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General Computer Maintenance | Virus Protection
There are a few things you should do to a computer running Windows every once in awhile to keep it going smoothly. You can do these
operations yourself when you think of it, or you can use programs that automatically perform these tasks. This page covers the most basic of such operations and programs. (Macintoshes never need this
maintenance, supposedly.)
You should also take a look at the Responsible Computing Handbook for Faculty and Staff
published online by ITC. It's only about ten pages long, and it can save you some trouble later if you know what the rules are now. Cyberethics, anyone?
General Computer Maintenance
As we all know now after the Blaster Worm virus, we should all regularly run the Windows
Update--not only to fix security vulnerabilities, but also to install revisions ("fixes" or "patches") as flaws in the operating system are newly discovered. To do this, open the Internet Explorer
browser (while online) and go to Tools --> Windows Update.
The Windows operating system comes packaged with system utilities; you should also explore these helpful programs to see what they can do to improve your computer's
day-to-day performance. These utilities can be found by going to Start --> Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools.
One of the most helpful and least used of these programs is the "Disk Defragmenter." As you
work, your computer stores parts of files in any old place on its hard disk--in other words, the
data becomes fragmented. ("These fragments I have shored against my ruin," asserts the melancholy machine.) When you defragment your hard disk, you're just telling the computer to
pile up all those fragments in one place. This way, it doesn't have to run around searching for the bit of string that it put away three years ago in a rusty coffee can in the garage; all the bits
and pieces are tidily gathered together and your computer suddenly becomes sanguine and robust--more Whitman than Eliot.
Be sure to exit from all running programs before you defragment your hard disk. You should
also right-click on each of the tiny icons in the System Tray in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen  and attempt to stop those programs from running. If you have not defragmented your hard disk in a long time (or ever), the
process can take hours to complete--so you might want to set it running at night, before you go to bed.
Another program, the "Maintenance Wizard," will allow you to schedule regular
defragmentation, and will also delete unneeded files and check the surface integrity of your hard disk (whatever that means). I run this maintenance a couple of times a semester.
Macintosh computers do not come packaged with system utilities, since in this respect Macs
need much less attention than Windows machines. You might want to download or purchase programs that can help you keep your computer running smoothly. Norton SystemWorks Pro
(available from Cavalier Computers for $64.95) might help.
See also software sites such as ZDNet to try out some free or inexpensive system utilities.
Virus Protection 
Your computer should have virus-protection software installed on it. ITC offers
such software for free to members of the UVa Community; see ITC's "Software Central" page to download and install such software:
In 2002-2003, the virus-protection software recommended by ITC is Norton AntiVirus.
It is important, however, not only to install this software, but also to use it. And to use it
properly, you need to understand a little about how it works.
The proliferation of viruses is limited only by the proliferation of human mischief--which is to
say that it is absolutely unlimited. New viruses are continually being invented by people with serious reservations about the behemoth computing systems such as that lorded over, by,
oh, say, the University of Virginia. Therefore, no computer yet invented can keep up with the viruses, nor any software.
(Which may be part of a hacker's fierce humanism, actually. It's really rather Foucauldian, all
this play with the mammoth institutions. I obviously have some respect for hackers and virus inventors--they are partly criminals, partly tricksters, partly principled guerrillas. But it certainly
is a pain, individually speaking, when suddenly your e-mail program begins of its own accord to send junk e-mails to everyone in your address book in an effort to clog the system. And
there are more serious viruses out there.)
Virus-protection software works by searching your computer for known viruses. This is called
a "virus scan." You should set your virus software to scan your computer for viruses at least once a week (well, at least once a month). In Norton AntiVirus, you can do this by opening the
program in Start --> Programs --> Norton AntiVirus, then clicking once on Scheduled Scans in the left-hand pane, then clicking once on New Scheduled Scan. You'll be taken through a
process that will allow you to tell the computer when to scan for viruses.
However, since new viruses are invented frequently, you must also obtain a new "virus
definition file" on a regular basis. A virus definition file is essentially the list of all known viruses that your virus software consults during a virus scan. If your computer has an old virus
definition file, your computer will be vulnerable to all the newer viruses.
To update your virus definition file with Norton AntiVirus, first connect your computer to the
Internet, then either click the "LiveUpdate" button in the bottom right corner of the program's main window, or schedule a regular virus definition file update by choosing File --> Schedule
Updates from the main menu.
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