1. Working with the Windows Desktop and File System
Unit 4
Working with the Windows Desktop and File System

2. Let’s begin this presentation by copying a file to the Desktop
Let’s begin this presentation by copying a file to the Desktop. You may wonder why we would want to do this. Perhaps the main reason is accessibility. If we know we will be using the same file over and over again, there is no place more convenient for that file than the desktop.
Recall that in the last unit we placed the WordPad icon in the Start Menu so it would be immediately available each time we opened this menu…convenient, but we still must open the Start Menu to get to it. By placing a copy of WordPad directly on the Desktop, we have immediate access to it each time the computer boots.

3. C:\Program Files\Accessories \Wordpad.exe
C:\Program Files\ Windows NT\Accessories \Wordpad.exe
To copy WordPad to the Desktop, we must first know where WordPad is located. You could search and find it, but for the purpose of this presentation we will tell you the path to it. We also assume that you know how to follow this path using the My Computer window to find it.

4. Following this path you will eventually come to the WordPad program, as shown here.

5. 2 3 1 + Copying to the Desktop is a three-part process...
1. Select the file you want to copy.
2. Hold down the Control key and drag the file to the Desktop.
3. Drop the file on the desktop. 1

6. +
As you drag the file, you will see a small plus sign indicating that you are copying the file.
When you are done, notice that two icons now exist; one inside the My Computer window, the other on the desktop.

7. If we now close the My Computer window, we see that a copy of WordPad is on the Desktop where it is always easily accessible. Double-clicking on this icon …

8. …opens WordPad.

9. Folders can be copied to the desktop the same way
Folders can be copied to the desktop the same way. As you have seen, there are usually several different ways to accomplish the same thing in Windows 98. To demonstrate this, let’s use a different technique to copy a folder to the Desktop. Let’s assume that this is the folder we want to copy. It is called the Cursors folder, but we could have used any other folder just as well.

10. 2 3
This time we select the folder, use the right mouse button to drag it to the desktop, and then drop it on the Desktop. 1

11. When we use the right mouse button, as soon as we drop the folder on the Desktop this pop up menu appears. It gives us four options: move the folder here, copy the folder here, create a shortcut, or cancel the operation.

12. We want to copy it, so we click on Copy Here.

13. 1 2
A copy of the folder, shown here as 1, now appears on the Desktop. But strangely enough, the pop up menu may not disappear as you might expect. Instead, a part of the menu lingers behind, shown here as 2. The menu is no longer active and it will be removed the next time the desktop is redrawn. This is called an artifact. Since artifacts can be annoying, let’s see how we can get rid of it.

14. Simply right-click on any empty spot on the Desktop and this pop-up menu will appear. While the menu gives us several options, we want to refresh the desktop. Clicking on Refresh redraws the desktop without the annoying artifact.
We can also create our own folder on the Desktop if we like.
Simply right-click on any empty spot on the Desktop and again the pop-up menu appears. This time we are interested in the New option.

15. If we select New, a submenu opens, giving us additional choices
If we select New, a submenu opens, giving us additional choices. The contents of the New submenu can be much different that what we’re showing here. Many applications add items to this list, and each new version of Windows seems to have a different set of options. We want to create a new folder, so we select the first option.

16. Immediately the new folder appears, with the Windows-assigned name: New Folder. Chances are, this is not the name we would have chosen. So we can immediately type in the name we want. In this example…
…let’s call it Demo.

17. 2 3
We now have three new items on the Desktop: the WordPad file that we copied, the Cursor folder that we copied, and the new Demo folder that we created. 1

18. If we wanted to, we could clean up the Desktop by dragging the Cursor folder and the WordPad file to our new Demo folder.

19. If you open the folder by double-clicking on it, you see that it contains the Cursor folder and WordPad file.

20. Have you ever deleted a file only to find out later that you needed it after all? It happens all too often. One of the nice features of Windows is the Recycle Bin. This is a special feature that gives you a second chance when you find out that you really do need that file that you deleted yesterday.
The Recycle Bin is the icon that looks like a trash can. If you place the cursor over it, a message appears that spells out its function in a single phrase: “Contains deleted items you can permanently remove or restore.”

21. To demonstrate how it works, let’s say we decide that we no longer need the Demo folder that we created earlier. We can delete the folder and its contents simply by dragging the folder and dropping it in the Recycle Bin.
We are asked if we really want to send the file to the Recycle Bin. Clicking Yes completes the transfer of the file to the Recycle Bin.

22. Notice that the Demo folder has disappeared from the desktop
Notice that the Demo folder has disappeared from the desktop. Now let’s suppose that later we realize that we need the Demo folder and its contents after all. We simply open the Recycle Bin…

23. … and there we find the Demo folder.
To recover the folder, we simply drag it out of the trash and drop it back on the Desktop.

24. In Windows 2000/XP, you open the Recycle Bin and right-click an item you wish to restore. Selecting the Restore option places the item back where it originated.

25. We’ve been working with the menus in My Computer, which is one way of managing files and folders. But there is another, more powerful program within Windows that can do all of that and much, much more. This programs is called Windows Explorer. Don’t confuse Windows Explorer with Internet Explorer, they are very different programs.
You can access the explorer through programs on the Start Menu. But there’s a quicker way.

26. Click right mouse button on Start
Use the right mouse button to click the Start Button and select Explore. One of the goals Microsoft had in developing Windows 98 was accessibility. For most operations there are many ways to accomplish the task you have in mind.

27. Current Disk & Path
Regardless of how you get there, Windows Explorer is a very useful tool. It displays the drives and directories on the selected logical system disk and path. The current disk and path are displayed at the top of the window. Below that, on the left, are the subdirectories, which are also referred to as folders.

28. Selected Disk, Directory or Folder
Here the C drive is selected, as indicated by the dark blue block around that drive name.
The left side of the Windows Explorer display contains only drives, folders, and other groups of folders and files.

29. - means condense + means expand
Each of these can be expanded or condensed, as indicated by the plus or minus sign in front of them. When a folder is expanded, it displays a minus sign and you can condense it by clicking that minus sign. A file that is not expanded displays a plus sign, and you can expand it by clicking the plus sign. The C drive here is expanded. The other objects displayed are not.

30. The Left Mouse Button Opens the Folder
Clicking the folder itself, not the plus or minus sign, opens that folder. You close one folder by opening another.

31. The Status Bar at the bottom of the display gives you additional information about the directory, folder, or file that you have selected.
The Status Bar can be turned on or off in the View Menu.

32. The View Menu can also changed, just like My Computer.

33. There is also a Views button in the tool bar at the top of the window that gives you these same choices.

34. Navigating Folders
Windows gives you some useful tools for navigating the maze of multiple layers of folders within folders. Let’s take a look at some of them.
To go to the parent of the current folder, simply click the Up button in the tool bar.

35. Then to return to the previous folder, simply click the Back button in the tool bar. If you went through multiple folders to get here, each click of the Back button takes you one step further back. Or you can use the Forward button to go in the opposite direction.

36. Both the Back and Forward buttons have a little arrow attached
Both the Back and Forward buttons have a little arrow attached. Clicking on the arrow opens a menu showing some of the previous folders you have visited. Selecting the folder from the list immediately takes you to that folder without having to take one step at a time.

37. List of Recent Folders
In much the same way, the File Menu lists the last several Folders that you have visited.

38. For those who prefer menus to buttons, the Go menu gives you an alternate way to step Backward, Forward, or Up One Level, as shown here. Notice also that there are keyboard shortcuts for the most common actions. Alt+Left Arrow is the same as Back, and Alt+Right Arrow is the same as Forward.

39. For folders, files or applications that you use frequently, you can add them to your Favorites List using this menu. With a little practice you will find that navigating the maze of folders is a snap.

40. Selecting Files or Folders
Windows 98 also gives you a variety of ways to select a given file or folder. Let’s look at several. In these examples, we will be selecting files, but the techniques work just as well for folders.
To select several files that are side by side, you can click the mouse button and drag the mouse to surround the files you wish to select. When you release the mouse button…

41. … the files are selected.

42. Here is another way to select several files
Here is another way to select several files. Let’s say we wish to select the files called SCREEN00 through SCREEN07 from this list of files.
First click on the top file...
...then hold down the Shift key and click on SCREEN07. When you release the Shift key, the two files you clicked on and all files in between are selected.
Shift

43. But what if you want to select files that are not one right after the other? For example, to select only the odd numbered files from this list, select one of the files and hold down the Control key as you select the remaining files.
Ctrl

44. Copying Files or Folders
Normally, you select a file or folder in order to do something with it, such as copy it or move it. Let’s look at several ways to copy a file or folder.
One way to copy files is to use the Copy and Paste functions in the Edit menu. That is, once you have selected the files, open the Edit menu and select Copy. This copies the files to the clipboard.

45. Next select the location you want to copy the file to
Next select the location you want to copy the file to. Then select Paste in the Edit menu.
Another way to do the same thing is to use the Copy button in the Tool bar.
Then after selecting the receiving folder, click the Paste button in the Tool bar.

46. Yet another way to copy files is to “drag and drop
Yet another way to copy files is to “drag and drop.” For example, select the files and drag them to the folder or drive you want to copy them to. As you drag the files, a ghostly outline of the files appears. If you want to copy them to the floppy drive, you simply drag them over and drop them on the Floppy icon.

47. As the files are being copied, you will see a window that tells you the source, destination and progress of the copy operation.
After the operation, if you examine the contents of the floppy, you will see the files that were copied.

48. Moving Files or Folders
Moving files or folders is just as easy except now, you use Cut and Paste rather than Copy and Paste. Here again, you can use Toolbar buttons or the Edit menu.

49. Of course another way is to Copy and Paste and then delete the original file or folder. You can delete a selected file by using the Delete button in the Toolbar or by using the Delete command in the File menu.

50. Anytime you have an operation as drastic as the Delete command, it is good to have an Undo operation as well. Clicking the Undo button will undo many actions… a good thing to remember when you have just made a mistake and want to undo it. Again, there is a keyboard shortcut, this time it is Ctrl+Z.
Well, that’s the basics.

51. Searching for Files
Finding a file has never been easier than it is today. All of us have “lost” a document that we worked on the day before. It’s in the computer somewhere, but with these huge hard drives that file could be anywhere. How do you find it? Simple: Perform a search for all files created since yesterday.
Here’s how you do it in Windows: Open the File Find dialog. (Start | Find | files or folders, or [Windows key+F) As shown here, you open the Date tab and select the Find all files button, then select “during the previous 1 days.” Click Find Now and the complete list of files created in the last 24 hours are displayed. From here you can open the file directly or select and copy it (Ctrl+C) and paste it into a folder in Explorer.

52. Still Searching
Under the Advanced tab you can search by file size, of just for certain file types. This search was performed just after the last search, and if you look closely something needs discussed…There are many, many files “at least 64 KB” on a default Windows computer, but this search turned up just four. Why?
Because the Date settings we made previously are still in effect. This search is actually “all files 64 KB and larger created since yesterday.” If you go back and clear the search date settings, this search turns up 2,268 files.
As you search, keep in mind that the settings in the tabs are combined.

53. Still Searching
The Process is similar in Windows 2000, but it’s called Search instead of Find. This tool is very easy to use.

54. Windows XP adds another layer, by asking if you wish to search for pictures, documents, files, printers, or people. The step just beyond this layer looks just like Windows 2000.

55. File Extensions Extensions control how a file is opened.
By default, you can’t see file extensions.
Extensions are displayed for unregistered file types.
All versions of Windows rely on a filename’s extension to define file types. When you double-click on a file with a .doc extension, Windows knows which application to use for opening the file. All the extensions are “registered” to allow files and documents to be opened in this manner.
Microsoft assumes that file extensions are too confusing for normal computer users, so by default you do not see the extensions in Windows Explorer, My Computer, or in any File Open/Save dialog. That is, unless the file extension is not registered, in which case Windows doesn’t know how to handle the file and the extension is shown.

56. The Default View
This Explorer window shows several examples of how Windows handles filename extensions. This is the default setting that all Windows systems use when you first turn them on. The first file, “file.AAA” has its complete filename including extension shown. That’s because Windows doesn’t know what application the “.AAA” extension is used with.
The next file looks like a harmless 1 KB text file.
The rest of the files have standard filenames. Notice that they also have icons that represent the file type. Also notice that the Type column tells us what kind of file is displayed. Look carefully at that column. If you double-click these files they are opened by the application associated with their file extensions, in this case Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, and probably WordPad. (Text files can be opened by many different applications.) Windows handles all of this for you.
Remember that “harmless 1 KB text file?” Look at the filename again…it’s a text file, right? Wrong…a text file has an icon that looks like a notebook and the file type says “Text Document.” In this case there is a different icon and the Type is “VBScript Script File.” This file will be opened in WordPad or Notepad, right? Wrong again, VBScript files are run by the Windows Scripting host. The Windows Scripting Host is a very powerful tool that can do virtually anything in your computer, including deleting all the files.

57. Unhide those Extensions!
We think that you can handle file extensions. In fact, we think that you should ALWAYS turn them on, and here’s how in Windows 98:
Open the View menu, and select Folder Options…

58. Unhide those Extensions!
In Windows 2000 and Windows XP the Folder Options are on the tools menu.
Open the View menu, and select Folder Options…

59. Unhide those Extensions!
In either OS, click the View tab. Then uncheck the box next to “Hide file extensions for known file types.” Click OK.

60. The Safe View
And here’s that same folder with the extensions turned ON for viewing. The view may be a little more cluttered, but Windows isn’t hiding anything from you either. That “harmless 1KB text file” isn’t looking so harmless right now, with it’s trick exposed.
[Note to Instructor: if you have students following along with this presentation you might consider adding another point to the presentation. Have the students attempt to rename a file with the extensions hidden. Try to change a .doc file into a .txt file, for instance. You’ll find that it cannot be done.)

61. Disk Properties
Next, let’s look at the disks in a typical Windows system. Suppose we need to quickly know how much free space is available on a hard disk drive. How do you do that? The fastest way is to open My Computer from the desktop. To the right of each disk is a column showing the total size and free space. If you turn on the “View as a web page” option you will also see the graphic as shown on the left. But this is all you get…

62. More Disk Properties
If you right-click the disk’s icon you see several items. Select Properties at the bottom and click…

63. And you get the same information plus quite a bit more
And you get the same information plus quite a bit more. Here you can change the disk label, which is really just the name of the disk. You can see what kind of FAT is being used and where the disk is located, as well as go to the Disk Cleanup tool.

64. Viruses

65. A Virus is... An intentionally destructive computer program.
Human generated vs. machine generated.
Somebody’s illness they intentionally give to you and hope you pass it on.
We can’t fight something well if we don’t understand what it is.
A virus is an intentionally destructive computer program. Somebody, somewhere wrote it. They created this program with one purpose in mind…to create havoc with as many computers as they can possibly infect. This might be done by formatting someone’s hard disk drive and destroying their data. Some viruses are not really destructive but are more of a nuisance. They might display insulting messages on the user’s screen, make letters fall off the bottom of the screen, or constantly reboot the computer.
A virus isn’t a computer bug. A person who evidently gets enjoyment from causing problems for other people intentionally creates it. It normally can’t damage hardware but it can erase or change files and alter setup data such as the CMOS.
A computer virus is just that. It’s an illness that someone intentionally gives your computer hoping you will pass it on to other people too.

66. Targets of a Computer Virus
Floppy disks
HDD Data
A virus has three possible targets…
•Floppy disks
•Hard disk drive
•BIOS
You don’t hear about a virus attacking someone’s BIOS much any more. Few viruses attack the BIOS as it’s too easy to detect.
ROM BIOS

67. How a Virus Spreads Virus Virus Virus Hard Disk Drive Virus Infected
Floppy Disk
Here’s how a virus spreads. A friend convinces you to bring home a copy of their resume on a floppy disk to look over and make some suggestions on how they can improve it. You agree to do it. You both use the same word processing program so it shouldn’t be too tough to do. You sharpen their resume up a bit and return the disk to them. Little do you know, but the disk they gave you contains the latest Eastern European Word macro virus. As soon as you opened the resume file, the macro virus copied itself to your hard drive and went to work. Now every time you use your word processor and hit the keyboard’s dollar sign key, a Word file is deleted from your hard disk drive. Not only did you give them the disk back but you also made copies to give to three friends to show off your excellent resume editing skills. Each of those floppy disks now contains the same virus.
Floppy Disks

68. From Network, BBS, or Internet
How a Virus Spreads
Hard Disk Drive
Virus
Virus
Virus
Virus
From Network, BBS, or Internet
Another way to unknowingly pick up a virus is by downloading programs or files from a network, a bulletin board system, or the internet. These viruses can be passed on in the same way. As a matter of fact, viruses can now be spread over the internet from anywhere in the world at incredible speed.
Floppy Disks

69. Where Viruses Hide Executable files (Parasitic Virus)
The hard or floppy disk DOS Boot Record (Boot Sector Virus)
Hard disk partition record
continued...
Where do computer viruses hide?
•They hide in program files. They are called parasitic viruses.
•Viruses can also hide in the boot records of floppy or hard disks. This type of virus loads as soon as the computer boots up or if you boot from an infected floppy. Such a virus can spread to every disk that is read by the computer.
•In addition, they can hide in the hard disk partition record. As soon as the partition is read, the virus loads.

70. Where Viruses Hide Added to end of legitimate program.
In unused memory areas
In a disk sector.
In memory - TSRs
They can attach themselves to the end of a program.
•Viruses can hide in unused memory areas a program reserves for itself.
•They may hide in a disk sector. They fool the operating system and anti-virus scanner into thinking the sector or sectors are bad or they just hide by making themselves invisible.
•Viruses may hide in memory as TSRs-Terminate and Stay Resident programs.

71. Parasitic Viruses
Attach themselves to executable programs and do their dirty work when that program is run.
We mentioned that some viruses are parasitic viruses. They attach themselves to executable programs and wait for the program to be run and then do their damage.

72. Loaded into memory when the computer boots from an infected disk.
Boot Sector Viruses
Loaded into memory when the computer boots from an infected disk.
We mentioned Boot Sector viruses a minute ago. They load into memory when the computer boots from a drive that has an infected disk. Boot sector viruses are usually found on hard disk drives.

73. Common Virus Types Worms Trojan Horses Bombs
There are three common virus types. These are…
•Worms
•Trojan Horses
•Logic Bombs

74. The Worm
Worm
Most viruses have some type of Worm capability. The Worm part of a virus is what spreads the virus from computer to computer or from program to program in the same computer. It is called a Worm because it likes to travel by duplicating itself. We won’t get into the reproductive life of worms today!

75. The Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm

76. The Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm

77. The Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm

78. The Trojan Horse
TNT
The next type of virus is the Trojan Horse. Remember the legend? A group of Greek soldiers hid inside a hollow, wooden horse that was rolled into Troy. The residents of Troy had no idea that there was an unpleasant surprise waiting inside. They found out when these soldiers came out of the horse and opened up the city gates to let the Greek army in.
A Trojan Horse virus can work the same way. An innocent looking program can contain a deadly virus. Someone may offer you a “free” game. You are excited and can hardly wait to get it home to play it. Unfortunately for you, there is a virus Bomb hidden in the game.

79. 10 Minutes after this presentation starts
The BOMB
January 1, 2000
Monday, August 5
10 Minutes after this presentation starts
Friday the 13th
The worm part of the virus distributes the virus from computer to computer or from program to program inside a computer.
The Bomb part of the virus is what does the damage. The Bomb waits for some date or event and then does its damage.

80. 10 Minutes after this presentation starts
January 1, 2000
Monday, August 5
10 Minutes after this presentation starts
Bomb
TNT
Worm
Worm
Viruses can be any or all of these types. You may find a virus that travels as a Worm, seems to be friendly like a Trojan Horse, and then on a certain date or when a specific event occurs, destroys like a Bomb.
Worm
Worm
Worm
Worm
Trojan Horse

81. Not all Viruses are Destructive
Not all viruses are destructive. Sometimes a virus simply displays a message on the infected computer’s screen. It may make the characters on the screen fall off the bottom of the screen. It may cause the computer to constantly reboot. A virus doesn’t always destroy data. Sometimes it is just annoying.

82. How a Virus Works... Your system “catches” the virus.
The virus activates.
The Worm spreads the virus
Here’s how a virus works. First, your system catches the virus from an infected program or you boot from an infected floppy disk (boot record). The virus activates when you use the program. It may use its Worm and spread. It may do the damage it was designed to do immediately or may wait until a certain date or event before its bomb goes off.
The virus Worm spreads the virus to other programs on your hard disk drive or onto a floppy disk so it can be spread to someone else’s computer. Eventually the virus does its evil.

83. Macro Virus Probably most common virus today.
Open doc with Macro and you’ve got it.
Often found in Word and Excel docs.
Written in the app’s macro language.
Easy to spread.
Transferred over the internet.
Macro languages are easy to learn.
One of the most common viruses today is the Macro virus. You can pick up this virus and not even realize you have it until you attach a file to an and send it to a business associate. If they have virus detection software, they may contact you and say “thanks for the virus.” Chances are they detected it and destroyed it. Or, the virus may be transferred from user to user, to whoever your file is passed on to.
To get this virus, you simply have to open the file with the Macro virus attached. Macro viruses are often found in Word and Excel documents, two of the most popular programs used in business today. Macro viruses are written in the application’s macro language. The macro writing tools often ship with the application so many people have access to these tools and can write viruses.
And since they are commonly found in business documents, they are easily spread from company to company, from department to department, and from user to user. Macro viruses are often transferred over the internet. For example, you might download a Word document with a Macro virus in it or you might get the virus from a Word document attached to an .
Macro languages are quite easy to learn. It doesn’t take a professional programmer to create these viruses. A lot of people know how to write macros and unfortunately this puts the capability to write viruses into the hands of millions of people.

84. Preparing for the Virus Attack that will Strike Sooner or Later
Preventing Viruses
Preparing for the Virus Attack that will Strike Sooner or Later
Let’s look at ways to prevent viruses and what to do if you get one.
Actually, it might be better to title this section “Preparing for the Virus Attack that will Strike Sooner or Later”. It’s going to happen. You can prepare for it but you can’t prevent a virus attack. It’s coming.

85. Virus Protection is a Tradeoff
Time Investment
Try to be here
Virus protection is actually a tradeoff. It’s a tradeoff between the amount of protection you feel you need, the amount of safety there is, and the time you want to invest in it. Take a look at this virus protection timeline. The vertical axis is the amount of time invested. The horizontal axis is the amount of virus protection, from absolute protection on the left to no protection on the right. The red dotted line is the amount of time that has to be invested. Absolute protection requires a lot of time. Acceptable protection requires less time and then we swing back to a lot of time invested again for no protection. No protection will require a lot of time because you will end up spending a lot of time reloading software, reconfiguring PCs, etc.
Absolute
None
Safety

86. Regular Backups are More Important than any Virus Protection ProceduresHD
Win 98
Boot Disk
My Important Data
Here’s how you can help prevent virus disasters. First of all, do regular data backups. We are not concerned with backing up application programs because those can be easily re-installed if necessary. But the data generated by those programs might be very valuable and expensive to replace or may not be replaceable at all. So back that data up regularly.
Regular backups are more important than any virus protection steps you can take. Of course you still need virus protection plans and action. You also need to train PC users to back up their data to a safe location or to a location where the network administrator can back it up to tape, CD-R, or whatever safe method is chosen.

87. Use Software Only From Reputable Sources...
Don’t use pirated software.
Don’t borrow software.
Don’t loan software.
Make sure you have the original software distribution disks - floppies, CD-ROM, etc.
Second, only use software that is from reputable sources.
Don’t use pirated software. Pirated software is software that has to be paid for but wasn’t. That’s unethical and illegal. In other words, it’s stealing. Pay for the software you use.
•Don’t borrow software from friends, associates, etc.
•Don’t loan your software to other people. You do not want them making illegal copies of your hard earned, paid for and registered software, do you?
•Make sure you have the original software master distribution disks. These might be floppy disks, CD-ROMs, or some other media.

88. Use a Virus Scanner Regularly
Get the latest virus definitions from WWW.
Educate users in using virus scanning software.
Scan diagnostic and boot disks regularly.
…and make sure you download new virus definitions regularly. Virus definitions are information your virus scanner needs to search out and identify new viruses that come on the scene. Without the latest virus definitions, you could be hit with a virus and your virus scanner wouldn’t recognize it.
Educate users in using anti-virus software. Anti-virus software does no good if it is installed on someone’s computer but never used. Be sure to scan your diagnostic disks and boot disks regularly. You can easily pick up a virus when you are helping a user solve a problem.

89. Have an Emergency Virus Scanner Disk
Bootable Virus Scanner Emergency Disk
Create an emergency virus scanner disk…some virus scanner utilities walk you through this task. Make sure you have a virus-free, bootable floppy disk with the scanner on it in case you run into serious virus problems.

90. Have a Quarantine Machine for Disk Testing
Scan disks on quarantine machine.
Load the disk contents onto quarantine machine HDD and scan.
Cold boot quarantine computer from your EBD and check hard disk.
Finally, it’s not a bad idea in an office or any location that has a lot of users to have a quarantine machine.
The quarantine machine is a self-standing computer system with anti-virus scanning software loaded on its hard disk drive. Whenever someone brings a disk into the office, they scan it on this machine before using it on any other computer. After scanning the disk, they load the contents of the disk on the quarantine machine’s hard drive and scan it again. As a final safety check, cold boot the quarantine computer with the bootable, emergency disk and check the hard disk one more time. That should do it! It sounds like a lot of work but this is serious business.

91. Is it Worth all the Time and Trouble?
The Big Question
This brings up a big question. Is the time and money invested in anti-virus precautions really worth it? Maybe it makes more sense to concentrate your efforts on performing frequent data backups. If a virus does strike you can format the hard drives involved and re-install the applications.
Would that make more sense? What do you think?
Is it Worth all the Time and Trouble?

92. If you get a virus...
Ignore messages saying “Do not turn this computer off or the data will be destroyed”.
Cold boot from the EBD, run scanner and clean infected files.
Scan any recently used floppies.
Now we know what to do to prevent a virus attack. Let’s take a look at what to do if we get a virus.
First of all, ignore any on-screen messages that tell you not to turn off the computer or data will be destroyed. Are you going to listen to a virus writer?
The best thing to do is to immediately turn off the computer. Maybe you can save some data from being destroyed.

93. If you get a virus... Did user give floppies to anyone else?
Re-partition, format, and reload software if scanner can’t remove virus.
Remember the emergency disk we made earlier? Use that disk to cold boot the computer so you can run the virus scanner and destroy the virus.
Make sure you cold boot since some viruses can hide during a warm boot.