Securing your system against Viruses and Trojans

There are many companies making virus scanners and similar software which help protect you against viruses & trojan horses. A good scanner will stop 99% of viruses & trojans from infecting your machine but it must be kept up to date. There are around 20-30 new viruses added to most companies virus definition files every week so keeping the definitions up to date is essential. See the resources section at the end of this document for anti-virus suppliers.

Another worthwhile tool for protecting your PC is a personal firewall. These won't stop viruses but will block some worms and prevent trojan horses from being exploited if they do manage to get onto your system. See the associated firewall FAQ for details.

If you run an operating system with security features (such as windows NT, 2000 or any Unix) make use of the security features it provides. Don't log in routinely as Administrator (or root), use these accounts only when you need them. Create a 'normal user' account and use it for day to day work, it will help to prevent trojans from installing themselves on your machine since it normally requires administrator rights to install software.

Resources

 * MCafee
 * Norton
 * Trend Micro
 * Data fellows (linux version available)
 * Kaspersky Labs (linux version available)
 * Firewall FAQ