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This messages is aimed at Wikstrom Internet customers, but is of general
interest.
Viruses, worms, and Trojan horses can create havoc with your computer.
They can be irksome, lock up your computer, destroy your files, attach
themselves to your email, and infect all of your friends' systems. Personal virus scanners can cause their own problems,
from slowness to crashes. Besides, they may not catch
all viruses.
If you use Wiktel's "first line of
defense" wisely, we are not sure whether or not to recommend a
personal anti-virus scanner. But to be absolutely certain of your own
protection, you need to have your own virus scanner and update
it at least weekly, possibly daily.
A Hoax is a false claim that you have been sent a
virus, worm, etc. See Hoaxes.
"Spyware" or "Adware" is software
put on your computer when you download "Free" (Advertising supported
software) programs from the web. See Spyware.
"Phishing" is an attempt to use spam or a pop-up ad to
deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers,
bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, or other sensitive
information. The return address appears to be legitimate, but isn't.
See Phishing.
An email out of the blue offering you a prize or
something free is always suspect. You should not fall for the trick.
Protective Measures
Wiktel provides a "first line of defense",
scanning both incoming and outgoing mail before it is delivered to your computer
(something many internet service providers do not do). Wiktel will not guarantee
mail free from viruses, however, and will not accept any liability if viruses
are received by its customers. Wiktel's machines can fail, causing them to
be
down until repaired.
However, Wiktel's first line of defense may be
the only help many of its customers have. If your personal anti-virus
protection is causing crashes and lock-ups you may feel you have to disable it
at times. Luckily you can rely on what you get from Wiktel. Wiktel's
machines are updated daily, and we have personnel on call to fix them when
they are down.
Wiktel's "first line of defense" will be much more
valuable if customers understand what to do to make it the most effective.
1. See setting up your
wiktel SPAM and E-mail filters.
2. Do not receive mail from other e-mail accounts. Often, children
will get free mail boxes from advertisers on
the Internet (Hotmail is one example). E-mail received and sent from these free mail services are not protected by
Wiktel's anti-virus
scanners. You should have wiktel.com accounts set up for your children. They are
free to members of your household. If you do have free accounts from other
sites, you definitely need a virus scanner on your own
computer. See also Note to Business
Customers.
3. Don't open (click on) e-mail attachments
unless you verify their reliability.
Viruses
are often sent on emails from people you know and trust. Viruses
attach themselves onto your friends' e-mail without them knowing. To be
safe, you need
to read the e-mail carefully to make sure it is what your friend would write to
you. Do they address you personally? If files are
attached, do they explain them to you? Get
in the habit of addressing e-mails, and explaining your attachments so your
friends don't need
to be afraid of your mail.
Be suspicious of all attachments that you cannot verify.
Look at their extensions (the last few characters of a file name separated by a dot like
.htm).
If picture files and sound files are logical related to the e-mail you
got, they may not be a problem.
Picture Files (Safe): .jpg .jpeg .gif
.tiff .jfif .psd
Sound Files (Safe): .mp3 .aiff .au
.wav .ra
Video (Safe): .avi .ram .mpeg
Players (Safe): .mov
.qt
Adobe Acrobate (Safe): .pdf
Photoshop (Safe): .psd
However, be careful of all files that are executable. Executable files
can have the following extensions:
.ade: Microsoft
Access project extension
.adp: Microsoft Access project
.bas:
Microsoft Visual Basic class module
.bat: Batch file
.chm:
Compiled HTML Help file
.cmd: Microsoft Windows NT Command
script
.com: Microsoft MS-DOS program
.cpl: Control
Panel extension
.crt: Security certificate
.dll
windows program
.exe: Program
.hlp:
Help file
.hta: HTML program
.inf: Setup
Information
.ins: Internet Naming Service
.isp:
Internet Communication settings
.js: JScript file
.jse:
Jscript Encoded Script file
.lnk: Shortcut
.mdb:
Microsoft Access program
.mde: Microsoft Access MDE database
.msc:
Microsoft Common Console document
.msi: Microsoft Windows Installer
package
.msp: Microsoft Windows Installer patch
.mst:
Microsoft Visual Test source files
.pcd: Photo CD image, Microsoft
Visual compiled script
.pif: Shortcut to MS-DOS program
.reg:
Registration entries
.scr: Screen saver
.sct:
Windows Script Component
.shs: Shell Scrap object
.shb:
Shell Scrap object
.url: Internet shortcut
.vb:
VBScript file
.vbe: VBScript Encoded script file
.vbs:
VBScript file
.wsc: Windows Script Component
.wsf:
Windows Script file
.wsh: Windows Script Host Settings file
Compressed and Encoded Files contain other
files. As a result, they can be safe or dangerous depending on what
they contain. Compressed and encoded files can have the following
extensions:
.arc .arj .bin .exe .zip .gz
.gzip .hqz .sit .sea .tar .tar/.tar .gz/.tar .Z/.tgc .uu
.Z .zip
4. Update your browser, email program, and operating system
regularly to patch security holes.
Sometimes you can click on an automatic update icon to
get a quick update. Microsoft Windows users should visit Windows
Update.
5. Backup your files
Create a working directory folder where you keep all your
files. Anytime you create or modify a file, save it to this
location.
If you have a rewritable CD drive, keep a CD-RW in the drive at all times.
Regularly copy-and-paste your working directory to the CD. If you have a
floppy drive, Zip drive, etc., you can follow the same procedure. If you
have a tape drive consult its manual.
If you are on a network with a file server, you may be
able to use that in place of the CD-RW. Copy the files on the file server to a tape
drive at least once a day. (If you would like to use Wikstrom's servers to
back up your files or fileserver, contact us and we will make arrangements
to do that. A modest fee will be charged for this service.) See also
Note to Business Customers.
Rotate your backup media each time you perform a backup. Have
ten to fifteen of each so that you have several days' backups archived. Then
at the end of the set, write over the oldest backup. This is important
because your computer might get a virus, worm, or Trojan horse in your
backup. If you have several days archived, you may be able to go back a few
days and find a clean backup.
6. Protect your computer from intruders.
Any computer that is connected to the Internet is at
risk for abuse. Even if you feel that your documents would not be
valuable to electronic thieves, you still need to protect yourself. otherwise,
your computer could be used in a large scale attack against someone else.
Using personal firewall software is an effective way
to protect your system. Some examples of personal firewall software include
Zone Lab's ZoneAlarm and Sygate's Personal Firewall.
Businesses with networks of their own, however, need to have their own
firewall to be protected.
Arrangements can be made with Wiktel to provide this essential protection. See
Note to Business Customers below.
Note to Business Customers:
Wiktel's first
line of defense works for those customers who have their domain name hosted on
our servers. However, many employees will send and
receive personal mail from free mailboxes from other mail providers (hotmail is an example). Businesses should encourage their employees to
have their personal mailboxes on Wiktel's servers to get the extra
protection.
Wiktel's first line of defense does not apply to
businesses that have e-mail service on their own servers. If a business
wants this extra protection, they need to have their mail handled by Wiktel's
servers, or arrange for Wiktel to route their mail through our virus
scanning servers. (There will be a minimal fee to handle this.) Once
again, employees need to be advised to get their personal mail from a Wiktel account.
Businesses do not need to use Wiktel as their internet
service provider to have extra mail protection. For example, a
business connected to Sjoberg's can have a domain name mail service on Wikstrom's
servers and send and receive their mail through that domain name. For
example: e-mail for johnscompany.com
can be routed through Wiktel's servers, with the e-mail being sent and received at
John's Company in Roseau. ( Wiktel will charge a modest fee, which will be much less than it would cost
to run their own
servers.)
Off-Premise Backup: True security requires an off-premise
backup of your important files. This can be done easily by using your
connection with Wiktel to backup your files. If you would like to use
Wiktel's servers to back up your files or your fileserver, contact us and we
will make arrangements. Secure connections can be arranged to
transfer files to servers dedicated for backup purposes. (A modest fee will be
charged for this service.)
Firewalls: Wiktel can help install a firewall on your network. This will help you control who, if anyone, is allowed to connect
to your systems and under which conditions.
High Speed Internet Access: DSL will give you more speed for
bursty Internet
uploads and downloads. If you need continuous high speed, Wiktel can
provide T1 service, fractional T1 service, T3 service, an OC-12 connection, or an
OC-48 connection. There is
no where in Wiktel's region where you can not have the best communication
service available in the world.
Networks: Wiktel can help with all your networking
needs. Wiktel can install your file server, network, firewall,
anti-virus protection, ect. We can maintain your system for you, too.
Telephone Systems: Wiktel can install a key system (for small
businesses), a PBX (for larger businesses), or a full scale switchboard in your
plant. Whatever system you choose will be connected directly into Wiktel's switching and fiber optic transmission
network to the world.
by Curt Wikstrom
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