Whenever you download a file—whether you open a spreadsheet attached to an email message, grab a cool little screensaver or mouse cursor from the web, or download music or video files from someone else's computer—you could be putting your computer at risk.
You
can take some basic steps to protect your PC and your company's network:
·
Set up your computer with security protection. When you upgrade
to Windows 7 from Windows XP, you automatically get a lot of security
protection built right into the system.
·
Increase your awareness of attack methods so that you can be on
the lookout for them.
·
Use tools to remove unwanted software that has been downloaded
to your computer (despite your best efforts to prevent it).
Here's
how:
1.
Get ready: Strengthen your computer's defenses
Start
by checking with your system administrator to find out about your company's
security tools and policies. Read the articles Understanding
security and safer computing and How to boost your malware
defense and protect your PC to get an
overview of the kinds of threats that exist and what you can do to defend
against them. Because new threats are identified every day, remember to keep
your security components—including those on the following list—up to date.
