A flu vaccine won't protect you against colds and flu-like viruses that you and your family are exposed to all year long. So what can you do to keep all those "bugs" at bay? Hand-washing, when done correctly, is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Wet your hands with warm running water, add soap, and then rub your hands together for at least 10 seconds, away from the water.

First and foremost you should get yourself the best virus-protection software available. We use Norton. The new Norton secures your computer for you, it will check and disable viruses before they get to your computer. You must have it enabled and running at all times. This will give you the best protection. The newer version does the updates automatically for you. If you have your virus program running, and updated, don't worry about email or about receiving any viruses from any where.

You should NEVER open or install a program you download without using a Virus Checker on it first! We list some free programs in our System Utilities / Security + pages. Regrettably freeware anti virus programs are rapidly disappearing due to the high cost to the author of keeping them up to date. If you want a really sophisticated program that checks for all known viruses you will probably have to buy it.

To protect yourself get the latest Anti-Virus programs and update your virus definitions often - every week is recommended. Some programs are automated in that they prompt you to download updates - a good thing these days. Page Up

To protect your computer from e-mail-borne viruses be sure to use your LVC Webmail account which includes virus and spam protection. For protection from viruses carried by removable disks, file transfer programs and instant messenger software, you should install anti-virus software and keep your virus definitions up-to-date. Note: The College furnishes antivirus software at no charge to full-time students. Go to http://www.lvc.edu/it-services/services/antivirus.

VCU has a site license for Symantec’s Anti-Virus software which is available for download at no cost to VCU students, faculty and staff for use on university and home computers. You can find information and download the software from this Academic Technology Web page. Be sure to perform regular “live update” downloads of virus definition files, preferably daily.

The main reason is that every day, more and more users are interconnected via the Internet or other networks, which creates a major channel for the spread of viruses. Virus programmers are also using ever more sophisticated techniques to create viruses and more cunning ploys to trick users. Similarly, vulnerabilities in commonly used software are now being exploited frequently by virus authors as a means of spreading malicious code.

According to Wilhelm Hoffrogge, president of the Association of the Poultry Industry in Lower Saxony, the poultry industry is generally subject to strict hygiene precautions to protect animal stocks against various pathogens. Protective suits are worn when entering sheds and workers first pass through a bath containing disinfectant. They also wear gloves.

It is NOT possible to pick up a computer virus infection by receiving and reading e-mail. However, file attachments are a different matter. To avoid such problems, all attachments will be stripped from messages by Yahoo Groups. a general rule, never open a file attachment when you are not certain that (a) the source is reliable and (b) the attachment is above suspicion. Many infections occur in which neither the sender nor the receiver is aware of any problem at the time.

Micro-organisms carry a negative charge while TiO2 coated surface carries a positive charge. This creates an "electromagnetic" attraction between the microbe and treated surface. Once contact is made, the microbe is oxidized and dies instantly.

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