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Tips for Protecting Your Data and Computers

Technology is changing very quickly! More people are utilizing fast internet access, which expose their computers to more sophisticated ways of computer attack (otherwise known as hacking), opening up lots of real risks such as:

Spyware keystroke loggers designed to steal passwords to important internet sites such as bank accounts
Phishing emails and web sites which appear to be legitimate enterprises such as banks, attempting to scam the user into surrendering private information for the purpose identity theft or account fraud
Web Site Hijacking which can involuntarily expose unsuspecting users to pornography by hijacking your home page
Trojan Viruses allowing attacker's full access to computer files exposing the victim to possible identity theft
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) download systems such Limwire, Kazaa or BitTorrent have become very popular among young ones, allowing them to download music movies or software. If downloads are pirated it could subject unsuspecting parents to Breaches of Copyright Laws. It is interesting to note Australia's Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) have had much success recently in prosecuting unsuspecting recipients
Spam email clogging up inbox's and making it difficult for readers to discern real mail from spam

Six areas to be aware of

1. Spam

Depending on the email solution you have chosen as to what Anti-Spam options are available. For example web based email solutions such as Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail usually have Spam Filters that can be configured to filter out unwanted email. Email solutions that actually download your email onto your computer such as MS Outlook or MS Outlook Express both have Message Rules, that can be configure to handle unwanted email. Outlook has the added advantage of a dedicated spam filter which is much easier to train (2003 upwards just right click, select Junk Email and add to blocked list)

2. Phishing

Phisher's attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy corporation such as eBay, PayPal and online banks are common. Generally carried out by email or instant messaging, and often directs users to give details at a website, although phone contact has been used as well. Since phishing is based on impersonation, preventing it depends on users having some reliable way to identify the sites they are dealing with. There are anti-phishing toolbars available to display the real domain name for the visited website. A Phishing add-on for Firefox and an inbuilt configuration option in IE 7 web browsers either warns the user or blocks the site outright. It is important to be aware of suspect emails asking you to go to web sites which ask for personal information also. The combination of awareness and browser add-ons will protect users from being scammed

3. Security Patches

It is import to make sure XP and Vista, Macintosh or Linux as well as your program security patches and upgrades or regularly installed. It is best to check this is done automatically. Attackers are constantly looking for newer ways to gain access to computers, at the same time operating systems architects are constantly tracking vulnerabilities to counter newly discovered security flaws, so it is important to keep your computers updated to maintain an acceptable level of security

July 11, 2006 brought a close to Extended Support for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me. This means that if a computer has any of these operating systems installed, it is highly recommended not to have them connected to the internet either through sharing or directly

4. Firewalls

Firewalls are probably the most misunderstood layer of protection. Firewalls can be either hardware or software, or a combination of both. A Firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access through open ports and software. If you are unsure your system is properly protected you can easily test your network at Shields Up. Software firewall protection is commonly available in the operating systems such as MS XP and Vista have its own firewall found in control panel, make sure it is switched on if you are not behind and DSL router i.e. dialup or direct broadband connection. Most people do not understand their ADSL Router is a very effective firewall working in NAT mode. Most routers have additional firewalling available as well which build upon the existing NAT firewall principles. This means that if you have a router (NOT just a ADSL Modem - this can easily be checked by looking at your ADSL device's product name and model number and googling it to make sure you have a router not a modem in front of your computer)

5. Viruses

A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. The original may modify the copies or the copies may modify themselves, as occurs in a metamorphic virus. A virus can only spread from one computer to another when its host is taken to the uninfected computer, for instance by a user sending it over a network or carrying it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, USB drive or by the Internet. Viruses have been around since computers and are currently the longest standing method of malicious attack. It use to be that viruses were the only area of security users were concerned with, however, viruses are only a portion of the overall picture in securing computers.

6. Spyware

Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's informed consent.

In response to the emergence of spyware, a small industry has sprung up dealing in anti-spyware software. Running anti-spyware software has become a widely recognized element of computer security best practices for Microsoft Windows desktop computers. A number of jurisdictions have passed anti-spyware laws, which usually target any software that is surreptitiously installed to control a user's computer.

How to protect your computer

There are many and varied ways to protect your computers. The following options are given because they have become industry standard methods of protection throughout the industry at present

Option 1: (Annual subscription)

There are companies who have produced security suites such as Norton's Internet Security, MacAfee Total Protection, CA Internet Security Suite, Kaspersky and Internet Security, which include the backbone of elements used to secure a computer i.e. Anti-Spyware, Anti-Virus, Firewall Spam Filtering and Phishing. Sometimes these can be problematic if the settings are not configured correctly, however once setup correctly, you computer is protected with relatively transparency requiring little participation in behalf of the users

Option 2: (Free)

Download and install AVG Anti-Virus Free. AVG Anti-Virus Free is free and is developing an extremely good reputation for not only Ant-Virus but Anti-Spyware! This program will sit in the background and update automatically or prompt you if larger updates are needed as well as run regualar scans depending on how you configure it. AVG Anti-Virus Free will now provide real-time protection which is a great improvement over the previous versions.

There are many free security software available, however, these particular ones mentioned, have become industry standard for protecting your computer from Viruses and Spyware freely. Spybot can be programmed to automatically update its signatures and scan your computer daily at a convenient time. Adaware however can only be programmed to update and scan each time the computer is started. It can also be configured to work in the background so that it does not become an inconvenience if you need to work on your computer as soon as it is started. It does NOT offer realtime protection however!

Realtime protection - Spybot has two realtime software tools, depending on what browser is used however, unless Adaware Professional is purchased, realtime protection is only partially available by using Spybot! - (Spybot realtime does not offer complete security protection however if you don't mind doing a scan using Adaware once a week, your computer will be reasonably safe.

References

Written by ASC Consultants on 26 Sep 2008 - update 21 May 2008

All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
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