untangling_the_web

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pages saved. If encrypted webpages are cached, the copies saved to your hard
drive are not encrypted and can be read by someone who might gain access to your
computer using malicious software such as a Trojan horse or virus (or even
someone with physical access to your computer).
To prevent this from happening, select:
Tools I Internet Options I Advanced I Security
• Check box next to "Do Not Save Encrypted Pages to Disk"
Next, you need to erase any encrypted pages that might have already been saved to
disk.
Tools I Internet Options I General I Temporary Internet Files I Delete Files
In pop-up message that says "Delete all offline content," click OK
Handle Microsoft Files Safely
It can be risky to open certain Microsoft file types, especially those you may
encounter on the Internet or in email, because of the potential for infection via what
are known as macro viruses. Macro viruses exploit an application such as Word or
Excel (which use little programs called macros) to infect a document and then
spread the infection to other computers and networks. One of the dangers with
macro viruses is that they do not infect programs, so you do not have to run an
executable file to become infected. All you need to do is to open an infected Word,
Excel, Access, or PowerPoint file to activate the virus.
However, there are some simple precautions you should take to avoid the risk of
infection. After all, the awful Melissa virus of 1999 was a Word 97 and Word 2000
macro virus, and it spread like crazy around the world very quickly as an email
attachment. There was another major outbreak of Word macro viruses in 2006, so
the problem is still very much with us. As more search engines make it possible to
search for non-HTML file formats, including all Microsoft file types, it is vital to take
steps to protect yourself and your employer from potentially damaging viruses that
could lurk in these types of files.
There are several ways to handle the problem of macro viruses and prevent both
infection and spread of these nuisances:
~ One of the safest and easiest ways is to use Google or Yahoo to locate the
web page with the link to the file you wish to view, then select view as html or
view as text. These options will permit you to see the file (whether it is a .doc,
.xls, .ppt, .ps, etc.) as an HTML file or a text file (in the case of Postscript files
in Google) with no fear of viruses.
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