At Spain Telecom in Greenville, NC, we specialize in offering a wide variety of business telephone equipment. Aside from that, we also offer a number of data solution services for your business including network analysis, disaster recovery, and spam and virus control.
With so much of business being dependent on the internet, it is getting easier and easier to get a virus on your computer. How do you know if you have a virus on your computer? You may have one or more of the following symptoms:
- Your operating system slows to a crawl.
- Your system’s available memory suddenly shrinks in size.
- Important files become corrupted.
- Your computer screen starts displaying odd images or messages.
- You notice strange files or programs on your computer.
- Music or other strange sounds start playing for no reason.
- Some important files and even programs vanish.
- Applications and programs that worked before suddenly don’t.
- Your operating system doesn’t open or shuts down unexpectedly and routinely.
Here are eight tips to help you avoid spam and viruses:
- Don’t start your computer when there is a USB (thumb) drive or other type of removable media in a port or driver, especially if that media came from someone you don’t know or trust 100%. Why? Because if there is a virus on that media, it will load onto your hard drive when you start up.
- Think twice before opening any attachment that comes in an email. Ask yourself, “Do I know the sender?” If the answer is “yes,” are you sure their email address is correct? Were you expecting the attachment?
- If you receive an email from a stranger, either mark it as spam immediately or delete it without opening the email. If there’s an attachment, do not open the attachment under any circumstances!
- If you receive an email with an attachment from someone you do know—but that you weren’t expecting—inspect it closely. Check the spelling of the sender’s name and examine the message carefully for spelling errors, which is often a tipoff that it’s not genuine. (Even if a message you weren’t expecting is error-free and seems legitimate, you may want to check with the sender to make sure he or she sent it.)
- Learn how to disable and enable macros, which are instructions saved in spreadsheet and word processing programs. A macro isn’t bad, unless someone who wants to infect your computer puts one there.
- Make sure you have an antivirus program running on your computer, and keep it updated. It will identify and remove viruses in your memory, storage media and any incoming files. Most importantly, an antivirus program automatically scans files you download from the Internet, email attachments and open files.
- Think about installing a software or hardware firewall. A router is an example of a hardware firewall. Microsoft includes a personal software firewall in its operating system.
- Keep your guard up! There are websites that publish lists of the latest known virus alerts and virus hoaxes.
At Spain Telecom, it’s not just about providing the business phones you need in Greenville and Pitt County, NC— it’s about making sure your entire system works. Lower your costs by sharing vital equipment such as printers, scanners, internet connections, and storage. Contact us so that we can provide your end-to-end networking needs.