Different viruses on my internet cafe units?

Different viruses on my internet cafe units?

Hi! Julie,



I understand your predicament perfectly, and I know how difficult it must be to manage a network of computers. When one PC gets infected, it does not usually take long for the others to follow suit, given that they are connected via LAN. I hope my suggestions give you an idea how to go about protecting your Internet Cafe.



1. Set aside a single PC that you are going to use and label as Master. Wipe out the hard disk, reformat, and install a fresh copy of Windows on it. When done, keep it disconnected off the net for a while and proceed to install the rest of your most used applications for internet browsing, webcam chatting, and network games. Make sure that all copies of your installers are free from viruses of any sort.



2. Get a disk cloning/ imaging program like Acronis True Image (Use it free for 15 days) or Norton Ghost to do the job. Both apps basically create a perfect replica of the system you are currently running that can be restored on another drive. Clone a copy of the “Master PC" you just installed. Keep that copy handy. That is what you will use to restore other PC’s on the network when they get infected. That way you can be sure that what you restored is virus free.



3. There is a program called Deep Freeze that has the ability to keep it’s content the same, every time you boot. Any changes that were made after installing Deep Freeze are wiped out. Viruses, Malware and any deletions or changes made does not affect a Deep Freeze enabled PC. What you have to do is after you clone all your PC’s with the “Master” you’ve just made, install Deep Freeze. You will be surprised to find out that every time you boot, you will have the same settings, applications, and files. No matter how you delete, get yourself infected or change configurations. It will always bring your PC back to its “frozen” state. If you need to make changes (like installing new games, etc.), all you have to do is deactivate deep freeze and enable it after you’ve made the changes.



4. If Deep Freeze does not appeal to you, there is a lesser known application called Sandboxie that runs your application,in a virtual environment. Which means that you can use anything, open any file, run any program in isolation whenever you choose to and even be infected with nothing to worry about. The option to run a specific application in a sandbox protects you from unwanted changes, viruses and Malware or any other user errors you may encounter while running your computer. All you have to do is when you are infected while running an app inside the sandbox is to delete that particular sandbox, and all is well again. Run all applications/games your Internet Cafe uses inside a Sandbox you’ve created, and delete it daily to get rid of all the junk it has accumulated in the course of a day. That way viruses don’t touch your main operating system files. It’s called containment.



5. Use Linux as your main operating system and segregate all your PC’s that utilize the net. Make those run off Linux, but keep Windows on machines that have no equivalent applications on Linux. If you have some extra hard drive space, try dual booting Linux with Windows. That way, users can boot Linux if they intend to do general surfing, and Windows if they want to play games.