SECURITY  TIPS

To finish off the security category I will give you some basic security tips to follow - Most, if not all, have been explained to you over the security category. So look at this page as a summary/reminder of those security issues.

Windows  Updates

Make sure you are up-to-date with your Windows Updates, even if you have to manually check for them each week.


Protection  Software

A Firewall, Pop-UP Blocker, Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware are the most important pieces of protection software you should have installed. Each can be downloaded from the internet for free (as a Trial version or Absolutly Free version) or bought in a computer shop (the Commercial version).

Check your protection software for updates at least once a week, but preferably once a day, if your protection software does not support automatic updating (switched off normally due to the software being free).

Fully Scan your computer for problems at least once a week but only if your protection software is not scheduled to do so automatically within the week. A good piece of protection software these days should do a quick daily scan and one weekly/monthly full scan automatically, or at least offer some sort of scheduled scan.


Questionaires  /  Forms

Never give out too many details. Only fill out the required information, which is usually marked with the asterix (*) symbol. Filling out optional information is giving the form owner (i.e Bank Form, Email Registration Form, A Fraudster's Form and so on) not only extra information about you, but also personality information (such as Willing To Help, Willing To Donate, Willing To Be Taken For A Ride). The more helpful you are at giving extra information the more vunerable you are, because a fraudster will play on your good nature.

If a form asks you for credit card details take the advice mentioned in the On-Screen Keyboard section.


E-Mail

NEVER EVER open an e-mail if you have no clue who it is from. Otherwise you might end up with a virus or worse, especially if the e-mail comes with one or more attached files (denoted by a paper clip symbol).

Beware of fraudster/scam e-mails. They usually pretend to be your Bank, Internet Provider (ISP) and so on telling you that your personal details (including Password and/or PIN) need to be verified/changed, by you filling out a bogus form. See the Security section for more information.


The  Internet

Try and rely on your protection software rather than Toolbars. Toolbars, although well intentioned, tend to slow down the computer because they usually contain so-called Friendly/Harmless spyware and/or don't really block that many Pop-Ups (one of the jobs they were made for). I am not talking about the good Toolbars (such as the Google toolbar) of course but about those normally with the word SEARCH somewhere in their title. Toolbars in general are also a pain to get rid of (uninstall).

Beware of free websites, such as Free Music websites, as they usually promise a lot more than they actually give out for free. For example. They might give you free music downloads but they also might give you a spyware headache. Remember. If something is for free in quantity (i.e Millions of people downloading at the same time) your internet connection and downloading from that website is going to be slow. Now put spyware on top of your internet connection, sending information about you to that website, and you have double trouble. Another problem is the File Sharing program/website. You cannot always be 100% sure that the content you are downloading is accurate (i.e you think/trust that you are downloading a music video when in fact you are downloading a porn video instead because the download link (i.e Click Here to download video) tricked you. This is a very common problem with file sharing because even the owner of the file sharing program/website might not be aware of, and/or is unable to screen/vet, the content being uploaded (received/shared) for whatever reason(s).


Passwords

Always keep your passwords Completely Different from one another. Using the same password for everything, or variants of the same password (i.e Password1, Password2, etc), is not a good idea. Hacker programs try to break a password by looking through a list of common passwords and identical patterns. Once a hacker program, or another user of your computer, knows you use the same password for everything they might use that password to steal from you. This is because they now might have access to your PIN codes, your Safe Deposit Box code, your Mobile Phone code, your Burglar Alarm code and so on based on your one common password. Remember. At the end of the day it is a Human who is going to rip you off. The hacker program and computer are just their tools.

Do not use Birthdates, Relatives Names, Nicknames and Common Words. They can be guessed by Hacker programs. And never mind the hacker. Anyone knowing your Date-Of-Birth for example would surely hazard a guess that it could be your password(s) as well.

If you want to throw a Hacker program off the scent use a password with Numbers, Words and Symbols mixed. For example. If you are Stacey from England born in 1957 you could use gl.ace_95 (gl from England, ace from Stacey and 95 from 1957). You would not use StaceyUK57 because it is too obvious.


Read  More

Computer Magazines, The Internet and so on have a wealth of information about the latest security threats to Windows. You do not have to read everything or become a computer nerd to make sure your computer is up-to-date and protected. A little Whats-The-Latest reading time is all you need. It might take 5 or 10 minutes to read an article on The latest threats and what you can do to protect yourself but it is worth it - It could take a computer engineer up to 2 hours to fix your lack-of-security problem(s)....if she/he is not forced to do a System Restore.



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