Winbook x1 User Manual page 99

X series manual w/no OS
Security
Viruses
It is possible that your computer might become infected by a virus, a
program that was designed to move into a computer's system and cause
damage. Many viruses act by altering the boot record of your disk, thus
rendering it unusable. Some viruses are relatively harmless. Many are
very destructive and can cause serious data loss. If you never exchange
disks with anyone else, only buy software from major companies and
do not exchange information via modem or a network, your risk of being
infected is relatively minimal (although not nonexistent).
Unfortunately, that is a very limiting way to use a computer. You should
regularly check your computer for viruses (not all viruses act immediately,
some are set to engage when a function is performed or when a specific
date and time arrives). There are programs designed for checking for
viruses on your system and eliminating those viruses if found. If you
have been making regular backups of your data, you should be able to
survive infection by a virus with minimal damage. If you use your modem
to upload and download files regularly, you should be sure that you are
checking the files for viruses. Many antivirus programs will check files
as they are received by the modem, this can include checking information
as it is accessed from the World Wide Web.
If your system is infected with a virus, you will usually need to boot
from a bootable floppy disk (if you have the optional USB Floppy Drive)
or CD-ROM, CD-R or CD-RW that you are sure is free of infection. You
should consider carrying a write-protected boot disk with your computer,
to allow for a clean boot wherever you might be using your system.
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Chapter 8: Configuring & Maintaining Your System
ware regularly (most virus
software manufacturers have
an update service) to keep your
system secure from new viruses.
New viruses come along
frequently. You should
update your virus soft-
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