COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS-

Over the last few days, the local press and social media have been flooded with information about the coronavirus. Given developments over the weekend with an increase in detected Covid-19 patients as well as the reports of deaths in King and Snohomish Counties, health professionals expect more people to be detected with the virus potentially affecting schools, work areas, sporting events, and other gatherings.

Health care professionals point out that while COVID-19 is a new respiratory disease it appears that people in good health, without an underlying health condition may catch the virus but will recover. Those who may be in danger of severe sickness or death are older people with an underlying health condition.

The virus can be spread through person to person contact via respiratory droplets from coughs or sneezes within 6 feet. It can also spread by touching infected surfaces or objects such as commonly touched railings, doorknobs, keyboards, etc. and then touching your own mouth, nose, or eyes.

Local health districts have been sending messages with recommendations on how we can prevent coming down with the virus. Much of the advice is common sense actions that apply to common sicknesses such as influenza. You probably have heard or read the recommendations to,

·          Wash your hands with soap frequently for 20 seconds. You can also use hand sanitizer instead of soap. One health department official has recommend washing your hands before eating.

·         Keep you hands away from your face. The idea is that the virus can be on your skin without hurting you, but if it gets inside your body then you will be sick.
·         If you are sick, stay home.
·         Consider not going to places that have large crowds.

With the expectation of more people becoming sick with COVID-19, it is prudent to take steps to prepare your household for a member of your family to come down with COVID-19. Some things you can do to help yourself survive the virus or a precautionary quarantine include,

·         Make an emergency plan of action with your household members, relatives, and friends.
·         Decide who will pick up and watch children if schools or child-care facilities are closed, or if children get sick.
·         Have emergency supplies like nonperishable food, water, personal hygiene supplies, and medicine or other medical supplies available in your home – enough to last your household for at least 14 days.
·         Make a list of emergency contacts as well as a list of medical conditions and medications for household members.
·         Set up a separate room in the household for someone who is sick and clean the room regularly. Clean, disposable facemasks may be useful for the individual who is sick. Masks are not recommended as a prevention measure for COVID-19 for people who are well.
·         Know your neighbors or friends in the area and be ready to support each other during an emergency. Check in on those who live alone or have underlying health conditions and may need extra support. If you live alone, talk to your friends and family members about who would be available to check in on you if you become sick.

What are the symptoms of this coronavirus and what should I do if I get sick? Symptoms may not be much different from a common cold or a flu. Symptoms can be mild to severe. Look for fever, cough and shortness of breath.

If you get sick,

·         Call your regular doctor for advice. Do not go to the emergency room unless you are very sick. Emergency rooms need to be able to serve those with the most critical needs.
·         Stay home when sick.
·         Practice excellent personal hygiene habits, including handwashing, coughing into tissue or elbow, avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth.
·         Stay away from people who are ill, especially if you are 60 and older or have underlying health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, or a weakened immune system.

A goal of public health professionals in handling the spread of this virus is to limit contact of people who have the virus with those who do not and especially limit their contact with those who might be susceptible to severe illness.

This is a fast-moving situation. While serious, care needs to be taken to act on provable facts and not rumors.

For the latest information check out the following organizations:



Snohomish County Health District:
https://www.snohd.org/484/Novel-Coronavirus-2019

Public Health- Seattle & King County:
https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/communicable-diseases/disease-control/novel-coronavirus/FAQ.aspx

If you have questions about the COVID19 coronavirus you can call the COVID19 Hot Line (Washington State Department of Health)- (800) 525-0127.

Washington State Department of Health:
https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus

CDC:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2Fabout%2Fprevention.html

WHO:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

ONLINE SECURITY- Phishing and Ransomware

Here are two alerts about dangers to your computer:

Phishing- Emails have been going out posing as “Order Confirmations” that can download software that will take your email information, passwords, and then make your computer into a botnet slave.

Since Thanksgiving, emails have been going out asking you to confirm a supposed order that the email claims you have made. In order to confirm your order, the email asks you to click on a link. Do not click that link! The email may have an embedded link or it may have an infected attached file.

The emails may claim to be from major retailers such as Home Depot, Walmart, Target, or Costco.

If you click on the link, a piece of software called the Asprox spam botnet will copy email credentials and passwords. Then, your computer will send junk email and spam to the email addresses in your address book.

Order confirmation scams come hot and heavy during the holiday shopping season in an attempt to catch computer users off guard. With the pressure to have gifts arrive before Christmas, during the shopping season, scammers hope you will not pay attention and click on that link. If you receive one of these emails slow down and look closely at the email.

Look for an order number, or other information that can be used to look up an order. If you think the email is legitimate, don’t click on the link. Open the company’s web site in your browser and look up your order information.

Also, any emails that you receive that are spam, add them to your junk mail folder in your email application such as Outlook.

This spam has been seen nationwide, although I have not seen any reports of it showing up locally as yet. If you receive this email please let me know.

Krebs on Security:

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/12/be-wary-of-order-confirmation-emails/#more-28907

 

Ransomware- A virus that has been seen locally is the Crpytolocker Virus that is a form of “ransomware.” The virus encrypts all of your files on your hard drive so that you cannot access them. The solution is to contact the perpetrator of the virus and pay him to decrypt your files. This can cost as much as $1,000 with no guarantee that you will get access to your files back.

Apparently, this virus spreads across networks and externally attached devices. To protect yourself:

• Be sure that your Antivirus and Anti-Malware software is updated regularly and running.
• Make regular backups of your files.
• Be sure that if you use external devices that they can be unplugged.
• Back up your files to a cloud server.
• Don’t open email attachments or links from sources that you do not know.

 Thanks to Computer Concepts in Bothell for the tip- http://www.computerconceptsbothell.com/