Avoiding Virus and Worm Attacks

The best way to stop a virus from damaging your computer is to keep it from infecting your computer in the first place. Follow the tips in the following sections to reduce your risk of infection.

Use Windows Update often

Most viruses take advantage of weak spots within Windows. For instance, one virus programmer figured out a way to launch a virus when the user simply opened an e-mail. Users didn’t have to open the e-mail’s attachment to become infected by that virus because it launched itself automatically.

Microsoft released a patch to repair the problem, but it was too late: The virus had infected thousands of computers. However, long after Microsoft released the update, that particular type of virus continues to infect computers.

Why? Because many people haven’t used Windows Update to install the patch that fixes the problem.

To make sure you’ve installed all the security updates available for your Microsoft software, use Windows Update — a Web site that scans your computer and recommends what patches to install. Installing any patches marked Critical helps you avoid potential security problems.

You can access Windows Update in several ways in both Windows Vista and Windows XP:

• Using Internet Explorer, visit Microsoft’s Windows Update Web site at www.windowsupdate.com.
• Open Internet Explorer and choose Windows Update from the Tools menu.
• Click the Start menu, click All Programs, and choose Windows Update.

You can also tell Windows Update to automatically check the Microsoft Web site, download any new critical updates, and let you know when they’re ready to install. When you receive the notice about the new patch, you may examine it before allowing it to install.

Windows Vista comes set up to check Windows Update automatically. To make sure Windows Update is working as it should, click the Start menu, choose Control Panel, and choose Check This Computer’s Security Status in the Security category.

In Windows XP, right-click the Start menu’s My Computer icon, choose Properties, click the Automatic Updates tab, and tell Windows XP to download updates automatically and let you know they’re ready to install.

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