One of my colleagues got virus on his computer the other day. Trying to salvage some of his personal files, he plugged in an USB drive and copied his personal files over. Then he reformatted the computer, installed new OS, copied files back from USB drive. He thought he was all set. But to his surprise, the virus came back!
What happened? The culprit is the USB drive. The virus was actually smart enough to copy itself onto the USB drive. And now the USB drive became the new source of this virus.
This could happen to every one of us. We tend to plug our USB into other people's computers all the time without thinking about the risk. Many of us don't think about the possibility that a virus on a computer could spread to the USB memory stick and in turn, infect the next computer it comes into contact with.
There is no perfect solution to this problem. But you can reduce the risk by using USB drive with a write-protect switch. Flipping in on to write-protect mode before you put your USB into a strange computer. This protects the drive from being overwritten by a virus. And might save the day for you.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Web Security using Public Computer
Public computers at cafes, libraries or car dealers offer a convenient way to access internet when you are away from home or office. But be careful. It's impossible for an ordinary user to tell if the computer is secure or not. Since anyone can use the computers for anything, they have probably been exposed to viruses, worms, Trojans, keyloggers, and other nasty malware. Should you use them at all? They're okay for casual web browsing, but they pose a risk for connecting to your email, bank, and the server at your office or for shopping online.
If you do need to use a public computer, make sure you use "Private Browsing" in Firefox (Tools-->Start Private Browsing) or InPrivate Browsing in IE 8 (Saftey-->InPrivate Browsing), which helps prevent anyone else who might be using the public computer from seeing where you visited and what you looked at on the web. Also if you login to any important online account, don't forget to change the password afterward (on your home computer).
If you do need to use a public computer, make sure you use "Private Browsing" in Firefox (Tools-->Start Private Browsing) or InPrivate Browsing in IE 8 (Saftey-->InPrivate Browsing), which helps prevent anyone else who might be using the public computer from seeing where you visited and what you looked at on the web. Also if you login to any important online account, don't forget to change the password afterward (on your home computer).
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