| Prevent problems, get protected. There are so many bad things associated with the internet when it comes to your computer. Viruses, spyware, and hackers to name a few. This article is for all you paranoid folks out there who worry about everything, all the time. I will attempt to show you some ways that you can prevent all the bad things from happening. Unfortunately, nothing can be guaranteed, it is the internet after all. These are just a few tips and tricks to make your internet a little safer. | ||||
| Viruses and other bugs | Firewalls | |||
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Viruses can be bad, very bad. Most viruses come by way of email. If
you use Outlook Express or some other external email client you MUST have
antivirus software installed with the ability to scan all incoming and
outgoing messages. If possible, use web-based email like yahoo or hotmail.
You should only open attachments that you know that you are going to
receive. A lot of emails with viruses disguise themselves as people you
know. Make sure that the attachment you are receiving was actually sent by
the person that it appears to be from. When in doubt DO NOT OPEN IT. When
using web-based email services it is always safe to read the message since
the message is not physically on your computer. The bad part is the
"attachment" that may be attached to the message. Both yahoo and hotmail
now include virus scanners as a courtesy to its email customers. It would
be a good idea to use one of those free email services. There are many antivirus programs out there including Norton, McAfee, Panda and Kaspersky, just to name a few. All of them do a pretty good job of staying on top of things just make sure you keep the yearly subscription paid. One of my favorite antivirus programs is AVG Anti-Virus. I like it because it's free, and it does a good job at keeping the viruses at bay. You can download a copy here. There's no yearly subscriptions to buy and it scans your email automatically. Besides viruses there are plenty of other bugs out there, such as spyware. Spyware can be very troublesome and can do just about the same amount of damage as a virus. You NEED to have some sort of anti-spyware program installed on your computer. Your best bet is to download and install Windows Defender, which is Microsoft's latest release of their anti-spyware program. Windows Defender is going to to be pre-installed on Microsoft's Vista operating system (if it ever comes out). This program provides real-time protection, which is needed if you surf the internet a lot. Best of all, though, is that it's free. We like free. Along with Windows Defender you should also have Ad-Aware installed on your system. Ad-Aware, made by Lavasoft, is probably the best anti-spyware and anti-adware program out there right now. Like Defender, this is a free program, but is does not run automatically or provide real-time protection. You should update and scan with this program at least once a month to be sure that your system is totally clean. |
A
personal firewall is software installed on an end-user's PC which
controls communications to and from the user's PC, permitting or denying
communications based on a security policy. A firewall helps prevent
hackers from gaining control or access your computer via the internet. If you are using Windows XP then it would be a good idea to use the
firewall that comes with the operating system. Go to the Start menu
located in the lower left of your screen, then go to the Control Panel and
click it. If you are in the "Classic view" then you can switch to
"Category view" by clicking the link on the left side of the window that
says "Switch to Category View". Now select Network and Internet
Connections then under Pick a Task... select Change Windows Firewall
settings. Change the setting to "On" and click OK. There, you just enabled
your firewall and are currently being protected from attackers. For those
of you using a different version of Windows then it's time to upgrade. Most third-party firewalls are very difficult to configure and most
are more of a problem than they're worth. Until something comes along
that's better and easier you should stick to the built-in firewall that
comes with Windows XP, and I would assume, Vista. If you have high-speed internet you should also have a router installed. Most routers have firewalls built into them besides the obvious hardware firewall which routers are comprised of. Besides Windows built-in firewall it's also a good idea to add some extra security. Here's an easy way to check if you have a router; Using Windows XP go to the Start menu and click Run then type "cmd" without the quotes. A black screen should appear. In the screen type "ipconfig", again without the quotes. If you're using an earlier version of Windows instead of typing "cmd" in the Run box type "winipcfg", without the quotes, and click OK. You should now be able to see your current IP Address. If this address starts with a 192, 168 or 10 then you have a router installed somewhere. For example my local IP Address is 192.168.0.2, because I have a router. If my address was 71.67.2.111 then that means I do not have a router and I'm connected directly to the internet (Which is what we don't want). If you don't have a router then I suggest you go out and buy one from a local computer shop (don't worry it's not that hard to install, just follow the instructions that come with the router). |
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"Hope is a waking dream
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| Browser | ||||
| You
current internet browser can affect the way different files are handled
when you encounter them on the internet. Since most of the spyware and
adware come from the internet, they must pass through your browser. Most
people on this planet use Microsoft's Internet Explorer to surf the web.
It's because of this that the people who design and program spyware do it
so that it will permeate through Internet Explorer in order to affect the
most people. This is why more and more people are switching to an
alternative browser for their surfing needs. The Mozilla Foundation
produces a browser called Firefox. This browser is based on a different
programming code and set rules to that of Internet Explorer. Basically
stated; what will work for one will not work for the other. If the people
behind the production of spyware and adware are designing their files to
permeate through Internet Explorer, then they most likely will not get
through Mozilla Firefox. Switching browsers can be a scary thing. The best thing to do is to use both of them for a while until you get used to Firefox. Although Firefox makes it easy to switch because it imports your existing settings from Internet Explorer. An import wizard will run when you first install Firefox (and is also available later through ), and it imports your Favorites, options, cookies, stored passwords, and a variety of other data. This saves you time customizing Firefox to fit your needs. If you get frustrated, or scared, don't worry because Internet Explorer will still be there. Please Note: You do not need to uninstall Internet Explorer, just simply stop using it and Firefox will find its way to take over IE's functions once installed. Click the link below to get started with a more secure internet experience with Mozilla Firefox. |
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