From a friend:

Computer TIP

How to Avoid Viruses and Spyware

* Do not open attachments from people you don't know

* Do not open attachments from forwards, even if you know the person

* Ask your friends not to send you forwards. The more your email address gets displayed around the internet, the more likely you are to get spam, which oftentimes leads to viruses and spyware issues.

* Never forward a cute or funny email yourself. Chances are your friends have already heard the joke, seen the pictures, or taken the funny quiz.

* Don't visit a website if you are unsure if it is safe or not.

* Never download “free screensavers” from the internet.

* Stay away from anything from GAIN (the Gator Advertising network)

* Stay away from just about anything “cute” on the internet, especially:

— Animated cartoon characters on your desktop that talk to you or interact with what you are doing (such as the bonzai buddy and things like that)

— Applications that automatically download graphics and change your wallpaper (such as webshots)

— Programs like weatherbug that tell you the weather in your taskbar (if it isn't from weather.com, I generally don't trust it, although the Yahoo! Weather widget is pretty cool and safe)

— Screensavers (I know I said this before but these are almost always bad for your computer)

— any free software you found by clicking on an advertisement

* Keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware definitions up to date. These should be updated at least once a week

* Don't use Internet Explorer

* And, finally, don't use Internet Explorer (yes, it is that important). Try Firefox instead.

December 2006