Advice

“The rule ‘don’t open suspicious attachments’ is a bit misleading. It should be more along the lines of ‘don’t open attachments unless you’re expecting them.’ Don’t put anything in public web space, even if you think nobody will find it, unless you have a good reason to do so.”

“Only open attachments or programs that you are expecting. Sometimes spyware or viruses will pretend to be software that will ‘update your clock’ or even ‘remove a virus your system is infected with.’ If you’re in doubt, don’t click the link, or call and ask for help.”

- Kian

“DO: Keep your computer clean. Scan with a virus scanner and Ad-Aware maybe once a week. Defrag your computer once a month. DON’T: Enter links sent to you from friends in instant messages, even if its a good friend.”

- Kyler

“Be careful with IM links!!! If they don’t open right away in your web browser, don’t click OK on any security warnings. Do consider that just because you recogize the name doesn’t mean it is that person sending you something; they could be infected.”

- Nick

“Be careful when downloading music sharing programs, since most of the time they are full of spyware. Even some ’songs’ are actually viruses in disguise. Be careful about clicking links sent to you out of the blue in instant message programs. They may contain links that are actually malicious viruses.”

- Laura

“Keep your virus scanner updated! Almost all virus infections happen on computers without an updated virus scanner. Never download an unexpected attachment, and never click on a link in AIM or other chat programs, even if you’re talking to your best friend. If you use an email client like Thunderbird or Outlook, turn images in email off; many viruses masquerade as innocent pictures. Watch for any odd behavior - strange error messages, programs you do not recognize, sudden changes to your desktop wallpaper, etc - which can indicate that you may already be infected with a virus. And most importantly, make smart decisions about what you view or download.”

- Leo

“Don’t solely rely on AdAware. It works well and it gets most of the spyware but I always run SpyBot Search and Destroy as well. It will occasionally get something that AdAware misses.”

- Michael

“Remember that anything you put up on the internet is no longer private, no matter what you might think. Don’t post anything that could come back to bite you later on in life.”

- Pat