1. Start

2. Case prep 1

3. Case prep 2

4. Data and power cables

5. Serial ATA stuff

6. General motherboard/CPU info

   • SocketA (AthlonXP, Duron, Socket462Semprons)

   • Intel Socket478 (last-generation Pentium4 & Celeron)

   • AMD64 (Athlon64 & Socket754 Sempron)

   • Intel LGA775 and LGA1366(pinless Intel processors)

7. Testing & installing the motherboard assembly

8. Installing the hard drive

9. Final connections

10. Security during Windows Setup

    • How a router helps

    • How SP2 for WinXP helps

    • General antivirus configuration

    • Kaspersky Antivirus trialware & configuration

11. Best practices for ongoing security

    • How a Limited account helps

    • How to make software cooperate with Limited accounts

12. Resources (drivers, diagnostics, links, online antivirus scans, antispyware resources)

13. A brief visual glossary

back to the Windows Setup Security page

General principles of antivirus configuration Antivirus software has options, some of which may not be enabled by default. My recommendation is to enable them all.

1. Enable heuristics options if they're user-configurable (if several levels are offered, use Maximum)

2. Enable scanning within compressed files and archives wherever the option exists

3. Choose to scan all file types wherever this option exists

4. Allow no exemptions from scanning, wherever the option exists

5. If possible, remove the error-prone human element, by having infected stuff auto-quarantined or auto-deleted upon detection. Shoot first, ask questions later.

6. Configure the virus-definition updates to run daily or more often, if the schedule is under your control

7. Set up a daily scan of all hard-drive data, to catch stuff that slipped in before the antivirus software recognized it as a threat. Better late than never...  ; )

8. Use your common sense. Never assume that your antivirus software is infallible.

9. If you want my suggestion on an antivirus, I have one here.

back to the Windows Setup Security page