Virus Information

What is a virus

A general and not very precise definition is: it's a small program written purposefully to cause harm to a computer.

Symptoms

  • General slowness of computer
  • Programs not functioning
  • Your friends telling you that you keep sending them viruses via Instant Messenger or email.

Prevention

Keeping your Operating System up to date

Every time a security hole is discovered in the operating system (Windows XP), Microsoft releases a new critical update. It is very important that you install these critical update to avoid the hassle of your computer being attacked by viruses.

By default, your computer is set to download the critical updates automatically. The only thing you have to do is to install them. Whenever a little bubble comes up saying that 'New updates have been downloaded and are ready to be installed', click on that bubble and proceed through the installation process.

Before you start installing the updates, it is important that you save and close all your documents and close all other programs.

Keeping your virus definitions up to date

Symantec Antivirus installed on your computer should update itself automatically whenever you connect to Internet. New updates are generally released every Wednesday. You can check if your antivirus is up to date by doubble-clicking on  in your system tray in the bottom right corner of your screen. If the icon is not there, it may indicate that your computer is already infected. To update the virus definitions manually...

  1. While connected to internet, open Symantec Antivirus by double-clicking on the icon in the taskbar.
  2. Click on 'Live Update' and proceed with updating the virus definitions. This step is critical for prevention and for cleaning viruses.

Scanning and cleaning

  1. Open Symantec Antivirus by double-clicking on the icon in the taskbar.
  2. Click on Scan and then on Scan Computer.
  3. Select 'Local Disk (C:)' and hit 'Scan'
  4. This scan generally takes about an hour. It will automatically quarantine (disarm) viruses that are found. If you see that 'quarantine succeeded', your computer is safe.
  5. If you get a message saying that the quarantine failed and clean failed, you need to restart your computer and repeat the cleaning instructions running in safe mode.
  6. If you can't clean your computer from viruses even in the safe mode, back up all the files you care for on a CD, memory key or H: drive and bring your computer to TechSupport for reimaging.