cyrus-troy
Jan 08, 2002, 06:12 AM
Taken from the Sophos Web site which i thought was written very well
Guidelines for users
Use Rich Text Format instead of DOC files which can harbour viruses. You can automatically save all of your Word documents as RTF by selecting Tools|Options|Save and choosing Rich Text Format as the default format from the drop down menu.
Do not run, download or forward any unsolicited executables, documents, spreadsheets, etc. Anything that runs on your PC should be virus checked and approved first.
Any email you weren't expecting should be treated with suspicion, even if it comes from someone you know. It is worth calling whoever sent it to you to check that they intended to send you the email.
Do not open any files with a double file extension, (e.g. iamavirus.txt.vbs). Under normal circumstances you should never need to receive or use these.
Do not download executables or documents from the internet. These are often used to spread computer viruses.
Although JPG, GIF and MP3 files cannot be infected with a virus, viruses can be disguised as these file types. Jokes, pictures, graphics, screensavers and movie files should be treated with the same amount of suspicion as other file types.
If in doubt, always ask your IT department for advice, do not open the file or email.
If you think you have been infected with a virus inform your IT department immediately. Do not panic or interrupt other users.
Any virus warnings or hoaxes should be sent to the IT department who can confirm whether or not it is genuine. Do not forward these warnings to anyone else; unless you are signed up to an official virus alert service it is unlikely to be a genuine warning.
If you have to work at home ensure that you follow the same procedures there as you do at work. Viruses can easily be brought into an organisation along with work that has been done on a home PC.
Guidelines for users
Use Rich Text Format instead of DOC files which can harbour viruses. You can automatically save all of your Word documents as RTF by selecting Tools|Options|Save and choosing Rich Text Format as the default format from the drop down menu.
Do not run, download or forward any unsolicited executables, documents, spreadsheets, etc. Anything that runs on your PC should be virus checked and approved first.
Any email you weren't expecting should be treated with suspicion, even if it comes from someone you know. It is worth calling whoever sent it to you to check that they intended to send you the email.
Do not open any files with a double file extension, (e.g. iamavirus.txt.vbs). Under normal circumstances you should never need to receive or use these.
Do not download executables or documents from the internet. These are often used to spread computer viruses.
Although JPG, GIF and MP3 files cannot be infected with a virus, viruses can be disguised as these file types. Jokes, pictures, graphics, screensavers and movie files should be treated with the same amount of suspicion as other file types.
If in doubt, always ask your IT department for advice, do not open the file or email.
If you think you have been infected with a virus inform your IT department immediately. Do not panic or interrupt other users.
Any virus warnings or hoaxes should be sent to the IT department who can confirm whether or not it is genuine. Do not forward these warnings to anyone else; unless you are signed up to an official virus alert service it is unlikely to be a genuine warning.
If you have to work at home ensure that you follow the same procedures there as you do at work. Viruses can easily be brought into an organisation along with work that has been done on a home PC.