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January 2002
Miscellaneous Stuff You Need to Know
Viruses
Precautions to take to
reduce the risk of viruses:
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Install antivirus software
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Update the antivirus software regularly
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Install firewalls (see below)
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Delete e-mail and attachments from unknown senders
and be careful about opening attachments in general
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Regularly update operating systems and
applications,
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Stay informed on the latest threats http://www.mcafee.com
http://smallbiz.symantec.com/
Internet
Fraud and Security
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Don't put your passwords on a piece of paper and
tape them to your monitor unless you have your own foolproof
encryption and deciphering method.
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Watch out for orders that use a free email address.
They might be OK, but this is one of the many indicators of
potential fraud. I would try to call the customer to verify. If you
get a bogus number and a free email account, I wouldn't ship.
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You probably need a firewall if you have high speed
cable modem or DSL service. The reason is that you are connected to
the Internet full time and your computer is more susceptible to
hacking because of this. You could be liable to your customers if
someone easily got into your computer and stole all your stored
credit card numbers, especially if you don't even have this
basic level of protection. Some good ones are Black
Ice Defender, Zone
Alarm. Get a free security audit at http://www.securityspace.com/
Back to January 2002 Index page
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