| Four years ago I made a website about protecting | | | | Some of her children were also fond of using internet |
| computers from viruses because, quite honestly, I just | | | | relay chat (IRC) and/or using some form of file sharing |
| felt sorry for someone. | | | | software like Kazaa or somesuch. Using these kinds |
| It all started when my sister-in-law's personal computer | | | | of programs are an invitation to disaster as well. |
| at home was being infected by one form of virus or | | | | The clincher, as you would have guessed by now, is |
| another at the rate of about once a month. That was | | | | that she never installed any form of anti virus program |
| almost tragic because of the amount of data that was | | | | on her computer. |
| being lost, time wasted and money being needlessly | | | | Therefore, drawing from real-life experience motivated |
| spent on computer repair. In most of the virus infection | | | | me to create a website of this nature. It is indeed |
| incidents, her hard disk had to be reformatted not to | | | | amazing and perhaps sad to a certain extent that |
| mention some of the other hardware components | | | | some people do not take computer protection |
| were being damaged. | | | | seriously. Not that the world is going to end unless you |
| A lot of instances, the virus infection could have been | | | | secure your computer, but if something like what was |
| prevented. At that time, her computer was running on | | | | just described happened to you, you would probably |
| Windows 98 and she never upgraded the browser, | | | | have saved yourself a lot of grief if any sort of |
| Interent Explorer version 4, to begin with. She was also | | | | precaution was taken. |
| using the Outlook Express program that came with | | | | For more than a year now, my sister-in-law's |
| Win 98 for her emails and never upgraded it. She or | | | | computer has been working without any more troubles |
| maybe someone in her family was fond of carelessly | | | | after heeding the advice of a brother-in-law. She's |
| forwarding "chain" emails like jokes and prayers. | | | | updated her browser and email software and installed |
| Needless to say, all that junk mail that was being | | | | an anti virus program. As for her kids, they had to take |
| dumped on others came back to haunt her. She | | | | the bitter medicine-no more online chats and file-sharing |
| started receiving emails with attachments that were | | | | software. I never asked her, but I'm sure in the back of |
| actually viruses. And using an unpatched Outlook | | | | her mind she must have thought that all the headache |
| Express on those kinds of email is like leaving the | | | | and needless expenses could have been avoided if |
| doors and windows of your house wide open. Sooner | | | | she had only taken some simple steps to protecting |
| or later, something bad is bound to happen. | | | | her computer. |