The Hindu Business Line : Dos and don'ts for PC users while on vacation

WITH the New Year round the corner and people having packed their bags for travel, they need to have one more aspect on their check list - the shutting down of computers and laptops in their absence.

According to Mr Niraj Kaushik, Country Manager, Trend Micro, India and SAARC, 2005 witnessed more computer infections. And during the past three months, Asia alone accounted for five million infections, more than double that between April and June or even January and March this year.

Another threat that is growing is the mobile virus hitting smart phone users. Holiday goers should apply the latest critical security patches to escape the threats from network viruses - crucial if the PC is to be left turned on during the long holiday.

Because of the fast proliferation of viruses, especially network viruses, holiday-goers are advised not to leave the computer and/or the wireless access point on while being logged onto the Internet.

Not only does this cause wastage of electricity, it exposes the PC to the world of free-riders looking for unprotected or inadequately protected wireless access and/or hackers leveraging free access to perform their malicious acts.

Moreover, unless the automatic virus pattern update has been turned on, new network worms similar to Sasser and Zotob can easily infect unpatched computer even though the PC is not in use, he points out.

And while on holiday, for those using bluetooth devices, it is recommended to set the `auto discover' feature of the devices to OFF.

This will prevent hackers or other infected mobile devices from infecting the bluetooth-enabled devices, especially the smart phones. Although non-smart phones are not vulnerable to virus attacks, with the "auto-discover" turn ON any bluetooth user can be swarmed with irritating messages from an infected bluetooth device in his proximity.

While surfing at an Internet cafe during the holiday, unless the user is sure that the cafe has strong security protection, it is not advisable to do any online activity that requires revealing private information such as credit card details.

And after the holiday, back at work again, it is best to check whether the latest pattern file in the personal computer has been downloaded and updated before starting off.

Also, it would be advisable to go through the basic security best practices, such as being a little wary about e-mails that come in the form of greeting cards which contain free software or are too good to be true offers.

And always remember that no banking institution would ask for sensitive information such as full credit card details, ATM personal identification number, password etc through mail. As a last word of caution, he suggested making a personal commitment to go through the checklist periodically so as to continue to stay protected.

More Stories on : Security | Viruses | Travel & Places

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Fog means all-clear to rabi farmers even as pilots fret

IT's hungry for more and more talent

FMCG big spenders boost ad industry fortunes

IT firms step up security

No cause for any disruption: Dharam Singh

Wake-up call for firms to go for terrorism cover

ATM throws up forged note — AITUC puts up note to PM for inquiry

SEBI panel recommends short selling by institutions

From April, MRP on drugs may include all taxes — Notification amending DPCO soon

Dos and don'ts for PC users while on vacation

`Funds from primary market issues down 25 pc in 2005' — PSU disinvestments boosted 2004 mop-up