My post regarding virus'... Sometimes you have to> (archive)

These viruses can be elusive. Computer consulting is my biz and sometimes your system gets so invaded, the only solution is to reformat the drive and start over. Don't take this comment lightly, because it's a ton of work. You have to make sure you have backed up everything valuable. First go to the Symantec, Trend Micro, and F-Secure sites and look at the instructions for manual (surgical) removal of a virus. These sites all include extremely explicit, step by step instructions for manually removing viruses from your system. The best way to get there is to do a search on the name of the virus in Yahoo.

NO VIRUS PROTECTION is adequate 100% of the time, just like using condoms won't guarantee against fatherhood and disease.

Here is my recent post on the 5 site re: virus:

The link below is a popular company that produces antivirus software. Sometimes, it's a reality check to do their "housecall". Note, you can do the scan without using your e-mail name... just look at the instructions closely. They will download a current virus definition file, and then, on your command, perform a scan on-line.
I had been using Norton for some time, and used this housecall a few months ago. It found 5 viruses in my temporary internet files.

I work on computers and deal with this type of thing daily. Some tips:

1) Be sure to keep your antivirus definitions up to date... update weekly.

2) Be sure to download updates and patches to your browser and mail utility... IE and Outlook or Outlook Express.

3) If you can, don't use Outlook or Outlook Express, as they are heavily targeted. Others to consider are Eudora or Opera (Opera is an exceptionally fast browser with e-mail functions).

4) If you are on broadband (cable/dsl) be sure to use a firewall to avoid hackers... Zone Alarm or Black Ice Defender (they are a PITA, but protections nonetheless). Better is hardware, like Linksys, or D-Link.

5) Don't wait for it to get better... It won't. They will never catch the fluckers who are doing this, and it will not slow down. It's all a big game, or revenge for those doing it.

6) Deal with it.... don't surf without protection.

I spend about 1/3 to 1/2 of my time dealing with viruses. It's been a gold mine for me and I hate it.

PS>>> YOU WILL NOTICE ALSO... I do not use my primary server as my e-mail... That's asking for trouble. I have a website based e-mail as an added shield, because I know that most people are running inadequate virus protection. I change it often. I jump from Yahoo to Excite to Hotmail. It adds another level of protection because these site scan for virus' also.

Trend Micro HouseCall

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