. While none of these are antivirus programs, when properly set up, Tiny and (probably) ZA can catch things like Win32.Badtrans when the virus tries to send information it has gathered. the one built into XP does not have this feature. i can give quite a few tips and point you in the right direction for info setting up Tiny, and i'm sure there is an abundance of info for zoneAlarm (which i haven't used in years).
i know its a lot, those are just some suggestions for people to consider.
