JUST LIKE A COIN, A QUESTION ALSO HAS TWO SIDES.  ON THE ONE SIDE, THERE'S
A MIND-BOOGLING SITUATION...ON THE OTHER SIDE, IT'S JUST A "PIECE OF CAKE."

I'M BEING MIND-BOOGLED WITH COMPUTER VIRUSES.  I HAVE A FAIRLY DECENT CMPTR,
COMPAQ 2100 WITH SEVERAL UP-GRADES.  UNFORTUNATELY, VIRUSES ARE ATTRACTED TO
ME JUST LIKE BEE'S TO HONEY.  WHAT DO I DO???  I HAVE A FIREWALL, I HAVE
SYSTEM SUITE 4.0...AND THESE BIG OL' VIRUSES JUST LAUGH ME AND SWIM
INTO MY COMPUTER.  PERHAPS IT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT I'M
MOSTLY A COMPUTER
DUNCE!!  AND THAT'S THE GOSPEL, TOO.

MY GRANDSON TELLS ME THERE IS SOMETHING "OUT THERE" ON GOOGLE THAT CAN SOLVE
MY PROBLEM.  HE TELLS ME TO GET IT, COPY IT AND USE IT.  WELL.

THE MAIN PART OF THIS "CREATURES" NAME IS ... "STINGER"

SO HERE I AM, I'VE GOT MY POLE IN THE WATER, AND I'M JUST HOPING TO LAND
A BIG, INTELLIGENT, PATIENT FISH!!  AND I AM DEAD SERIOUS ABOUT BEING PATIENT.
I'M A 74 YEAR OLD GUY...MOSTLY CONFINED TO A WHEEL CHAIR AND ALSO ON H20 
FOR 24/7/365...ALL OF WHICH MEANS THAT MY RESEARCH CAPABILITIES ARE PRACTICALLY
NIL.

HELP ME OUT IF YOU CAN...I WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATIVR.

---

Request for Question Clarification by joseleon-ga on 13 Mar 2004 02:15 PST

Hello, earlybird74:
  Nice question to read, I will try to be as clearer as possible, but
to prevent viruses infect your computer there is a single, simple,
golden rule:

-Don't open any files sent to you by e-mail

Viruses cannot infect your computer if you don't help them, they send
you strage e-mails with files attached to it and invite you to open
that files, is THEN when you get infected.

So to help you, first you need to scan your system to know if there
are viruses on your system and clean it. Do you have an updated
antivirus?

Regards.

---

Clarification of Question by earlybird74-ga on 13 Mar 2004 08:45 PST

I WILL ATTEMPT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION CONCERNING THE VIRUSES.
IN DOING SO, YOU'RE GOING TO REALIZE I'M A REAL "BOOB" ON ANYTHING
RELATING TO THE COMPUTER.  IN OTHER WORDS,I'M REAL GOOD AT TURNING
IT ON.
ANTI VIRUS?  I HAVE A FIREWALL.  NEXT, I HAVE SYSTEM SUITE 4.0 WHICH
SEEMED TO BE QUITE GOOD INITIALLY IN DETECTING VIRUSES AND ALSO
ELIMINATING THEM.  BUT NOT IN THIS INSTANCE.  IT DID DETECT THE
VIRUSES...THREE OF THE TROJAN TYPE...BUT IT CANNOT ELIMINATE THEM. 
ONE FURTHER COMMENT, I USED TO RECEIVE MSN UPDATES ON PROTECTION
UNTIL THIS PAST DECEMBER.  I BELIEVE MSN NOW HAS AN UPDATED VERSION
ON THIS PARTICULAR PROTECTION, AND THEY DON'T APPEAR TO BE UP DATING
THE OLD VERSION.  I D0N'T KNOW IF THIS COMMENT IS RELEVANT, HOWEVER.
GOOD LUCK!!

You need to update your OS regularly.. most people keep on updating
the Virus Defination file, but fail to update the OS, updating OS
could plug in lot of holes :)

Hello Earlybird,
I am not a researcher but I have gathered a lot of knowledge mainly
from these pages. I would be happy to help you and walk you through
some solutions. In the first instance I would recommend a free and
powerful virus scan. Click on this link 
http://housecall.trendmicro.com  and in the middle of the screen see
the link that says "Scan your PC it's free"? Click on that and then
wait whilst you download the latest pattern. When that is done you
need to click on the disk that you need to scan (probably c), the
autoclean button and the scan button. Now go and grab a coffee or
whatever else grabs your fancy and let housecall clean you up.
Of course this is just the first step. We then should ensure that your
virus protection, firewall and operating system are all up to muster.
Then we install a free package called SpyBot that will remove any
nasty spyware / scumware from your system. It probably looks a little
overwhelming but broken down into component parts it is not really and
at the end you will be clean.

The stinger that you mentioned can be downloaded here:

http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/

This is a nice utility if you already have a virus or suspect that you
have a virus.  This file is updated every week or so by Network
Associates, so download a fresh copy every time that you want to use
it.  It will identify and remove the 50 or so most common viruses at
the time of download.  It will not identify all viruses.

As far as prevention, the best advice is not to open attachments
unless you are expecting it.  So, if something arrives by surprise,
don't open it.  If a friend says that they are specifically sending
you a document, when it arrives it is usually safe.  In addition, be
careful what you download and install from the interent.  Many sites
offer free utilities which seem nice, but will fill your computer with
pop-up ads and what not.

Also, if you are using windows, run the windows update periodically. 
Finally, you may want to invest in a virus scanning application. 
There are four that are all fairly close in quality:

Fprot
http://www.f-prot.com/products/

McAfee
http://us.mcafee.com/default.asp

Symantec/Norton
http://www.symantec.com/

TrendMicro
http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/us/enterprise.htm

Your best bet for the money is probably here, F-prot for only $29:
http://www.areatechcomputers.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=49

I hope this helps.

dpg-ga has given an alternative that I had - use those online virus scanners.
Now, see if you can get someone to install Win2000 professional on
your system and configure with user accounts that cannot install
programs. That way, virus will not be able to wreck your system.

Also:

Install an antivirus and update it regularly from the net.
Don't install programs that are downloaded from unknown software companies.
Any attachment that looks out of place in a mail is better left unopened.
I run a cafe, people bring in diskettes, visit pornographic sites etc
and yet I have been able to keep the system OK with the simple tips
given you.

Peace
Chief