How can I keep my computer safe?

There is no "perfect" set of rules that can promise complete protection if it is followed, but your chances of experiencing a disaster will be greatly decreased if you try to follow these guidelines:

Note: This section only applies to Windows users.

NOTE: This page just contains preventative strategies. If you think your computer might already be infested with "junk," head over to our computer cleaning page.

1). Update Windows

Windows patches are annoying, but an unpatched Windows machine is a prime target for internet predators. Open up Internet Explorer and head over to http://update.microsoft.com. It should take a few minutes to detect missing updates, and then prompt you to install them. (Note that this will unfortunately not work with any other browser, such as Firefox; you have to use Internet Explorer.)

You may be prompted to install Service Pack 2. If so, you might want to check out our SP2 installation instructions.

2). Install Antivirus Software

Every PC should be running some form of antivirus software to protect it from those little internet beasties. Luckily, if you're a Pomona student, you can download McAfee Antivirus for free from http://antivirus.pomona.edu.

Some students prefer Norton AntiVirus (which you have to pay for) or AVG Anti-Virus (which you don't). Please note that, while there are other anti-virus programs out there (some of them very good), we can't support all of them, so you will only be able to connect your computer to the Pomona network if you have one of these three programs installed and running. (Please don't install multiple anti-virus programs; they interfere with one another and cause more problems than they solve.)

3). Install Anti-Spyware programs and run them every week or two

It is strongly recommended that all Pomona students install both Ad-Aware and Spybot - Search & Destroy and run them once every week or two to clean out your machines. Both of these programs can be downloaded (for free) from http://spyware.pomona.edu.

More information on spyware and its various malicious incarnations can be found on our spyware page.

4.) Enable a firewall

A firewall will protect your computer from network worms and other attacks. Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes a firewall that is enabled by default. You should either leave it enabled or install a third-party firewall program. Our firewall page includes more information on firewalls in general and the firewall built into Service Pack 2.

5). Switch to a different web browser?

There was a day when Internet Explorer was a pretty spiffy program. Those days are gone. People who use IE get more spyware, adware, and viruses than any other web browser. For this reason we really suggest that you start using a different program, such as:

• Mozilla Firefox - An open-source, totally free web browser. It supports all sorts of new and useful things such as tabbed browsing (which I now can't live without), RSS feeds, and extensions that let you really personalize your copy.
• Opera - Preferred by some people, Opera supports most of the same cool stuff Firefox does, and any differences are mostly a matter of taste.

(Note: You will still have to use Internet Explorer for Microsoft Update, and certain other Stone Age sites that haven't gotten around to supporting other browsers, but believe us, you'll be grateful for the security this change will bring.)

6). Never install anything. EVER.

Okay, maybe that's a little of an exaggeration, but you should be extremely mistrustful of installing anything downloaded from the internet, especially if a commercial company is giving the program away for free. They don't make money by giving away free software.

As a rule, only install software that comes from companies you know and trust. Installed "junk" is the number one cause of spyware infections, computer slowdowns, and virus infections.

So, what if you want to install some piece of tantalizing software? First ask yourself, do I trust this company? (If you can't figure out what the name of the company is, then you should write it off immediately.) You should then check our listing of bad programs and their alternatives. You can also try performing a Google search for the program to see if it's listed on watchdog sites as malware, or just call the ITS Helpdesk (x18062) and ask a consultant if the software is okay.

Quick example: Even AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), a commonly used internet chat program, secretly installs something called the "Viewpoint Media Player" onto your machine without your knowledge. This is not a particularly malicious piece of code (it just sits there and uses up some system resources), but it serves as an example of how easily this kind of stuff can leak onto your machine if you're not careful. (Note: We recommend Pidgin as a replacement for AIM).

7). Never open an e-mail attachment you weren't expecting.

This doesn't really require that much explanation: this used to be the best way that internet viruses and worms would propagate through the internet, but people have started wising up, and you should too. Just because the e-mail appears to come from somone you know, doesn't mean you should open it. First of all, they may actually have a virus that is sending out viruses in their name. Secondly, it is trivial to make an e-mail appear to come from anyone. Luckily most antivirus programs will automatically scan e-mail attachments for viruses, as will many internet mail providers (like Hotmail). Mail coming to your Pomona inbox is scanned by Postini for viruses and junk mail.

8). Back up your data/save it somewhere safe to begin with

If your machine gets completely taken over by some virus or horde of rampaging spyware gremlins, our only recourse may be to completely reinstall your operating system (Windows). Unfortunately, this will destroy any data stored on your C: drive. Because of this, we suggest backing up your data every once in a while, or saving it to a place that you know will be safe. Here are some options:

• Save it to your userspace on the network
• Save it to a different partition (e.g. D:) on your hard drive
• Burn it to a CD/DVD