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Don't become a victim! Emails, floppy disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and even web pages can
act as carriers of viruses. Practicing these simple habits will help protect your system:
act as carriers of viruses. Practicing these simple habits will help protect your system:
Beware of “phishing” scams. In recent months, there have been numerous emails circulating the Internet
that attempt to lure the recipient into divulging personal and financial data. These cunning emails have
fooled some consumers into downloading worms and Trojans (programs that allow your computer to be
hijacked), while others have masqueraded as security updates from Microsoft. Other phony emails contain
links to forged versions of actual websites (Citibank, PayPal), and ask the user to go to that site to update
his/her account information (credit card numbers, social security numbers, passwords, etc). In reality this is
just an elaborate scam to acquire your private information. Unfortunately, most of these emails take great
measures to appear legitimate, and their attachments or Internet links often seem like the real thing.
Most companies will never send you an Internet link to update your account information. Typically the only
way to be assured that you are visiting a legitimate website is for you to manually type the web address into
your web browser, or to search for the company’s name on an Internet search engine like Google. For
now, it is best to be cautious and to avoid email links that ask for any personal data. Also, please
remember that Microsoft never sends Windows updates or security patches to anyone via email. In
addition, Mad City Techs also strongly urges you not to open any file attached to an email unless you are
100% positive that the attachment is safe. As an extra measure of precaution, before opening any
attachments it would be advisable to perform a virus scan on them to ensure that they are not accidentally
infected
Never open attachments that are executable such as simple programs, games, or screensavers (these will
contain file extensions of ".exe", ".vbs", and ".scr"). Also, never open attachments that contain a double file
extension (such as ".txt.vbs").
Scan all floppies, CD-ROMs, and DVD-ROMs that are inserted into your computer. You just never know if a
nasty virus is lurking on a seemingly innocent disk.
When sending word-processing attachments via email, send them as a rich-text file, (.rtf) instead of a
Microsoft Word document (.doc). This will eliminate the threat of spreading macro viruses (which can infect
Microsoft Word and Excel documents).
Don't install pirated software onto your computer! Illegal copies of software (which can be downloaded from
hacker websites or traded via file-sharing programs) often contain hidden viruses.
Before installing any software, be sure you know exactly what is being copied onto your system.
Sometimes seemingly-innocent software can contain viruses or sneaky "Trojan horse" programs that can
allow hackers to take control of your computer. This is particularly true of file-sharing programs that allow
you to trade MP3s, videos, etc. --such as Kazaa, AudioGalaxy, Morpheus/MusicCity, LimeWire, BearShare,
and iMesh, which are all rife with Trojan horses.
As a precaution, backup all of the important files on your computer. There's nothing quite like the peace of
mind that comes with knowing that copies of your irreplaceable data are safe from viruses or other threats.
that attempt to lure the recipient into divulging personal and financial data. These cunning emails have
fooled some consumers into downloading worms and Trojans (programs that allow your computer to be
hijacked), while others have masqueraded as security updates from Microsoft. Other phony emails contain
links to forged versions of actual websites (Citibank, PayPal), and ask the user to go to that site to update
his/her account information (credit card numbers, social security numbers, passwords, etc). In reality this is
just an elaborate scam to acquire your private information. Unfortunately, most of these emails take great
measures to appear legitimate, and their attachments or Internet links often seem like the real thing.
Most companies will never send you an Internet link to update your account information. Typically the only
way to be assured that you are visiting a legitimate website is for you to manually type the web address into
your web browser, or to search for the company’s name on an Internet search engine like Google. For
now, it is best to be cautious and to avoid email links that ask for any personal data. Also, please
remember that Microsoft never sends Windows updates or security patches to anyone via email. In
addition, Mad City Techs also strongly urges you not to open any file attached to an email unless you are
100% positive that the attachment is safe. As an extra measure of precaution, before opening any
attachments it would be advisable to perform a virus scan on them to ensure that they are not accidentally
infected
Never open attachments that are executable such as simple programs, games, or screensavers (these will
contain file extensions of ".exe", ".vbs", and ".scr"). Also, never open attachments that contain a double file
extension (such as ".txt.vbs").
Scan all floppies, CD-ROMs, and DVD-ROMs that are inserted into your computer. You just never know if a
nasty virus is lurking on a seemingly innocent disk.
When sending word-processing attachments via email, send them as a rich-text file, (.rtf) instead of a
Microsoft Word document (.doc). This will eliminate the threat of spreading macro viruses (which can infect
Microsoft Word and Excel documents).
Don't install pirated software onto your computer! Illegal copies of software (which can be downloaded from
hacker websites or traded via file-sharing programs) often contain hidden viruses.
Before installing any software, be sure you know exactly what is being copied onto your system.
Sometimes seemingly-innocent software can contain viruses or sneaky "Trojan horse" programs that can
allow hackers to take control of your computer. This is particularly true of file-sharing programs that allow
you to trade MP3s, videos, etc. --such as Kazaa, AudioGalaxy, Morpheus/MusicCity, LimeWire, BearShare,
and iMesh, which are all rife with Trojan horses.
As a precaution, backup all of the important files on your computer. There's nothing quite like the peace of
mind that comes with knowing that copies of your irreplaceable data are safe from viruses or other threats.
Latest Virus & Security Info
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