1: Install Quality Antivirus: Download The PDF Version

IT professionals must encourage their users to follow several security
practices to minimize virus, spyware, and malware exposure. But many

computer techs are too busy to spread the word, or they don't have the time to
build an appropriate memo or handout.
With that in mind, here's a handy reference list of 10 steps end users can
adopt to avoid infection (including when using home systems to read and
send work e-mail, create, edit, and distribute documents and spreadsheets,
access the corporate VPN, and perform other office tasks). Post this list on
your Intranet, distribute it in an e-mail, or download the PDF version and pass
it along to end users. Just be sure the word gets out. Otherwise, you're likely
to find yourself losing precious time cleaning and repairing infected systems or
entire networks.
1: Install quality antivirus

Many computer users believe free antivirus applications, such as those
included with an Internet service provider's bundled service offering, are
sufficient to protect a computer from virus or spyware infection. However,
such free anti-malware programs typically don't provide adequate protection
from the ever-growing list of threats.
Instead, all Windows users should install professional, business-grade

antivirus software on their PCs. Pro-grade antivirus programs update more
frequently throughout the day (thereby providing timely protection against fast-
emerging vulnerabilities), protect against a wider range of threats (such as
rootkits), and enable additional protective features (such as custom scans).
2: Install real-time anti-spyware protection

Many computer users mistakenly believe that a single antivirus program with
integrated spyware protection provides sufficient safeguards from adware and
spyware. Others think free anti-spyware applications, combined with an
antivirus utility, deliver capable protection from the skyrocketing number of
spyware threats.
Unfortunately, that's just not the case. Most free anti-spyware programs do not
provide real-time, or active, protection from adware, Trojan, and other
spyware infections. While many free programs can detect spyware threats
once they've infected a system, typically professional (or fully paid and
licensed) anti-spyware programs are required to prevent infections and fully
remove those infections already present.
3: Keep anti-malware applications current
Antivirus and anti-spyware programs require regular signature and database
updates. Without these critical updates, anti-malware programs are unable to
protect PCs from the latest threats.
In early 2009, antivirus provider AVG released statistics revealing that a lot of
serious computer threats are secretive and fast-moving. Many of these
infections are short-lived, but they're estimated to infect as many as 100,000
to 300,000 new Web sites a day.
Computer users must keep their antivirus and anti-spyware applications up to

date. All Windows users must take measures to prevent license expiration,
thereby ensuring that their anti-malware programs stay current and continue
providing protection against the most recent threats. Those threats now
spread with alarming speed, thanks to the popularity of such social media
sites as Twitter, Facebook, and My Space.
4: Perform daily scans

Occasionally, virus and spyware threats escape a system's active protective
engines and infect a system. The sheer number and volume of potential and
new threats make it inevitable that particularly inventive infections will
outsmart security software. In other cases, users may inadvertently instruct
anti-malware software to allow a virus or spyware program to run.
Regardless of the infection source, enabling complete, daily scans of a

system's entire hard drive adds another layer of protection. These daily scans
can be invaluable in detecting, isolating, and removing infections that initially
escape security software's attention.
5: Disable autorun
Many viruses work by attaching themselves to a drive and automatically
installing themselves on any other media connected to the system. As a
result, connecting any network drives, external hard disks, or even thumb
drives to a system can result in the automatic propagation of such threats.
Computer users can disable the Windows autorun feature by following

Microsoft's recommendations, which differ by operating system. Microsoft
Knowledge Base articles 967715and 967940 are frequently referenced for this
purpose.
6: Disable image previews in Outlook
Simply receiving an infected Outlook e-mail message, one in which graphics
code is used to enable the virus' execution, can result in a virus infection.
Prevent against automatic infection by disabling image previews in Outlook.
By default, newer versions of Microsoft Outlook do not automatically display

images. But if you or another user has changed the default security settings,
you can switch them back (using Outlook 2007) by going to Tools | Trust
Center, highlighting the Automatic Download option, and selecting Don't
Download Pictures Automatically In HTML E-Mail Messages Or RSS.
7: Don't click on email links or attachments

It's a mantra most every Windows user has heard repeatedly: Don't click on
email links or attachments. Yet users frequently fail to heed the warning.
Whether distracted, trustful of friends or colleagues they know, or simply

fooled by a crafty email message, many users forget to be wary of links and
attachments included within email messages, regardless of the source. Simply
clicking on an email link or attachment can, within minutes, corrupt Windows,
infect other machines, and destroy critical data.
Users should never click on email attachments without at least first scanning
them for viruses using a business-class anti-malware application. As for
clicking on links, users should access Web sites by opening a browser and
manually navigating to the sites in question.
8: Surf smart
Many business-class anti-malware applications include browser plug-ins that
help protect against drive-by infections, phishing attacks (in which pages
purport to serve one function when in fact they try to steal personal, financial,
or other sensitive information), and similar exploits. Still others provide "link
protection," in which Web links are checked against databases of known-bad
pages.
Whenever possible, these preventive features should be deployed and

enabled. Unless the plug-ins interfere with normal Web browsing, users
should leave them enabled. The same is true for automatic pop-up blockers,
such as are included in Internet Explorer 8, Google's toolbar, and other
popular browser toolbars.
Regardless, users should never enter user account, personal, financial, or
other sensitive information on any Web page at which they haven't manually
arrived. They should instead open a Web browser, enter the address of the
page they need to reach, and enter their information that way, instead of
clicking on a hyperlink and assuming the link has directed them to the proper
URL. Hyperlinks contained within an e-mail message often redirect users to
fraudulent, fake, or unauthorized Web sites. By entering Web addresses
manually, users can help ensure that they arrive at the actual page they
intend.
But even manual entry isn't foolproof. Hence the justification for step 10:
Deploy DNS protection. More on that in a moment.
9: Use a hardware-based firewall

Technology professionals and others argue the benefits of software- versus
hardware-based firewalls. Often, users encounter trouble trying to share
printers, access network resources, and perform other tasks when deploying
third-party software-based firewalls. As a result, I've seen many cases where
firewalls have simply been disabled altogether.
But a reliable firewall is indispensable, as it protects computers from a wide

variety of exploits, malicious network traffic, viruses, worms, and other
vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, by itself, the software-based firewall included
with Windows isn't sufficient to protect systems from the myriad robotic
attacks affecting all Internet-connected systems. For this reason, all PCs
connected to the Internet should be secured behind a capable hardware-
based firewall.
10: Deploy DNS protection

Internet access introduces a wide variety of security risks. Among the most
disconcerting may be drive-by infections, in which users only need to visit a
compromised Web page to infect their own PCs (and potentially begin
infecting those of customers, colleagues, and other staff).
Another worry is Web sites that distribute infected programs, applications, and
Trojan files. Still another threat exists in the form of poisoned DNS attacks,
whereby a compromised DNS server directs you to an unauthorized Web
server. These compromised DNS servers are typically your ISP's systems,
which usually translate friendly URLs such as yahoo.com to numeric IP
addresses like 69.147.114.224.
Users can protect themselves from all these threats by changing the way their
computers process DNS services. While a computer professional may be
required to implement the switch, OpenDNS offers free DNS services to
protect users against common phishing, spyware, and other Web-based
hazards.

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IT professionals must encourage their users to follow several security

practices to minimize virus, spyware, and malware exposure. But many

1: Install quality antivirus

Instead, all Windows users should install professional, business-grade

2: Install real-time anti-spyware protection

Computer users must keep their antivirus and anti-spyware applications up to

4: Perform daily scans

Regardless of the infection source, enabling complete, daily scans of a

Computer users can disable the Windows autorun feature by following

By default, newer versions of Microsoft Outlook do not automatically display

7: Don't click on email links or attachments

Whether distracted, trustful of friends or colleagues they know, or simply

Whenever possible, these preventive features should be deployed and

9: Use a hardware-based firewall

But a reliable firewall is indispensable, as it protects computers from a wide

10: Deploy DNS protection

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