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Dan Albrich
Manager, Microcomputer Services
dalbrich@uoregon.edu
However, the escalating onslaught of viruses in recent years---including those that infect a Windows PC simply when you connect to the network---has forever changed the minimal set of things you must do to keep your PC free from infection.
Although PC security is a moving target, here is what we would say is the absolute minimum set of things Windows users must do to avoid infection (presuming you connect to the Internet via dial-up modem or ethernet):
1. Enable the automatic update function built in to Windows 2000 and XP. This setting can be found under the system control panel. Note that this automatic update function sometimes fails, so to be on the safe side we recommend manually running Windows Update and Office Update on a weekly basis. Note that running these updates is relatively fast and easy for ethernet-connected users, but much more time consuming for modem users.
2. Install antivirus software---and more importantly---keep it up-to-date! Norton AntiVirus versions 2002 and newer do generally try to automatically update your virus definitions. When you open the application, you'll see your virus definition date displayed on the main status screen. Try not to let your virus definitions get more than a week old. You can update them by clicking on the "LiveUpdate" button when you are connected to the Internet.
3. Install Mozilla (an alternate web browser) and use it instead of Microsoft's Internet Explorer whenever possible. See http://www.mozilla.org/ to download the latest released version.
Note that you can safely install more than one web browser, and we are not suggesting that you delete Internet Explorer (IE). In fact, the Windows Update mechanism and some websites essentially require IE's use. We're simply asking you to use an alternate browser like Mozilla for your general purpose needs, reserving IE's use for cases where you actually require it. This is primarily due to the large number of security vulnerabilities found in IE, many of which have not been patched at this time (for the latest on IE vulnerabilities, see the "Security Alerts" sections on pp. 12 and 15).
4. Install SpyBot. Spybot is a freeware anti-spyware tool. Update its definitions (called "includes") and scan for spyware on a regular basis. SpyBot is included on both the Duckware 2003 and UO Security CDs. You can also download the latest version at http://www.safer-networking.org/ This tool will help make you aware of any spyware that is installed on your system.
You may also wish to look at another excellent program called Ad-aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/). Note, however, that Ad-aware is not free for educational use.
5. Avoid risky computing activities, such as surfing websites for copyrighted material or using peer-to-peer applications to download illicit material. Aside from the obvious copyright considerations, also note that the content on these sites may include viruses which have been renamed as a ploy to trick you into opening them.