Viruses

There is no necessity to advise the Queensland Police Service of viruses as:

1. A great many virus alerts are hoaxes - the forwarding of hoaxes in the belief that they are real has become such a problem that it is now sometimes classified as a type of virus in itself!
2. If you e-mail the Queensland Police Service and you really do have a virus then you may be passing that virus on.
3. The IT industry and law enforcement agencies around the world have established systems to alert each other about genuine virus threats.

Only if you believe that a possible virus may be part of an attempt to hack or otherwise misuse your computer system should you report the matter to police.
If you think you may have a virus you should contact your systems administrator if you have one. If you are a home user then you can obtain information, virus definitions or submit reports through the websites of major anti-virus software companies such as Symantec or McAfee.

It is strongly recommended that:

• Some form of antivirus protection software be installed on your computer,
• You update the virus definitions on a regular basis to ensure maximum protection of your computer is maintained. These updates are often available for download from the software manufacturer at no charge,
• Minimize the risk of infection by incorporating virus scanning into the start-up of the computer system and scan any new software prior to use.
• You avoid opening unsolicited emails. You should be suspicious if you can't identify the name of the person sending the email
• If an email contains an attachment do not open it unless yours and the senders name are embodied in the text of the email. Don't automatically assume the email has originated from who the header says it has. These header details can be masked or altered by the sender.