Protect your computer. Practice safe hex - Print Version

Safe Hex... Click here to print these 5 pages.

What the heck is Hex [hexadecimal]? View the sample below:

How would it affect your life if:

a. ...you lose valuable documents you have stored on your computer?

b. ...the data on your hard drive becomes so corrupted by a virus that you have to reformat the drive and start over (i.e. re-install all programs)?

c. ...your hard drive is physically destroyed by a virus and you have to buy a new one, reformat it, and reinstall all your programs? (yes, that can happen)

d. ...your BIOS is corrupted by a virus or worm and you have to start over with a BIOS flash, or even a new motherboard (which often requires even more new parts)?

http://www.webopedia.com/

e. ...your computer is used by a "trojan" to attack other peoples' machines, steal private information from your machine and others, record your keystrokes, or any one of a few more unpleasant things?

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Why worry?

Well, at the least, you will have to spend time solving the problem, and, unless you're an intermediate to advanced computer user, you'll probably have to spend some $ to have someone else restore your computer back to normal.

Not sure what a "virus," "trojan," or "worm" is? Read all about them (and more) at about.com 's antivirus section.

http://antivirus.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-virus.htm

To learn about some of the current threats, check out the Trend Micro links on the right.

http://www.trendmicro.com

Malicious intrusions are compromising thousands of computers every day–this is something that CAN happen on your computer. The following guidelines are the minimum precautions you should take.

The Barest Basics–your actions:

a. Don't open e-mail attachments from anyone you don't know!

(Never, never, ever... curiosity can kill more than a cat.)

b. If you DO know the sender, save any file attached to an e-mail message; then use an anti-virus program to scan the attachment before you open it.

(Yup, even the new baby pics. Just make scanning "the thing you automatically do - no matter how silly it seems.")

How do you scan the saved file? See the instructions below:

To "scan" a file with your anti-virus program:

1. Open the file manager (hold down the Windows key, tap the letter E on your keyboard, or, go to "My Computer" on your desktop)
2. Find the file you saved.
3. Right-click on top of the file name.
4. Select your anti-virus program from the list. Click on it.

The anti-virus (AV) program will "run." If it finds a virus, it wll alert you, and then the program may give you choices as to what to do, or, its current settings will automatically respond according to whatever actions are currently "set" in the program.

You can change the settings by opening the actual anti-virus program, looking for "options," "preferences," or similar, and make changes. However, these programs usually install with settings that will protect you well, and, unless you're an intermediate level+ computer user, you probably should leave all as set by the program developers.

c. Stay away from cracker & porn sites.

You "up" your odds of unwanted "things" coming at you on those sites.
(Cracker = malicious hacker)

d. Don't leave your computer connected to the Internet when you're not using the Net.

(i.e. Disconnect your dial-up modems, or physically unhook your cable/dsl modems.) Pathlock.com has an interesting piece of hardware designed to easily disconnect/reconnect high-speed connections.

http://www.pathlock.com/

e. Consider using less well-known browsers and e-mail handling programs. Reduce your odds of receiving & passing on viruses to others by using programs that are not as frequently targetted by virus writers as Microsoft's products are. In addition, many other brands are considered to have more secure settings right "out-of-the-box."

e.g. I always use Mozilla's FireFox (free) for my browsing, and I use The Bat ($) for my e-mail. See our list of free stand-alone e-mail clients and web-site-based e-mail-on the links page of this "Safe Hex" section.

The Barest Basics–software protection:

a. an anti-virus program (always "on" & scanning for viruses)–update the virus definition files 2/3 times per week.

I use and recommend the AVG anti-virus program; it's free for non-commercial use. (There's also a paid Pro version for commercial use.) This program has a small "footprint" and I get automatic daily updates of the "virus definitions." It found a virus for me that my (former) paid anti-virus program did not find.
Company: Grisoft.com

Check the test results many anti-virus programs through the two links below. (Look for the Grisoft/AVG results.)

You'll see that there are many programs that attain 100% results. Some are rather costly to buy; some are free; and some are moderately priced.

Check the quality results for many brands of anti-virus programs at Virus Bulletin: (you will have to register to enter the site -- this is a free service but they need to know who visiting)
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?etrust.xml

Check the same at ICSA Labs:
http://www.icsalabs.com/html/communities/antivirus/certification/certprod.shtml

b. an anti-trojan program (always "on" & scanning for trojans)–check for trojan definition updates 2/3 times per week.

I use Trojan Hunter–not free.
http://www.trojanhunter.com/trojanhunter.jsp
(See reviews at Anti-Trojan Software Reviews and Wilders Org.)

c. a software firewall (always "on" blocking unwanted access to your computer, plus more...)

I use Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Pro–paid & free versions

Steve Gibson of grc.com is quoted on Leo LaPorte's "The Tech Guy Show" as recommending sygate's free firewall program. You can learn about it at the Sygate site: http://soho.sygate.com/

e. an e-mail filtering & previewing program. Open your mail only AFTER you've previewed it on the server-delete spam and other questionable "mail" from the server before bringing in your legitimate mail.

I use MailWasher - I have the original free version which doesn't appear to be available now, however the program is so valuable that you might consider purchasing it.

The programs listed above are the ones I've chosen and believe to be excellent.
MANY other good programs are available–free and otherwise.

Helpful Links:

The following links will lead you to other software choices, and more information.

CKnow.com's

... list of protection guidelines: