Alienware Area-51 m7700, User Manual

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Troubleshooting
8 - 4 Viruses
8
Viruses
• Install an Anti-Virus program and keep the definitions file (the file which tells your program
which viruses to look for) up to date. New computer viruses are discovered daily, and some of
them may seriously harm your computer and cause you to lose data.
Anti-Virus programs are
commercially available and the definitions file updates are usually downloadable directly from
the internet.
• Be careful when opening e-mail from sources you don’t know. Viruses are often triggered from
within e-mail attachments so take care when opening any attached file. You can configure most
Anti-Virus programs to check all e-mail attachments . Note : You should also beware of files
from people you know as the virus may have infected an address book and been automatically
forwarded without the person’s knowledge.
• Keep a “ Boot Floppy Disk ” or “ Bootable CD-ROM ” (this disk provides basic information
which allows you to startup your computer) handy. You may refer to your OS’s documentation for
instructions on how to make one, and many
Anti-Virus programs will also provide such a disk (or
at least instructions on how to make one).