A virus has damaged recently the boot sector and file allocation table of Acer Aspire One’s Windows XP system. I spent time to visit the Acer Service center to have it fixed. It’s very new still like less than 10 days after purchase. There’s little software installed, but what’s important is the folder full of photos downloaded from the Nikon D40x Digital SLR camera.

The service center could easily replace the hard disk and have a new Windows XP installed, but I need to recover the photos left in it. The technician said it was some sort of virus that hit the computer. I am skeptical of their findings, but anyway it’s a good point that an Antivirus Software should be installed in every new computer prior to using it for browsing the Internet.

Today, there is this timely reminder about the campus wide Trend Micro Antivirus Software update available from the local servers.

Dear all users

We would like to remind all users on the availability of licensed Antivirus software (Trend Micro) for all users and Local Windows Update.

In order to minimize virus infection, we strongly recommend all users to use our licensed Trend Micro anti virus software whose virus pattern is updated continuously. By using this software, you are ensured that your computer is protected using proper licensed software with the latest virus pattern file.

We also encourage all users to use Local Windows Update where update of Windows software is done from a local server on campus rather than updating from Microsoft site. Local Windows update is performed much faster and also preserves our limited Internet bandwidth

Details for those services can be obtained from http://localserver.com

Thank you very much for your kind cooperation
———————-
Helpdesk

It’s too bad that the reminder came only a week after the incident. Well as a best practice, Antivirus software is a must for new installed laptops and computers. Another is to upgrade the Windows XP to the latest security updates. Computer viruses are known to exploit security holes in their attacks. So, don’t take a chance; it’s better to be prepared.