Here is some info to help you get your computer safe from viruses. Installation of firewall product ZONEALARM - can be replaced by a windows firewall (included in Windows XP). See the following link for details on this. Installation of alternate browser product FIREFOX - is optional, but recommended. You may want to check out other free or low-cost alternatives.
If you already have an antivirus software or have performed antivirus scanning, then this information may only be useful for comparing notes or checking out the various sites I linked to from this page. (or downloading a competitor product for evaluation)
TIME REQUIRED: You will need to restart your computer in safe mode to run the scans, and then restart again to get all the windows updates installed. So you can count on it taking about 2 hours (or more) of your time... though during the scans, which take the longest, you don't need to be there. It's a good opportunity to catch up on TV watching :)
you have access to the internet, for downloading required security software (antivirus programs and firewalls)
you will use the product ANTIVIR for antivirus program and ZONEALARM for firewall. These are just my own choices. There is myriad other software to choose from.
1- print out this email
2- download ANTIVIR from http://www.free-av.com/, and then click on the "AntiVir" sign - gets you the install file avwinsfx.exe)
3- let it run the first time, and download the virus definition files
4- download ZONEALARM (software firewall) from the website
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp
- click on "free download".
Note: you can also configure Windows XP firewall
and skip this step.
5- Windows Update: point your INTERNET EXPLORER browser to www.windowsupdate.com and download the latest patches for your computer (it checks your computer to determine which patches you still need) (5 min - you have to let it check and the choose from the list - choose all if you have DSL).
6- Do NOT restart your computer when windows update asks you.
7- Optional download the FIREFOX Browser from http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
8- In case they did not automatically install, install the software from steps above (ANTIVIR, ZONEALARM, and/or FIREFOX) by running the .exe self-extracting files.
9- restart computer
10- hit F8 as soon as the computer gets past the hardware check (the first thing after reboot) - choose SAFE MODE
11- run Antivir.exe and direct it to perform a full system scan (this should scan all your local drives). Note, you can choose to take a shortcut and only scan your windows folder (where most viruses are found). This is C:\WINNT (for Windows 2000) or C:\Windows for Windows XP. Otherwise you can just choose "C:\"). This will take a little time to run.
12- If Antivir finds any viruses, tell it to remove /delete automatically (I think the default setting is "quarantine")
13- Restart computer again
14- Let windows update install all the stuff it needs to install (the windows update files).
15- Next time you try to logon to the internet the program ZONEALARM should turn on. It's helpful to take a look at some of the default settings. Typically at first it is set to block most programs on your computer. when it does this it should show a little pop-up window, where you can check "remember this setting", and "allow" the program (if you know the program is needed, like services.exe, firefox, chat tools).
16- If you did not choose "Automatic Updates" for Windows run INTERNET EXPLORER and point again to www.windowsupdate.com. Again, let it check your computer for needed updates. If it again finds updates (which may happen, because some MS "patches" are dependent on others), download these and install them.
17- I recommend using only FIREFOX from now on to browse web pages (it blocks popups and protects your computer very nicely). But you cannot get windows updates using FIREFOX :-(
18- To really get you in the habit of using FIREFOX I would remove the shortcuts to INTERNET EXPLORER from your desktop / taskbar (for me IE explorer has become a habit that's hard to break)