|  Welcome
to my hot flashes!
This is my
first hot flash, so I suppose I'll start
off with my pet peeve,
PC security.
There are
many aspects to PC security, but I wish
to focus on viruses on this rant. Yes, readers,
there are new viruses, worms and Trojans
created every day and you must keep your
virus files up-to-date to protect your PC.
It's always
possible that some things can slip through,
so here's a tip that may help you out.
Never open an e-mail from
any software/computer company advising that
there is an update attached. These companies
DO NOT send emails. They leave this task
up to you. You must go to their sites and
download the updates yourself. If you receive
one of these letters, it is most likely
a virus and will cause some type of damage
to your PC, if you open them. Even if you
are running up-to-date anti-virus protection,
your best defense is to delete the e-mail
without reading it.
Currently, there are two viruses of this
type spreading rapidly on the internet. Below are their names
and what they appear as in your e-mail:
1. W32.Darker.Worm
Subject of e-mail: Microsoft Windows Outlook
Express urgent updates
Attachment: SVCHOST.EXE
This worm compromises your security settings
by attempting to terminate processes
associated with your security software and
also allows remote access to your PC.
To read more about this worm, visit the
Symantec site:
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.darker.worm.html
2. W32.Swen.A@mm
This one has been around for awhile, but
is still spreading and is particularly nasty.
It poses as a Microsoft update and looks
very authentic, because the creator(s) cleverly
used some nice graphics in the body of the
letter. Here's a typical example:
To read more about Swen,
go to the Symantec site:
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.swen.a@mm.html
Even though you can probably
never be 100% protected, having a good UP-TO-DATE
antivirus program and a firewall goes a
long way in preventing many headaches.
Windows Tip:
I am also going to give
a few helpful tips to make using your PC
easier and safer. This
Hot Flash tip will keep you from inadvertantly
running a virus in your e-mail without you
having actually opened the mail.
The Outlook Express Preview
Pane allows you to read the messages in
your Inbox below the message list by simply
highlighting the email in the message list.
If you have this preview pane turned on,
you have made your PC vulnerable to any
e-mail virus that you may have received
which was not picked up by your antivirus
software.
To turn off the preview
pane.
In Outlook Express:
1.Open Outlook Express
2.Click on the "View" drop-down
menu at the top.
3.Click on "Layout..." and a
window will open titled, "Window
Layout Properties"
4.In the section for "Preview Pane."
5.Untick the box that says, "Show
preview pane."
6.Click "Apply"
7.Click "OK"
In Microsoft
Outlook:
1.Open Outlook
2.Click to your Inbox
3.Click on the "View" drop-down
menu at the top.
4.Click "Preview Pane," if it
is ticked to turn it off.*
*Outlook allows you
to turn on or off, the preview pane in
each folder.
You have now made your
PC more secure by turning off the preview
pane. Now, simply double click on the message
in your Inbox to read it.
Always remember, practice
safe hex!!
7 November 2003
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