The Computer Club Newsletter

March 2002

By Ron Uncapher

The February TVCUC general meeting was a very informative presentation on the ins and outs of trading on the Internet using eBay. Alesa Rottersdam, founder and president of Online Auction Resource Group, a consulting service dedicated to helping consumers and business people buy and sell smarter on eBay, was interesting and informative.

My topic for this month is anti-virus software. I have heard many horror stories from residents who have suffered from a virus that puts their computers out of commission until a costly medication can be applied. The sad part of these stories is that they could have been prevented. Everyone who dials up the Internet or swaps disks with a friend, is susceptible to any one of thousands of viruses that are floating around in cyberspace.

What constitutes a virus? A virus is a block of computer code that can be carried in an email or embedded in a computer program. When executed, the code has an undesirable effect on your computer. Some viruses are malicious, some are relatively benign. A virus may manifest itself simply as a "smiley face" that pops up on your computer screen and bounces around. That is merely annoying. Others can erase files or even wipe out your hard drive. Some cause your computer to become inoperable. Some can be removed by a skilled technician while others require major surgery, such as a reformat of your hard drive. The virus can strike immediately or it can hide in your computer until a specified date upon which the virus is activated. The delayed action type is known as a "Trojan Horse". These viruses are like computer terrorists They attack the innocent and unsuspecting.

A virus is generally activated when the unsuspecting recipient opens an email attachment or runs the program that carries the virus. But, recently, viruses have been devised that can be activated simply by opening an email message. Many of the recent viruses send an email to everyone in your address book, thus replicating and spreading themselves to even more unsuspecting victims.

The good news is that you can protect your computer from viruses. A good anti-virus program will detect and generally delete a virus before you know it has arrived on your computer. I have been using Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus for years and have never been infected. This program, like most others, scans important files when I turn on the computer and it scans email that I send and that I receive, thus preventing both infection of my computer and the spreading of a virus that might its way onto my PC. There have been many instances where the anti-virus program pops up and tells me that it has found and deleted an incoming virus. There are many good anti-virus programs on the market that you can purchase. Some are less expensive than others. There are also some good programs that you can download from the Internet that are free. The important point is that you have one installed on your computer. Some of the names to look for are PC-cillin, McAfee Viruscan ( www.mcafee.com ), Panda Antivirus ( www.pandasoftware.com ).

One free program that I can recommend is Grisoft AVG ( www.grisoft.com ). There are more. In the mean time, do not open attachments from someone you do not know. Be suspicious of everything that comes off of the Internet. Check out the authenticity of viruses by checking the Symantec ( www.symantec.com ) and McAfee websites. These sites also have information on viruses and how they work. A good source of information is the TVCUC website (www.TVCUC.org ) under the heading, "Documents".

I recently discovered how to bring order out of chaos on my PC. I alphabetize my Favorites list in Internet Explorer. Whenever you add a link to your Favorites, it gets added to the bottom of the list. Soon, you are spending too much time searching for something you know you saved. Internet Explorer will eventually get around to alphabetizing it, but if you don’t want to wait, try this. In Internet Explorer, "click" on Favorites. Put your mouse cursor over any one of your links and "right click". Near the bottom of the pop-up menu you will find the title, Sort By Name. "Left click" on it and presto! Instant order. The Sort function also applies to the Start*Programs and the Start*Documents lists.

If you have discovered some little short cut or hint that makes your browsing or computing easier and you think others might enjoy it, send it to me at  runcapher@ntown.com . If your hint is selected for publication, you will have the undying gratitude of me and all of my readers.

Also, please visit the Tellico Village Computer Club’s website at www.TVCUC.org  for information about the club. If you are interested in joining contact our Membership Chair Bob Hilborn at (865) 458-5739 or come to the next meeting, Tuesday, April 2nd at the Yacht Club.