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alpha dot net Guide to Safe Computing

In this Guide we will lead you through a variety of measures to improve your computer's security. We think these easy steps will work for you, even if you don't have a technical bone in your body. You'll be asked to click on a number of files, which will then automatically load into your computer (PC). All the steps should take less than 10 minutes.

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You can pick up a virus via a broad range of activities:

Emails and email attachments are a particularly popular mechanism for virus transmission. Some of the more sophisticated viruses will infect your computer even if you don't open the email or the attachment.

There are more than 50,000 viruses today, all of them bad for you computer's health. Some will delete data from your hard drive, others will bring its operation to a standstill. Some will pull documents from your files and email them randomly to people in your address book – a commercial and personal nightmare.

Armed with this reminder of the importance of virus protection, work through the 7 quick steps below. The only thing you need to know is the operating system of your computer – most likely to be one of these: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or NT4.

Step One: Disable the Windows scripting host functionality

This is to prevent Visual Basic script viruses like VBS_LoveLetter from running, so that they cannot activate, spread or cause damage to files. A typical PC does not need Windows Scripting Host (WSH) to function normally. You can always change your mind later and reinstall it by repeating these steps and re-selecting "Window Scripting Host" checkbox.

Windows 98 systems
WSH is installed by default when you install Windows 98 or Internet Explorer 5. To prevent scripts (or .VBS files) from running:

a. Open the Control Panel by selecting "Start", "Settings" and then "Control Panel"
b. Double click on "Add/Remove Programs"
c. Select the "Windows Setup" tab

d. Double-click on "Accessories"
e. Unmark the "Windows Scripting Host"
f. Click the "OK" button

Windows 95 Systems
Windows 95 systems do not come with the Windows Scripting Host. However, the WSH is installed automatically when you install Internet Explorer 5 or above. To disable scripts (with the extension, .VBS) from running on Windows 95 systems:

a. Start "Windows Explorer". (To do this, select "Start", "Programs" and then "Windows Explorer". Please note, this is not the same as Internet Explorer.)
b. Select "View" then select "Option"
c. Select the "File Types" tab
d. Search and select "VBScript Script File"
e. Click "Delete" and then confirm the removal by selecting "Yes"

Windows 2000 Systems
The Windows Scripting Host is installed by default on Windows 2000 systems. To disable scripts (with the extension .VBS) from running on Windows 2000 systems:

a. Start Windows Explorer
b. Select "Tools" then "Folder Options"

c. Select the "File Types" tab
d. Search and select "VBScript Script File"
e. Click "Delete" and then confirm the removal by selecting "Yes"

Windows NT 4
Windows NT 4 systems do not come with the Windows Scripting Host. However, it is installed automatically when you install Internet Explorer 5 or above.

To disable scripts (with the extension .vbs) from running on Windows NT 4 systems:

a. Log on with Administrator's right
b. Start Windows Explorer
c. Select "View" and then "Options"
d. Select the "File Types" tab
e. Search and Select "VBScript File"
f. Click "Remove" and then confirm the removal by selecting "Yes"

Step Two: Make file extensions of known file types viewable

All Windows operating systems are set by default to hide the known file extensions in Windows Explorer. This feature can be used by virus writers and hackers to disguise malicious programs as some other file formats, such as text, video or audio files. For example, a malicious program file named "readme.txt.exe" is displayed as "readme.txt" in Windows Explorer (see illustration below). Therefore, users are often tricked into clicking the "text" file, inadvertently causing the running of the malicious file.

We therefore recommend that you change the Windows Explorer setting to "Not hide the File Extension of known File Types." Do this by clicking on one of the following files, and saving it to your local hard drive, then double-clicking on the file to run:

Windows 95, 98 and NT 4 users: NotHideFileExt_Win9598NT4.reg

Windows 2000 users: NotHideFileExt_Win2000.reg

NOTE: If you have problems downloading or if you receive an error, download a zipped version of these registry files.
NotHideFileExt_Win9598NT4.zip
NotHideFileExt_Win2000.zip
Use Winzip to decompress them.

Afterwards, files will be displayed with the complete file extension as shown:

Important note: there are still some file extensions, which the Windows operating system will always hide, such as the shell scrap files with the extension .shs.

Step Three: Set Internet Explorer security to at least "Medium"

By default, the Internet Explorer Security Setting is set to "Medium." However, viruses or hackers sometimes change it to "Low". A setting of at least "Medium" will reduce the risk of accidentally running a malicious file.

At the "Medium" security level, Internet Explorer 5 will prompt users before running potentially unsafe content.

Internet Explorer 5 or above will also display a warning message before running any Active-X controls (as shown on the picture below).

We also advise that you always save files to the local hard drive and then scan them with an up-to-date antivirus product. If you don't have an antivirus product or your product is out of date, an excellent product is Trend Micro's free on-line scanner HouseCall at http://housecall.antivirus.com.

To automatically change the Internet Explorer 5 Security Setting to "Medium", please run the following registry file:

IESecLevelMedium.reg

NOTE: If you have problems downloading or if you receive an error, download a zipped version of this registry file.
IESecLevelMedium.zip
Use WinZip to decompress it.

Step Four: Require a prompt before opening mail attachments

Many viruses activate because users double-click on incoming email file attachments. We advise that you should instead adopt the practice of saving files to the local hard drive and then scanning them with an up to date antivirus product (instead of double-clicking over the incoming email file attachments).

To ensure that your system automatically prompts you to save files, please click on the file below, and save it to your local hard drive, then double-click on the file to run:

Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express: WarnMailAttachment.reg

NOTE: If you have problems downloading or if you receive an error, download a zipped version of this registry file here.

Afterwards, your system will prompt you with a warning even if you accidentally click on an email attachment or read an email that has some embedded scripts. This registry fix applies to Word documents, Excel sheets, Excel charts, PowerPoint files and HTML files.

Step Five: Enable macro-virus warning in MS Office 97 & 2000

By default, Microsoft Office products display a macro warning before Office documents are opened that contain macros.

However, many of the known macro viruses disable this setting to avoid being detected. To ensure that you have the macro warning enabled, please click on one of the following files below, and save it to your local hard drive, then double-click on the file to run:

Microsoft Office 97 (Office 8.0) users: MacroWarning_Office8.reg

Microsoft Office 2000 (Office 9.0) users: MacroWarning_Office9.reg

NOTE: If you have problems downloading or if you receive an error, download zipped versions of these registry files.
MacroWarning_Office8.zip
MacroWarning_Office9.zip
Use Winzip to decompress them.

If you are not sure if macro content that you encounter is safe, we advise to use the "Disable Macros" option.

Step Six: Prompt before saving changes to the Global Template

Since almost all macro viruses attempt to modify the global template (normal.dot) before closing the active Microsoft Word session, we advise you to make sure that Microsoft Word will prompt you before any changes are being made.

While this action will not stop all macro viruses, it will help to identify potential malicious code.

If you are not sure what to do when this problem arises, select the "No" option and email a copy of such files to your anti-virus software provider, such as Trend Micro's virus doctors at virus_doctor@trendmicro.com. They will inspect suspicious files or documents to determine if they contain malicious macros. To automatically make the change to Word 97 or Word 2000, please click on one of the following files below, and save it to your local hard drive, then double-click on the file to run:

Word 97 (Word 8.0) users: TmPlateSavePrompt_W8.reg

Word 2000 (Word 9.0) users: TmPlateSavePrompt_W9.reg

NOTE: If you have problems downloading or if you receive an error, download zipped versions of these registry files.
TmPlateSavePrompt_W8.zip
TmPlateSavePromt_W9.zip
Use Winzip to decompress them.

Step Six: Prompt before saving changes to the Global Template

In order to close security holes that have been discovered since Windows was shipped and installed, we advise everyone to visit the Microsoft Update Website at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

Please follow the on-line instructions on how to update your system. Security updates will help prevent hackers from accessing your system and prevent viruses from running on your system.

Windows 98 or Windows 2000 users can also use the Windows Update feature to get all the latest security updates.

Simply click "Start" and then select "Windows Update".

Choosing Anti-virus Software – Our Recommendation

With these steps completed you've gone a long way towards ensuring that your computer is safe. However, the most basic need that you have is to use advanced anti-virus software and ensure that it is kept up to date. Alas, hackers never seem to sleep, and new viruses are constantly being found. That means downloading the latest anti-virus "patterns" every few days. The easiest way is to make it part of your routine.

alpha dot net's users employ a wide range of anti-virus products. We have done an exhaustive analysis of the offerings on the market and have decided to recommend and support the Trend Micro products as the one offering the best coverage across the complete range of corporate and personal user requirements. The complexity and constant development of the anti-virus products means that we can offer support for Trend Micro, but may not be able to fully support other anti-virus software. We have arranged a special offer for Trend Micro products. Contact us to discuss your specific needs.

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