Virus and its variants like worms and Trojans are very harmful to your computer and the office network. They can delete your data, download applications without your knowledge, and modify your Windows system and registry files. Viruses also can steal company information and send it out to the Internet. Also, spam based viruses may cause your company to get listed on a Real-Time Blacklist, which in turn prevents you from sending email to your customers, suppliers and other colleagues.
Your company provides the following resources for business use:
a. A computer
b. Internet Access
c. Email
Avoid using your computer for personal activities, including but not limited to, personal email, shopping, online gaming or casinos, facebook or other social networking sites, and personal instant messaging (yahoo, msn, etc).
Follow these rules to avoid getting a virus on your computer:
1. Do not run, download or forward any unsolicited executables, documents, spreadsheets, etc.
2. Any email you weren’t expecting should be treated with suspicion, even if it comes from someone you know. It is worth calling whoever sent it to you to check that they intended to send you the email.
3. Any instant messages you weren’t expecting should also be treated with suspicion. Avoid clicking on a link or opening attachments received when using your instant messages program (unless you ask for a file or are expecting a file).
4. Avoid visiting and downloading file from suspicious and dangerous websites. These websites usually include those that contain adult content and websites that sell or offer illegal software. These kinds of websites usually have so many suspicious popup windows and applications that upload automatically without our knowledge.
5. Keep Internet browsing to a minimum and use only for business related activities. Avoid personal websites when using company computers.
6. Although JPG, GIF and MP3 files are not normally infected with viruses, some viruses can be disguised as these file types, also some recent software problems with image viewers and/or mp3 players have allowed them to contain viruses. Some caution is recommended when opening these file types. Jokes, pictures, graphics, screensavers and movie files should be treated with the same amount of suspicion as other file types.
7. Ignore emails from banks, unless you have explicitly asked the bank to communicate with you via e-mail.
8. Do not click on popup windows that indicate your computer is not protected or may have a virus. All computers have antivirus software installed. 9. Do not download or install any applications on your computer unless approved by your systems administrator.
10. If you are unsure what to do, contact your systems adminsitrator and ask them to come and look at your computer.
11. If you think you are infected with a virus, contact your system administrator immediately so they can run a virus scan on your computer.
