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They're coming
I can't stress this enough: Protect your machines or trouble will find you.
by Joe Poole In last year’s technology issue, I wrote about six important topics. The final topic was antivirus software. I placed it last because I wanted AV to be the final thing you read so you would remember it. In that column, I wrote: “It isn’t enough to install the latest version of antivirus software. That software has to be configured to protect your machine properly. It has to be set up to update virus definition files daily and scan your computer in its entirety nightly and inspect every file you receive as you receive it. With the number of viruses out there, it is imperative that you spend some time and money making sure your computer is protected properly.”
This year I have the following to say on the subject: It isn’t enough to install the latest version of antivirus software. That software has to be configured to protect your machine properly. It has to be set up to update its virus definition files daily and scan your computer in its entirety nightly and inspect every file you receive as
you receive it. With the number of viruses out there, it is imperative that you spend some
time and money making sure your computer
is protected properly.
Notice that I repeated the exact same advice. That’s because you still need to employ up-to-date virus protection—now more than ever—and some people haven’t gotten the message.
Since last year’s column, we have seen an all-out war between some very motivated virus writers. Detrimental and widespread infections have been launched with viruses such as Netsky, MyDoom, Sasser, Blaster, Bugbear, Backdoor, and Gaobot. Virus writers are no longer just trying to clog e-mail servers or shut down Web sites. With each new outbreak, the virus has become harder to detect, allowing it to spread faster while deleting data, accessing personal information, slowly killing your system, or a combination of those actions. At the Texas Association of REALTORS®, we have heard horror stories from members whose machines were infected. Often, they thought they had antivirus software protecting their computers. Our antivirus system at TAR stops an average of 500 virus attempts a day. We’ve had days with 1,500 attempts. I cannot stress how important virus protection is.
Antivirus software is something you should check every day. It is no longer safe to log on to the Internet under the assumption that you
don’t open e-mail attachments from people you don’t know, or you only visit reputable sites.
That may have kept you safe from attacks in the past. No longer.
If you log on to the Internet, you must have updated and properly configured antivirus software protecting your computer. And you must monitor its operation on a daily basis to ensure your protection. You can no longer afford to ignore viruses and an antivirus solution.
The good news is that AV solutions are competitively priced, with most packages costing less than $50. There are even some shareware and freeware solutions available on the Internet. Compared with the risk of losing important data, having your personal information and passwords stolen, or finding your system completely crashed, $50 a year for protection is a bargain!
Please, check your computer’s antivirus software today. And do it again tomorrow. See if you can do it the day after that and the day after that one. Make it part of your routine. And don’t wait for it to expire to renew it. It could save you lots of heartache and money later on.
You can find links to more information in the Technology pages of the Resources section on TexasRealtors.com.
Joe Poole is director of information services for the Texas Association of REALTORS®.
Illustration © Artville.
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