Second line of defence

Just installing an anti-virus is not enough. Here are a few steps that are essential even with an anti-virus software installed.

Just installing an anti-virus is not enough.

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Here are a few steps that are essential even with an anti-virus software installed.

Create an emergency disk which will contain the DOS version of the anti-virus software along with the ability to clean viruses. The emergency disk should be a bootable CD or a bootable floppy. Write-protect the floppy and store it safely.

Set your anti-virus software to automatically download the updates. If automatic updates are not available, check for updates at least once a week.

Set up the anti-virus software to automatically scan downloads and e-mail.

Set up the anti-virus software to automatically scan any removable media, especially if you copy files from the removable media.

Do not disable the anti-virus software that is residing in the taskbar and monitoring all files.

Schedule a virus scan once every week.

In the settings for the anti-virus software, enable the highest protection possible. Keep it to scan all files by default (as opposed to only program files).

Set the setting to automatically clean the file if a virus is found and, if cleaning is not possible, to isolate the file or delete it. This will allow you to schedule automated scanning without your intervention in case a virus is found.

Do not disable logging for any virus scans. Make it a point to view the logs after every scheduled scan or a full-system scan.