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Written by Tony Phelps
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Thursday, 17 November 2005 |
Anti-virus software is standard for a computer, whether used at home,
for business, or in government. It is especially important for any
computers used for email. But simply installing the software is not
enough.
The human flu virus regularly sweeps around the world, each time as a
slightly different version. Usually, scientists are quick to develop an
inoculation injection which can be made in large quantities and sent
around the world to prevent infection. The same applies to computer
viruses.
New variants of existing viruses and completely new viruses are
released onto the internet every week. They spread with astonishing
speed, infecting millions within hours. Similar to chain email, they
clog up the internet and workplace networks, prevent access to
websites, fill mailboxes with rubbish email, or stop computers working
properly. And the trouble is, they never go away.
Anti-virus software is supposed to detect viruses as they get into the
computer, and either “cure” them (by deleting only the virus software
code) or “quarantine” them (by putting the infected files into a
special location). But like a doctor giving an injection, the
anti-virus software is only as good as its inoculation – if the
inoculation is out-of-date, it won’t work.
Anti-virus software has to be constantly updated, and nowadays the
minimum is weekly updates, daily being better. With internet
connections in Vanuatu being so expensive, and downloading updates
taking so long, it is very tempting not to bother – it can take 5
minutes or so for a regular update, and up to 20 minutes for a major
update. However, compare what it would cost to catch a virus ; how much
would it cost to have someone re-install all the software, how much
would it cost to lose data that hasn’t been backed up? How long would
you wait while your email software told you it was downloading emails
for you, while all the time it was just sending out a virus email to
all your friends & colleagues?
As they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
Which in metric terms, means 28.4 grams of prevention is worth 0.454
kilos of cure… See your online anti-virus doctor today, and if you
don’t have one, see a computer health practitioner! |
