Virus Software
by L.J. Zacker, Craig Zacker, David Pogue
Windows XP Pro: The Missing Manual, Second Edition
- Windows XP Pro Edition: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition
- What the Reviewers Said
- The Missing Credits
- Introduction
- I. The Windows XP Desktop
- 1. The Desktop and Start Menu
- Logging In
- The Elements of the XP Desktop
- The Start Menu
- Start→Log Off
- Start→Shut Down (Turn Off Computer)
- Start→All Programs
- Start→Run
- Start→Search
- Start→Help and Support
- Start→Control Panel
- Start→Set Program Access and Defaults
- Start→My Network Places
- Start→My Computer
- Start→My Music, My Pictures
- Start→My Recent Documents
- Start→My Documents
- Customizing the Start Menu
- 2. Windows, Folders, and the Taskbar
- 3. Organizing Your Stuff
- 4. Getting Help
- 1. The Desktop and Start Menu
- II. The Components of Windows XP
- 5. Programs and Documents
- 6. The Freebie Software
- The Windows XP Accessories
- Windows XP Games
- Everything Else
- 7. Pictures, Sound, and Movies
- 8. The Control Panel
- Category View: The Big XP Change
- Accessibility Options
- Add Hardware
- Add or Remove Programs
- Administrative Tools
- Automatic Updates
- Bluetooth Devices
- Date and Time
- Display
- Folder Options
- Fonts
- Game Controllers
- Internet Options
- Keyboard
- Mouse
- Network Connections
- Network Setup Wizard
- Phone and Modem Options
- Power Options
- Printers and Faxes
- Regional and Language Options
- Scanners and Cameras
- Scheduled Tasks
- Security Center
- Sounds and Audio Devices
- Speech
- System
- Taskbar and Start Menu
- User Accounts
- Windows Firewall
- Wireless Network Setup Wizard
- III. Windows Online
- 9. Hooking Up to the Internet
- 10. Security, Firewalls, and Service Pack 2
- 11. Web, Chat, and Videoconferencing
- Internet Explorer
- Windows Messenger
- 12. Outlook Express 6
- IV. Plugging into Windows XP
- 13. Printing, Fonts, and Faxing
- 14. Hardware
- 15. Joining, Compressing, and Encrypting Disks
- 16. Maintenance, Backups, and Troubleshooting
- V. Life on the Network
- 17. Accounts, Permissions, and Logging On
- Introducing User Accounts
- Windows XP: The OS With Two Faces
- Local Accounts on a Workstation
- Local Accounts on a Domain Computer
- Local Users and Groups
- Setting Up the Logon Process
- Logging On
- Profiles
- NTFS Permissions: Protecting Your Stuff
- 18. Setting Up a Workgroup Network
- 19. Introducing Network Domains
- 20. Sharing Network Files
- 21. Three Ways to Dial In from the Road
- 17. Accounts, Permissions, and Logging On
- VI. Appendixes
- A. Installing Windows XP Pro
- B. Windows XP, Menu by Menu
- C. Fun with the Registry
- Index
- Colophon
Windows XP SP 2 also direly warns you if you have no antivirus software installed—but unlike the firewall example, this time Microsoft doesn’t provide any. The Virus Protection feature, it turns out, is not an inoculation but simply an alert.
However, if you click the Recommendations button (visible in Figure 10-2), you’re taken online to a Web page filled with free time-limited trials of various antivirus programs.
Tip
Some antivirus programs not listed by Microsoft on this page aren’t just trials—they’re actually free. For example, at http://www.grisoft.com, you can download AVG Free Edition, which is free antivirus software. It’s a welcome alternative to better known but much more expensive products like Symantec Antivirus and McAfee Virus Scan.
Once you’ve installed antivirus software, the Security Center will smile on you with a happy green ON “light” next to the Virus Protection heading. (That is, it will if it recognizes the antivirus software. As with firewall software, lesser- known brands and versions released before Service Pack 2 may not be recognized.)
You’ll have a much more relaxed computing life once you’ve protected your PC with this kind of software. Consider antivirus software part of the cost of doing business, and remember that you are the best defense against viruses. Don’t open email attachments, no matter how juicy they look.
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