Daniel Tynan claims to have unearthed two stone tablets that can help deliver us from the evils of nasty viruses, worms, and Trojan horses.

I. Remember thy antivirus software and keep it updated. It’s
not enough to have the software installed (if you don’t have an antivirus
package, stop reading right now and get one); you also need to keep up with new
viruses as they emerge.

II. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s attachments. You
get a message you think is from a friend with what looks like a cool file
attached, so you click on it. Next thing you know, you’re Typhoid Mary, spewing
out infected e-mails to everyone in your address book. That’s how the Sobig.F
worm spread–and it happened so quickly that millions of copies got out before the
antivirus companies could update their databases.

III. Avoideth bogus file downloads. Be wary of any Web site
that requires you to download software to view a page, unless it’s something
familiar like a Flash plug-in or Acrobat Reader. The file may contain a virus,
a Trojan horse, or some auto-dialer that calls pay-per-minute numbers via your
modem and racks up huge charges.

IV. Smite spyware and pop-ups. Like Trojan horse programs,
spyware secretly installs itself when you download software like file-swapping
applications; it tracks your movements online and delivers ads based on where
you surf. Pop-up ads can also exploit security flaws in Internet Explorer, like
the recent Qhost Trojan that hijacked users’ browsers after they viewed an ad
on the Fortune City Web site.

V. Thou shalt foil spammers. Unsolicited commercial e-mail
is more than just a nuisance; it’s also a major source of virus infections. In
fact, some versions of Sobig are designed to turn infected PCs into zombie
machines that can be used to send spam. A good filter like Symantec’s Norton
AntiSpam ties your antivirus software might miss.

VI. Keep thy operating system patched. E-mail-borne worms
and other scourges like to exploit security holes in your software–namely
Windows and other Microsoft programs. These days Microsoft issues so many
critical updates to fix these flaws that many users ignore them. Don’t. Last
January, the Slammer worm exploited a vulnerability that Microsoft had fixed
more than six months before. But thousands of infected computers–including some
at Microsoft–didn’t have the patch installed. Run the Windows Update program
once a week and whenever Microsoft issues a warning.

VII. Maketh a rescue disk and keep it handy. When things go
bad, a boot or rescue disk is your first step to recovery.

VIII. Be not taken in by false claims. There are more
hoaxers than hackers on the Internet, and more bogus “e-mail virus alerts” than
actual viruses. Even real virus threats are typically blown out of proportion
by the media.

IX. Honor thy firewall. A firewall is like a bouncer for
your computer–it checks every ID at the door and won’t let anything in or out
until you give the thumbs up. So a hacker can’t access personal information on
your hard drive, and a Trojan horse keystroke logger (a stealth program that
monitors the characters you type) can’t steal your passwords and transmit them
over the Net.

X. Maketh backups and keep them holy. Simply put: Back up
your data files at least weekly (daily if you’re running a business). Even if
you fall victim to a virus or hacker attack, you’ll escape with only minor
damage. Fail to keep a recent backup though, and you’ll go straight to hell – at
least, that’s how it will feel.

Via Yugatech.