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Viruses, worms, and Trojan horses can create
havoc with your computer. They can be irksome, lock up your
computer, destroy your files, attach themselves to your email, and
infect all of your friends' systems. Personal virus scanners can
cause their own problems, from slowness to crashes. Besides, they
may not catch all viruses.
If you use Wikstrom's "first line of defense" wisely, we are
not sure whether or not to recommend a personal anti-virus scanner.
But to be absolutely certain of your own protection, you need to
have your own virus scanner and update it at least weekly, possibly
daily.
A Hoax is a false claim that you have been sent a virus, worm,
etc. See Hoaxes.
"Spyware" or "Adware" is software put on your computer when you
download "Free" (Advertising supported software) programs from the
web. See Spyware.
Protective Measures
Wikstrom Internet provides a "first line of defense",
scanning both incoming and outgoing mail before it is delivered to
your computer (something many internet service providers do not
do). Wikstrom will not guarantee mail free from viruses, however,
and will not accept any liability if viruses are received by its
customers. Wikstrom's machines can fail, causing them to be down
until repaired.
However, Wikstrom's first line of defense may be the only help
many of its customers have. If your personal anti-virus protection
is causing crashes and lock-ups you may feel you have to disable it
at times. Luckily you can rely on what you get from Wikstrom.
Wikstrom's machines are updated daily, and we have personnel on call
to fix them when they are down.
Wikstrom's "first line of defense" will be much more valuable
if customers understand what to do to make it the most effective.
1.
See setting up your Wikstrom SPAM and E-mail filters.
2. Do not receive mail from other e-mail
accounts. Often, children will get free mail boxes from
advertisers on the Internet (Hotmail is one example). E-mail
received and sent from these free mail services are not protected by
Wikstrom's anti-virus scanners. You should have Wikstrom.com
accounts set up for your children. They are free to members of your
household. If you do have free accounts from other sites, you
definitely need a virus scanner on your own computer. See also
Note to Business Customers.
3. Don't open (click on) e-mail attachments
unless you verify their reliability.
Viruses are often sent on emails from people you know and trust.
Viruses attach themselves onto your friends' e-mail without them
knowing. To be safe, you need to read the e-mail carefully to make
sure it is what your friend would write to you. Do they address you
personally? If files are attached, do they explain them to you?
Get in the habit of addressing e-mails, and explaining your
attachments so your friends don't need to be afraid of your mail.
Be suspicious of all attachments that you cannot verify. Look at
their extensions (the last few characters of a file name separated
by a dot like .htm).
If picture files and sound files are logical related to the e-mail
you got, they may not be a problem.
Picture Files (Safe): .jpg .jpeg .gif .tiff .jfif .psd
Sound Files (Safe): .mp3 .aiff .au .wav .ra
Video (Safe): .avi .ram .mpeg
Players (Safe): .mov .qt
Adobe Acrobate (Safe): .pdf
Photoshop (Safe): .psd
However, be careful of all files that are
executable. Executable files can have the following extensions:
.ade: Microsoft Access project extension
.adp: Microsoft Access project
.bas: Microsoft Visual Basic class module
.bat: Batch file
.chm: Compiled HTML Help file
.cmd: Microsoft Windows NT Command script
.com: Microsoft MS-DOS program
.cpl: Control Panel extension
.crt: Security certificate
.dll windows program
.exe: Program
.hlp: Help file
.hta: HTML program
.inf: Setup Information
.ins: Internet Naming Service
.isp: Internet Communication settings
.js: JScript file
.jse: Jscript Encoded Script file
.lnk: Shortcut
.mdb: Microsoft Access program
.mde: Microsoft Access MDE database
.msc: Microsoft Common Console document
.msi: Microsoft Windows Installer package
.msp: Microsoft Windows Installer patch
.mst: Microsoft Visual Test source files
.pcd: Photo CD image, Microsoft Visual compiled script
.pif: Shortcut to MS-DOS program
.reg: Registration entries
.scr: Screen saver
.sct: Windows Script Component
.shs: Shell Scrap object
.shb: Shell Scrap object
.url: Internet shortcut
.vb: VBScript file
.vbe: VBScript Encoded script file
.vbs: VBScript file
.wsc: Windows Script Component
.wsf: Windows Script file
.wsh: Windows Script Host Settings file
Compressed and Encoded Files contain
other files. As a result, they can be safe or dangerous
depending on what they contain. Compressed and encoded files can
have the following extensions:
.arc .arj .bin .exe .zip .gz .gzip .hqz .sit .sea .tar
.tar/.tar .gz/.tar .Z/.tgc .uu .Z .zip
4. Update your browser, email program, and
operating system regularly to patch security holes.
Sometimes you can click on an automatic update icon to get a
quick update. Microsoft Windows users should visit
Windows Update.
5. Backup your files
Create a working directory folder where you keep all your
files. Anytime you create or modify a file, save it to this
location.
If you have a rewritable CD drive, keep a CD-RW in the drive at all
times. Regularly copy-and-paste your working directory to the CD.
If you have a floppy drive, Zip drive, etc., you can follow the
same procedure. If you have a tape drive consult its manual.
If you are on a network with a file server, you may be able to
use that in place of the CD-RW. Copy the files on the file server to
a tape drive at least once a day. (If you would like to use
Wikstrom's servers to back up your files or fileserver, contact us
and we will make arrangements to do that. A modest fee will be
charged for this service.) See also Note to
Business Customers.
Rotate your backup media each time you perform a backup. Have
ten to fifteen of each so that you have several days' backups
archived. Then at the end of the set, write over the oldest
backup. This is important because your computer might get a virus,
worm, or Trojan horse in your backup. If you have several days
archived, you may be able to go back a few days and find a clean
backup.
6. Protect your computer from intruders.
Any computer that is connected to the Internet is at risk for
abuse. Even if you feel that your documents would not be valuable
to electronic thieves, you still need to protect yourself.
otherwise, your computer could be used in a large scale attack
against someone else.
Using personal firewall software is an effective way to
protect your system. Some examples of personal firewall software
include Zone Lab's ZoneAlarm and Sygate's Personal Firewall.
Businesses with networks of their own, however, need to have their
own firewall to be protected. Arrangements can be made with
Wikstrom to provide this essential protection. See
Note to Business Customers below.
Note to
Business Customers:
Wikstrom's first line of defense works for those customers who have
their domain name hosted on our servers. However, many employees
will send and receive personal mail from free mailboxes from other
mail providers (hotmail is an example). Businesses should encourage
their employees to have their personal mailboxes on Wikstrom's
servers to get the extra protection.
Wikstrom's first line of defense does not apply to businesses
that have e-mail service on their own servers. If a business wants
this extra protection, they need to have their mail handled by
Wikstrom's servers, or arrange for Wikstrom to route their mail
through our virus scanning servers. (There will be a minimal fee to
handle this.) Once again, employees need to be advised to get their
personal mail from a Wikstrom account.
Businesses do not need to use Wikstrom as their internet
service provider to have extra mail protection. For example, a
business connected to Sjoberg's can have a domain name mail service
on Wikstrom's servers and send and receive their mail through that
domain name. For example: e-mail for johnscompany.com can be
routed through Wikstrom's servers, with the e-mail being sent and
received at John's Company in Roseau. ( Wikstrom will charge a
modest fee, which will be much less than it would cost to run their
own servers.)
Off-Premise Backup: True security
requires an off-premise backup of your important files. This can be
done easily by using your connection with Wikstrom to backup your
files. If you would like to use Wikstrom's servers to back up your
files or your fileserver, contact us and we will make arrangements.
Secure connections can be arranged to transfer files to servers
dedicated for backup purposes. (A modest fee will be charged for
this service.)
Firewalls: Wikstrom can help install a
firewall on your network. This will help you control who, if
anyone, is allowed to connect to your systems and under which
conditions.
High Speed Internet Access: DSL will give
you more speed for bursty Internet uploads and downloads. If you
need continuous high speed, Wikstrom can provide T1 service,
fractional T1 service, T3 service, an OC-12 connection, or an OC-48
connection. There is no where in Wikstrom's region where you can
not have the best communication service available in the world.
Networks: Wikstrom can help with all your
networking needs. Wikstrom can install your file server, network,
firewall, anti-virus protection, ect. We can maintain your system
for you, too.
Telephone Systems: Wikstrom can install a
key system (for small businesses), a PBX (for larger businesses), or
a full scale switchboard in your plant. Whatever system you choose
will be connected directly into Wikstrom's switching and fiber optic
transmission network to the world.
by Curt Wikstrom |