Help Line: Recovery from virus no sure thing
HELP LINE
Recovery from virus no sure thing
By JAY LEE
Q: My computer at home has a virus. What software should I use to get rid of it completely? Is there a free software program that will get rid of the virus, or do I have to purchase a program?
A: First of all, it is desirable to prevent a virus infection rather than attempt to recover from one.
An antivirus program is designed to stop a virus and is less capable of cleaning up an infected system. Once a computer becomes infected, the damage is done, and it cannot always be repaired.
When kept up to date, a good antivirus program checks e-mail and other files coming into your computer and intercepts the virus before it can deliver its payload.
These payloads include a variety of nasty things like causing your e-mail program to send random infected e-mails to your contacts, rewriting files with infected files, erasing files and programs, and sometimes even completely crippling your system.
You should keep a good antivirus program running on your system at all times if you connect to the Internet.
But rather than using a free antivirus program, I would choose a name brand like Norton or McAfee. The reason is my data is precious to me, and I really want to be protected from virus infections. There are new viruses coming out almost daily and, as a result, your antivirus program frequently needs to be
updated.
Companies that charge for their software have money to pay their developers to stay
on top of things. I just want to know there is someone seriously keeping track.
That said, there are free programs available that are quite good. AVG is one of the more popular free antivirus programs, and many respectable computer users swear by it.
Check out its Web site at www.grisoft.com.
Q: I have a box that pops up on my screen that says, "Do you want to close the connection to the Internet?" How do I get rid of this pain?
A: This is a feature of Windows that kicks off when you close your last Internet application, such as e-mail or Internet Explorer.
You can turn it off within Internet Explorer by clicking "Tools" then "Internet Options" and choosing the "Connections" tab. Find your dial-up connection in the list and highlight it, then select "Settings."
Click on "Advanced" and turn off the "Disconnect when connection may no longer be needed" option.
Click "OK" when you're done.
Q: I always put my PC on standby when I'm not using it. However, ever since I installed SBC DSL, my PC will only stay on standby about 30 seconds and then comes back on all by itself. So now I have to turn it off when not in use. Please help.
A: DSL and cable modems use a network interface card to connect to your PC. In many of the newer computers, there is an option in the BIOS called "Wake on LAN."
This feature is designed to bring a computer out of standby when it detects network activity. This is the likely culprit.
You can enter into the system BIOS and turn this feature off.
Consult your documentation for more information.
HoustonChronicle.com - Help Line: Recovery from virus no sure thing
Recovery from virus no sure thing
By JAY LEE
Q: My computer at home has a virus. What software should I use to get rid of it completely? Is there a free software program that will get rid of the virus, or do I have to purchase a program?
A: First of all, it is desirable to prevent a virus infection rather than attempt to recover from one.
An antivirus program is designed to stop a virus and is less capable of cleaning up an infected system. Once a computer becomes infected, the damage is done, and it cannot always be repaired.
When kept up to date, a good antivirus program checks e-mail and other files coming into your computer and intercepts the virus before it can deliver its payload.
These payloads include a variety of nasty things like causing your e-mail program to send random infected e-mails to your contacts, rewriting files with infected files, erasing files and programs, and sometimes even completely crippling your system.
You should keep a good antivirus program running on your system at all times if you connect to the Internet.
But rather than using a free antivirus program, I would choose a name brand like Norton or McAfee. The reason is my data is precious to me, and I really want to be protected from virus infections. There are new viruses coming out almost daily and, as a result, your antivirus program frequently needs to be
updated.
Companies that charge for their software have money to pay their developers to stay
on top of things. I just want to know there is someone seriously keeping track.
That said, there are free programs available that are quite good. AVG is one of the more popular free antivirus programs, and many respectable computer users swear by it.
Check out its Web site at www.grisoft.com.
Q: I have a box that pops up on my screen that says, "Do you want to close the connection to the Internet?" How do I get rid of this pain?
A: This is a feature of Windows that kicks off when you close your last Internet application, such as e-mail or Internet Explorer.
You can turn it off within Internet Explorer by clicking "Tools" then "Internet Options" and choosing the "Connections" tab. Find your dial-up connection in the list and highlight it, then select "Settings."
Click on "Advanced" and turn off the "Disconnect when connection may no longer be needed" option.
Click "OK" when you're done.
Q: I always put my PC on standby when I'm not using it. However, ever since I installed SBC DSL, my PC will only stay on standby about 30 seconds and then comes back on all by itself. So now I have to turn it off when not in use. Please help.
A: DSL and cable modems use a network interface card to connect to your PC. In many of the newer computers, there is an option in the BIOS called "Wake on LAN."
This feature is designed to bring a computer out of standby when it detects network activity. This is the likely culprit.
You can enter into the system BIOS and turn this feature off.
Consult your documentation for more information.
HoustonChronicle.com - Help Line: Recovery from virus no sure thing
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