QUESTION:
I have a question about opening attachments I get
in email. The rule of thumb is that I can only open
up attachments that come from someone I know, right?
ANSWER:
WRONG! The rule of thumb is do
not to open up ANYTHING that you are not expecting.
Even if it IS from someone you know; DON'T open
it. Virus writers have written viruses that send
out emails, with the virus attached, from people
who have YOUR email address in their address books.
So, the virus email will be from someone you know.
Just don't open anything from ANYONE.
If,
you do receive an attachment and want to be sure
it is okay to open it - write that person back (with
a fresh email) and ask them if they sent you an
email with an attachment. If they didn't odds are
pretty good that their computer is infected with
a virus and the attachment was sent without their
knowledge.
QUESTION:
If I get an attachment and I know my friend legitimately
sent it to me, how can I be sure it isn't infected?
How can I be safe?
ANSWER:
Anytime you open anything, you are taking a risk.
However, there are some good rules to use. Never
open anything with these three extensions; .vbs,
.pif and .exe.
Also
NEVER, I repeat NEVER, open up anything with a triple
name:
dog.rtf
- okay to open
dog.rtf.exe - do NOT open
cat.gif
- okay to open
cat.gif.vbs - do NOT open
bird.jpg
- okay to open
bird.jpg.vbs - do NOT open
And
a small item of note - the only attachments which
do not have the ability to imbed viruses are .jpg
and .gifs - both of which are graphics. Word Documents,
PowerPoint documents, etc., have the ability to
have viruses imbedded in them. So, it is important
to be careful.
QUESTION:
I clicked on something and I think I might have
gotten a virus. HELP! Is there any way to be sure?
ANSWER:
Getting a virus is very easy to do. Even if you
do exercise precautions, once in a while, you might
find yourself a victim of virus writers.
First,
SHUT DOWN your email program (Outlook Express, etc.).
Second, go to the Norton website (http://www.symantec.com)
and run a Security Check. Check for both viruses
and security checks. If you have a virus, turn off
your computer and consult a computer specialist.
Do not continue to use the infected machine, as
you are pummelling everyone in your address book
with viruses. If you must use that computer, make
SURE you are not connected to the internet!
If
you do not have a virus, congratulations. Be SURE
you are using a good firewall and a good anti-virus
software. Norton has a great firewall and anti-virus,
but you can also find free software at: http://www.download.com
QUESTION:
Is it okay to use Instant Messenger, ICQ and other
things like that?
ANSWER:
It is my personal opinion that they are just too
risky. The FIRST virus ever transmitted across the
internet was done so via IRC chat. If you have a
strong firewall and good anti-virus software, and
you don't mind taking risks, then go ahead. However,
use caution.
QUESTION:
I am worried about my child being on the internet.
How can I be sure they are safe?
ANSWER:
You can't. The best you can do is to realize that
you are the parent and use common sense. Never put
the computer with internet access into an area where
the child is able to access the internet without
supervision. If you are gone for long periods of
time leaving your child alone in the house, be sure
that your computer requires a password to get into
windows.
And,
if your child is smart enough to override that function,
then there is one sure-fire thing that I recommend
to ALL PARENTS - a monitoring software. I
recommend Spectorsoft. http://www.spectorsoft.com
It records everything! Every website visited, every
email sent - everything! You can even add their
other software called eBlaster, which will notify
you via email whenever certain words are typed into
the computer. They are both excellent, legal for
use on your own home computer and virtually undetectable.
QUESTION:
Why are my pages loading so slowly?
ANSWER:
While we do make the graphics optimized for the
web, if you are on a slower connection (such as
dial-up ISPs or online services like AOL), they
may take a while to download. Also, if you have
not recently cleared your temporary internet files
or your cache, the directory where your internet
files are automatically kept, may be full. Clear
your temporary internet
files or your cache and try again. Your connection
should be smoother.
QUESTION:
If I want to write to the Pastor, what is his email
address?
ANSWER:
Because of spammers, we have stripped all the email
addresses off the website. If you want to speak
to the pastor, please use the Contact Us page in
the navigation.
QUESTION:
Why do you have a website?
ANSWER:
Our job as born-again Christians is to tell others
about Jesus. We knock doors, witness whenever and
wherever we can and are using this website as just
another tool to reach people and introduce them
to the gospel of Christ.
