Trojans,
Viruses & Worms, Oh My!!
Fill
in the holes in your Windows Software:
If you use Windows,
go to the Microsoft site and download the Windows and Outlook 'fixes'!
Or you can update your Windows software to the latest version,
which will contain the security updates.
To update your Windows
program:
Go to www.microsoft.com.
- Go to the 'Product
Updates' and Click on Windows Updates.
- Click on 'PRODUCT
UPDATES'. This link takes you to another page that analyzes your
system, and creates a list of updates that you need.
- Start working
your way down the page, checking everything that sounds like something
that you need.
- You may have to
go through the routine several times, depending on how long it has
been since you installed Windows/Outlook.
Check/run
your virus-protection software:
Of course,
the virus-protection software is your first line of defense. MacAfee and Norton
Symantic both have good software available in stores or by download.
Remember to check at least weekly to make sure that the program is using
the latest virus definition file, so that you are covered for the latest
bad stuff out there.
Using your virus-protection
software, start with a full-system scan. Before you do your full-system
scan, make sure that you have set the program to search 'all files',
not just 'program files and documents only'. This takes longer, however
it is more thorough.
A full-system scan
should be done at least once a month, and more often if you do much
email or get attached files as part of your business.
For more on viruses,
and some tips for protecting yourself, go to the Symantic Antivirus
Center at http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/
Tidy
up your Email:
: Viruses
are always 'mutating'. My best defense is an offsite email service that
screens my mail before it gets to my computer.
Clean out personal information stored in
your computer:
- Your
Address Book:
Clean out your address book, and remove addresses that you are not actively
using. Then if your address book does get hit with a virus, you don't want
to have to notify people that you don't email regularly. I keep unused addresses
in an Excel spreadsheet, in case I need one of them.
- Email:
Change the default setting in Outlook and Outlook Express which automatically
adds an address to the address book whenever you reply to a message.
The 'auto-add' feature is handy, but it means that if you have a problem
with a virus, you can spread it far and wide. Even to a lot of addresses
that you don't normally use.
- Cookies:
If you are
using Windows, clean out your C:/Windows/Cookies directory. A
caveat: you can lose some cookies that remember your
profile information and login data to password-protected sites. Personally,
I would rather not have personal information available to spyware programs,
so I put up with the hassle of entering it each time I log on to a
site. Hopefully you already have a spreadsheet or other file where
you keep a list of your important login IDs and passwords. If not,
do not delete your cookies.
In the future, you can minimize the number of cookies that are stored on
your machine by disabling the 'allow stored cookies' option in your browser.
Occasionally, a website will not allow you to interact with it unless you
allow stored cookies. In that case, enable it for that session only, and
then disable it again.
- Cached
web pages:
If you are
using Windows, clean out your C:/Windows/Temporary Internet Files directory.
You may be amazed to find that you have thousands of cached files in
this directory. Most of the files are there because some web pages
are configured to store their page graphics and other files on your
machine, so that the next time that you visit their pages they will
load faster. Unfortunately, this feature also allows spyware and hacker
files to be stored on your computer. I delete everything in this directory
daily.
You can minimize the number of files being stored by configuring your browser
to delete temporary files when the browser is closed.
- Windows
Temp and Deleted files directories:
There are other Windows directories that you can tidy. Open your C:;/Windows/Temp
directory and delete the files that end with .tmp.
After
you have deleted the files described above, right-click on the
'Recycle Bin' garbage can on your desktop. Then 'Empty Recycle
Bin' This last cleanup step will finally get rid of those personal
files you didn't know were on your machine, and will make your
computer boot a lot faster.
- Spyware:
Check your hard drive for spyware. Spyware is any kind of program installed
in your computer without your consent to gather information about you
or your organization. A typical piece of spyware will watch over your
shoulder while you browse the Web, record your mouse clicks and broadcast
all that information back to another computer (ostensibly for marketing
purposes). It's part of a class of increasingly surreptitious software
that includes adware (which serves up commercials you didn't ask for
- as if pop-up ads weren't enough), stealware (which leeches sales commissions
away from small websites in affiliate programs) and scumware (which alters
the origin of links on a Web page so that, for example, an innocent news
headline will direct you to a porn site).
How does
this stuff get onto your machine? Most often, it hides behind other
software as you download it. Sometimes spyware masquerades as cookies,
those little files websites leave on your computer so you don't have
to type your name and password every time you visit. Once on your PC,
spyware can sequester itself deep inside your operating system in what
are called registry files. Anti-virus software won't spot it, because
it looks like something you chose to install.
Luckily,
it's easy to check your computer for spyware. If you are running Windows,
go to www.lavasoftusa.com and download a free utility called Ad-Aware.
Install it, hit the scan button and be prepared to find that you have
10-20 folders that contain spyware.
About
websites and contracts Ownership:
Your web name should be registered in your name, not your web hosting service,
or your web managing service or your web design service.
If your web name
is not registered under your name, you should get it transferred to
you as soon as possible. Transferring ownership of a web page name
takes some time, as you may have to have notarized copies of the transfer
documents, and you must send them to the registration service that
manages your web name. The registration service generally takes two
to six weeks to transfer your name, unless you pay him for expedited
service.
Your register service
also needs a billing contact name and a technical contact name. Your
web site manager should be your technical contract. You should be your
own billing contact if you want to be the one to be notified when the
fee for your registered name is due. The registration service does
not mail bills. They send notices via email instead. If you don't pay
your bill, you lose your web site name. Some clients prefer to have
their web manager handle the renewal, since the web manager generally
handles the site email addresses and knows where the bill should be
sent.
Make sure that your
agreement with your web site manager includes transfer of the technical
contact to yourself or your next web manager when you change services.
Your contract with
your web designer and your web manager should also include specific
ownership rights for all graphics and other deliverables that may be
created as part of your web site development. The website designer
should be responsible for making sure that there is no infringement
of copyrights or trademarks in the development of your graphics for
your pages. It is your responsibility to make sure that your graphics
do not infringe on copyrights and trademarks if you provide your designer
with the graphics.
When you terminate
your contract with your Web designer and your Web manager, they should
provide you with digital copies of all of your graphics in your current
Web site pages, along with passwords and other documentation of ownership.
Web
page design:
Both you and your web page designer should each have a named coordinator. The
coordinators are responsible for all written and verbal communication between
you and the designer.
You and your web
page designer should have agreed on a clear set of specifications for
your website. The specifications should spell out the approximate number
of pages and the general content of each page.
Your web page designer
should put together a draft web site, and post it on the web for you
to view. He/he/she may also give you a printed copy of the pages.
The coordinators
should agree on a revision schedule with due dates both for your comments
and the page revisions. Usually there are several rounds of revisions,
which go on until all parties are satisfied with the pages.
After agreement is
reached on the content and look of the pages, the web designer should
post your website, or give computer files to the web manager who will
post the website publicly.
Changes to the website
that you request should be sent to the web designer or web manager
in writing, either by an email or fax or letter. Simple changes may
be initiated with a telephone call, but should be followed up with
a hard copy.
Web
site hosting only:
You may choose to design your own web pages, and contract for hosting only.
Each web hosting service has its own set of regulations. Check with your hosting
service to see what features your contract includes, and what limitations they
may place on your pages.
Web
management:
You and your Web manager should have a clear understanding regarding changes
to the website. Website managers should provide minor changes such as telephone
number and web links as part of their web management services. Extensive page
revisions, adding more pages, and graphics work on logos or photos may be paid
for by the hour, or lump sum.
Pricing:
Your website host and/or your website manager should have a price list available
for you. Take a good look at each line item, and make sure you understand
whether or not it is a lump sum or an hourly rate. Web design work can
be extremely expensive is paid for by the hour. Rates are often $100 to
$150 an hour.
It is your responsibility
to have all the text and as many of the graphics as possible in a usable
format and available to your web designer. Often your graphics design
company has done a brochure or other advertising material for you and
will have graphics in a format your web designer can use.
If you don't yet
have a logo, let your web designer know, so that he/she can design
the graphics to be usable in a printed format on stationery business
cards etc.
Web hosting services
and web managers generally bill ahead for several months at a time.
Confidentiality:
Your contract with your web designer and your web manager should include specific
wording that your project and all information associated with it is confidential.
Often your web manager and web designer may request that they post a link
from their site to your site, as a form of advertising. This is OK, as
it is also advertising for you.
Formatting
files for use on web pages:
Sometimes converting
printed documents to web page format entails extensive reformatting.
To make the job easier, please use these guidelines when developing
the printed document.
Please submit
files for use on the web page in .txt or .doc format only. Don't
convert
Word
files to web pages first.
Creating
downloadable files in Acrobat .pdf or Word .doc:
The easiest way to
post a newsletter or other document is to convert it to a .pdf file.
I can convert Word .docs to the .pdf format for you. If you do you own
conversion, make sure you configure your .pdf conversion to include any
special fonts.
- Use only the default
Word style sheets that come with Word, and try to limit the font
styles to Times New Roman or Arial fonts. Every time that
you change a font
using
the
Font
format drop-down window or menu line item, you attach that font to
the style sheet for the document.
- If a user doesn't
have the same fonts that you have, the file will not display properly
for him/her. Mac users can have a problem with fancy fonts used in
PC files.
- If you need to
use a special font, say for a logo or a title, you can convert that
text to graphics, and insert it into the file as a .gif or
.jpg.
- If you are sending
me an updated version of information that has already been posted
on the site, check your version against the posted one, and correct
your
version to match the posted one in order to minimize mistakes in
the latest revision.
Optimizing file
size for web publication:
Optimize the size
of your graphics before converting your newsletter to .pdf. Often your
printer will want to use detailed graphics, because they look much
better when they are printed. Unfortunately, they can make your downloadable
file really large and difficult to download. Converting the graphics
to thumbnails of themselves and using them in the newsletter file to
be converted is the best way to keep the size down.
There are many good
programs for graphic file optimization, at little or no cost. You can
do a 'Google' search on "graphic file optimization shareware" to find
them, or give me a call.
Encrypting
email addresses on your web pages:
You may have active web pages that contain non-encrypted links to
your email addresses. If so, you are open to 'bots' that
crawl
the
web looking
for
addresses.
They do the same thing that the email viruses do - i.e. they use your address
to send infected emails to other email addresses.
I encrypt all addresses
on all of the sites that I manage. To encrypt your addresses yourself, go
to to http://www.hivelogic.com/, which
is a good
free
code
encryption
script
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