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<div>This guidance from the MacLaw list I am on seemed to be good
advice to share.</div>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br>
On May 31, 2007, at 12:42 PM, Carol Shepherd wrote:<br>
<br>
> So it sounds like I could avoid viruses completely by A. not<br>
> getting any<br>
> email via Windows and B. not browsing the Internet via Windows
and C.<br>
> not allowing untrusted CDs or other media to upload things to
the<br>
> Windows side--does that sound correct?<br>
<br>
That would make it very unlikely.<br>
<br>
But don't let the fear of Windows viruses freak you out. The
reason<br>
most people who get their PCs infected do so is because they
practice<br>
unsafe computing, notable failing to keep their antivirus software
up<br>
to date. In a nutshell:<br>
<br>
1. Use antivirus software and keep it up to date.<br>
2. Don't copy files from media which hasn't been scanned, if it's<br>
coming from another Windows user.<br>
3. Use an anti-spyware hosts file so that if you DO need to access<br>
the Internet, the majority of malicious sites and ad-serving sites<br>
are blocked. See <<a
href="http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm"
>http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm</a>>. Their<br>
hosts file is free.<br>
4. If you need to access the Internet from your Windows VM or<br>
partition, use Firefox if possible. I only use Internet Explorer
if<br>
I need to access a site which requires it to work.<br>
5. Keep up to date with the latest Windows security patches from<br>
Microsoft. Set XP to fetch them automatically.<br>
<br>
Yes, doing the above is a PITA, but will make it very unlikely
that<br>
your system will get infected. It's less of a PITA than getting
your<br>
system infected.<br>
<br>
One GREAT thing about Parallels is that once you have a Windows<br>
Virtual Machine setup, you can easily back it up by copying it to
a<br>
DVD or an external drive. This way you can maintain a known good<br>
configuration, and if the working copy gets corrupted or infected,<br>
you can wipe it and start over.<br>
<br>
---<br>
David S. Markowitz Attorney at Law & Network Consultant<br>
davemarkowitz -at- mac.com <a
href="http://www.davemarkowitz.net/">http://www.davemarkowitz.net/</a><br
>
120 Shasta Road <a
href="http://keystonestatelaw.blogspot.com/"
>http://keystonestatelaw.blogspot.com/</a></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462 (Cell)
610-389-1724</blockquote>
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<div><font face="Verdana" size="-1" color="#000000"><b>Victoria L.
Herring, Des Moines, Iowa</b> - Civil rights,
Discrimination and Employment Law Attorney; Des Moines, Iowa:
http://www.herringlaw.com. Ph. 515/255-4475; iChat AV:
victoriaherring@mac.com.</font></div>
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