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Answer: All kinds. The most widespread virus is an email virus. An email virus spreads itself through email attachments. It spreads by mailing itself to everyone within the email program's address book. It does this nefarious trick by getting the email recipient to think the message was sent from someone they know and is therefore harmless. This is skillful for the first rule of computer security is to not open up emails from people you don't know. So, you can see how devious this particular virus is.

Viruses can do everything from causing your printer not to run to literally deleting every file on your hard drive. They run from the odd to the downright virulent.

Believe me when I say there are all types of computer viruses. (For more information on the different types of virus, you can check out McAfee's virus database here at http://www.mcafee.com/anti-virus/default.asp and Symantec's virus encyclopedia here at http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html.)

One type of virus is a Trojan horse. However, it's actually not a virus. It is a computer program that acts like it's something it's not. In other words, it mimics real software. For example, you may download a program that you thought was a simple computer game. However, when you run the program, it may delete files on your hard drive. As of this writing, most Trojan horses can't automatically replicate themselves.

Another widespread program is known as a worm. I've had a computer worm and they can reap havoc on your system. A worm is a small piece of software that travels through vulnerable computer networks that have security holes. The worm scans the network in search of other computers with security holes. Its core code also allows itself to copy itself to each system it finds.

Viruses can infect any type of executable code such as the basic EXE files. Most media files such as GIF, WAV, AVI, MP3, JPG, MOV, BMP, and TXT files tend to be safe. Microsoft Word files (.doc files) are also prone to viruses.

Although viruses are terrible, computer virus hoaxes can also be problematic. For example, virus hoaxes could conceivably cause Web surfers to begin ignoring all virus warnings. You can see the problem. This could be really harmful, as they are then left vulnerable to actual virus warnings from the anti-virus software.

Moreover, many virus hoaxes also include a miraculous fix' that instructs the user to delete a certain file from their computer system. The problem is that the file the hoax says is a virus is actually an important file that is needed by your computer to run properly

Rule of Thumb: You should never ever follow the advice within an email virus alert instructing you to remove a virus from your system without verifying its authenticity.

Here are a few simple steps to follow.

1) Purchase a good virus protection software and keep its definitions updated. I recommend McAfee http://www.mcafee.com and Norton http://www.symantec.com. McAfee doesn't slow down your system, Norton does. It's noticeable -- at least on mine.

2) If you're using Microsoft programs, a business standard today, then make sure that the "Macro Virus Protection" is always enabled. You should never run a macro within a Word document, for example, unless you know what it does.

3) Never open an email attachment unless you're sure who it came from. We already talked about this.

4) Avoid downloading software programs from sources you're not familiar with. Places like www.download.com are good. However, if you do download software programs, you should ensure you can scan the file with your anti-virus software before it's installed.

Question: What are firewalls? Do I really need one?

Answer: Yes, you need it. Firewalls can be hardware or software solutions. A firewall is basically something that allows you full access to the Internet and/or your network. It also restricts access to your computer system from outside intrusions. A URL alert firewall and realm and ntlm and firewall may be of interest to some as well, but I won't cover it here in this article.

Firewalls are needed as Web surfers are incredibly vulnerable to hackers, especially if you have cable or ADSL access to the Net. You definitely need to protect your computer system. ZoneAlarm is a good one. You simply need it -- it's basic to computer security today.

Without a firewall, hackers could directly access your computer system by installing programs such as a key logger thus allowing them to read every keystroke you make -- in real time. This information is recorded and sent back to your friendly neighborhood hacker. Without a firewall, private information like passwords and credit card numbers could be stolen.

Question: What's a key logger?

Answer: It is a small software program that quietly runs in the background as a memory resident program. As these programs quite often run in DOS, you will most-likely never realize it's running. You can see if a key logger is running by pressing 'control' - 'alt' - 'delete' on your keyboard. In Windows, this brings up the Task Manager and alows you to see a list of all the programs currently running. Do this occasionally and scan the list, watching for programs you don't recognize.

As there are many small programs such as adware (advertising software) and spyware (spy software) cookies that can bypass your firewall software (and even your anti-virus), I recommend using a program like Pest Patrol http://www.pestpatrol.com/ or AdAware. These programs can detect and remove non-viral malware (malicious software).

If you really want to keep your computer safe, I recommend doing the following:

1) Get a good virus program like McAfee or Norton and keep its definitions updated 2) Get a good anti-spyware software like Pest Patrol or AdAware. 3) Purchase a good firewall program and keep it updated.

Taking the time to protect your computer is one of the best business decisions you'll ever make. If you don't protect it now, you'll definitely regret it later. It's just a matter of time.

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