I.  Protect your system from viruses, spyware, and malware – Keller's rules of Safe Computing

• Run a good antivirus program and make sure it is set to update automatically.

• Never open an e-mail attachment unless you can answer “Yes” to all of the following four questions:

    > Do you know who the e-mail message is from?
    > Do you know what the attachment is?
    > Do you know what the attachment does?
    > Did the sender create the attachment?  (If the e-mail is forwarded, the answer to this question is No!)

• Never disable or turn off your antivirus protection, even if a program installation tells you to do so!

• Make sure that Windows ‘Automatic Updates’ is turned on.  Install Windows high priority and important updates as soon as you are notified they are available.

• Never allow unsolicited software to be downloaded, installed or run on your computer.

• Beware of programs that offer something of value for nothing – such programs often contain spyware.

• Never click on links in unsolicited e-mail messages.  Such links may direct you to malicious web sites, may run malicious programs on your computer, or may infect your system with spyware and malware.

 
II.  Keller's First Law of Windows

Never delete, rename or move any file you didn't: put on the hard drive yourself with a program's "Save" or "Save As..." command, copy from a digital camera, or receive as e-mail.  (If you violate this law, Windows will not work properly, or may stop working altogether!)

 
III.  Beware of Hoaxes

• Never do anything to your system based on what you read in an unsolicited e-mail message, no matter who it’s from or how authentic it looks.  The vast majority of these messages are hoaxes, designed to get you to mess up your computer! 

• Never give out personal information such as usernames, passwords, social security number or credit card numbers in response to an unsolicited e-mail message, no matter how authentic the message looks.

 
IV.  Don’t try to “help” Windows

• Never install programs that claim to help Windows perform better or faster, or claim to speed up your internet connection.  (Many of these programs are known as “utilities”.)

• Do not change settings in the Windows Control Panel unless you know exactly what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.

 
V.  Don’t upgrade a program just because an upgrade is available

Before you upgrade an existing program that’s working fine, ask yourself, “What feature or features in the new version do I want or need that the current version does not provide?”  If your answer is “I don’t know”, then don’t upgrade!  (Note: “Upgrading” and “updating” are not the same: Upgrading means going to a new version of a program; updating means installing patches, fixes or enhancements to an existing program.)

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