Fax to Email
Unlimited Faxes, No Fees, Dedicated Phone Number
Unlimited Faxes, No Fees, Dedicated Phone Number
| THE BASICS 2 |
| COMPUTER SECURITY | |
|
MICROSOFT WINDOWS UPDATES |
Download and install ALL CRITICAL Updates from either the
Windows Update web site or the
Windows Update Catalog web site. As long as there are people looking to exploit vulnerabilities in operating systems or software keeping your computer up to date is a never ending game of cat and mouse. Updating Windows regularly is critical. Personally I use the catalog site so I can download to a file instead of just installing the software. Then I burn them to a disk. Then I install the Updates. I do this for two reasons. One is because if I ever have to reinstall my operating system I don't want to wait for hours or days to download them again. Yes I still use dialup even though it's slow. The second reason is because after June of 2006 Windows 98 and Me will no longer be supported by Microsoft and you won't be able to get those Updates if you need them again. XP support will also end someday. Make sure you at least check for Updates on the second Tuesday of the month when Microsoft releases them. Some may be released sooner. |
|
ANTIVIRUS PROGRAMS ANTIVIRUS PROGRAMS ANTIVIRUS PROGRAMS |
Install a real time antivirus program and keep it updated. Viruses are out there and the number is growing exponentially. It used to be if you just practiced safe surfing habits and were careful with e-mail attachments you were relatively safe. That is no longer true. Three of the most popular antivirus programs are Mcafee, Norton and PC-cillin from Trend Micro. In my opinion you should just use the antivirus programs and not any full security systems. Free programs may be available for that if you really need them. There are also some free antivirus programs. But I have not used them. Perhaps one of the most popular free ones is AVG Anti-Virus. Look on the left side of the page for AVG Free Edition. AVG version 6.0 is the free version. AVG 7.0 is the pay version. I do know people who use 6.0 and they seem to like it. Two other popular antivirus programs offer free use for home users. One is AntiVir The other is avast. There are others but these seem to be very popular. ANTIVIRUS SCANS. This is also important. You should also perform a full system scan for viruses periodically. Sometimes viruses can slip through undetected. The reasons for this vary. Take the time to scan. Viruses can also evade a system scan from your antivirus program. I told you before that viruses are becoming a bigger threat. Some viruses can even cripple your antivirus program. That's why I also suggest doing an "online virus scan" ocassionally. Especially if you suspect you might have a problem. Online scans will scan your computer from a web site. These scans are much more difficult for viruses to evade as there is no installed program for them to cripple. A few ActiveX controlls will need to be downloaded and installed but not a complete program. Many antivirus companies will offer such scans as a service to entice you to purchase one or more of their products. But they do work. Some of these programs will even remove the viruses after detecting them. Although there are many such programs (including trojan scans) the one I use is Housecall. |
|
FIREWALLS
FIREWALLS FIREWALLS |
These days having a firewall is an absolute must. I used to think that a firewall was only needed if you used high speed internet access and your computer was always online. But then I installed one and was amazed at the level of scanning and hacking and attacks that were taking place. The world turns qickly when it comes to technology. Many of the exploits such as Trojans that trashed peoples computers before Microsoft came out with the fixes could have been avoided had a firewall been running. Besides being able to download into your computer there's the upload problem. Without a firewall personal data could be sent out from your computer through an open port. This could be a real problem especially if you have financial data on your computer. Do you have bank account numbers, social security numbers, passwords and ID's to accounts and more? I could go on but I think you get the idea. Not having a firewall installed on your computer today is like closing the door to your house but not having any locks installed on it. Anyone could evade your other security systems, sneak in and trash your home and then steal anything of value. You can get a hardware firewall or a software firewall or both. But you better get at least one. And you better get one fast. Software firewalls can be found for free. Windows XP ships with a built in software firewall already. But I hear that it is better at blocking incoming traffic then it is at blocking outgoing traffic. There are some other free firewalls that you might want to consider. Zonealarm is one of the most popular and also has a free version for home users. However one of their later versions had a glitch in it that caused some severe problems for some users. Kerio Personal Firewall was bought out by Mcafee and discontinued. Fortunately Sunbelt Software bought it from Mcafee and will still offer a free version. Look for it soon. Outpost Firewall also has a free version for home users. As with many programs I can not gaurantee how they will work. After all they are not mine. But you had better get one. If you don't think you need one could you please give me your home address. Because maybe you don't think you need locks on your door either. Don't worry, I'll just steal your beer. I won't trash your house. |
|
SPYWARE ADWARE MALWARE CRAPWARE SPYWARE ADWARE MALWARE CRAPWARE SPYWARE ADWARE MALWARE CRAPWARE SPYWARE ADWARE MALWARE CRAPWARE SPYWARE ADWARE MALWARE CRAPWARE |
This topic is really too big for anyone these days but I'll give you a quick overview. Typically these are programs that range from installing cookies on your computer that track your web surfing to programs that deliver ads to programs that can even be considered malware. I know I don't want anyone spying on me or giving me unwanted advertisements. I also don't want programs running that rob my computer of resources and slow it down. Sometimes they can totally destabilize your computer causing it to give errors or lock up. Thats just one type of malware. I definitely don't need or want that. They can also do other things like change your homepage to anything they want it to be. And stop you from permanently resetting it back. And the list goes on and on. So how do these things invade your computer in the first place? Often times it's because people install programs that come bundled with other programs that contain or are spyware and adware and malware. In other words they do it to themselves. Like installing programs that allow downloading free music or videos. See my Basics 1 page. It's at the top of the list. It's also an easy way to download a virus. Just visiting certain web sites is another way. Tracking cookies can be installed this way and homepage settings changed too. And the list goes on and on. How can you stop spyware, adware and malware from infecting your computer? Install an antivirus program. Install a firewall. Install programs that stop some of it but not all. Like SpywareBlaster or SpywareGuard from javacool. Read the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) before installing any programs. Read the privacy statement on web sites before using their programs. Don't do anything if they don't have a privacy statement. Use a program like StartPageGuard to protect home page and search setting changes or Spybot Search & Destroy to lock down some settings. Change the default settings for the Internet Explorer web browser. See the next section below this one. Get your Windows updates. And the number one thing you can do to avoid these little nasties is (drum roll please) NEVER USE THE INTERNET. Too late. Your already on the internet. OK, it's too late. You have this stuff on your computer already. Or you will have. It's unavoidable completely. So now what do you do? FORMAT your computer and start all over. "Just kidding". This might be necessary as a last resort but there are a few other options. Uninstall any of those programs that you can identify. Then use Spybot Search & Destroy or Ad-Aware to try to clean up the rest of the mess. CWShredder by Merjin removes the CWS hijacker. See my Programs page. Merjin stopped his tireless crusade to keep it updated to continue his education. The good news is he sold to INTERMUTE which continues to keep it updated with a stand alone free version. These are a few links to sites that deal with spyware that have not already been listed. cexx.org SpywareInfo has a little bit of everything. I like it. Merijn.org is the web site authored by the creator of the CWShredder who single handedly took on the job of stopping the Cool Web Search hijacker. This site should be book marked by everyone. You might need it. Doxdesk has a really good list of parasites and way down at the bottom are some real good links. |
|
INTERNET EXPLORER WEB BROWSER. SECURITY SETTINGS. INTERNET EXPLORER WEB BROWSER. SECURITY SETTINGS. INTERNET EXPLORER WEB BROWSER. SECURITY SETTINGS. INTERNET EXPLORER WEB BROWSER. SECURITY SETTINGS. |
Last but not least. Since 99% of you use Internet Explorer as your web browser THIS IS IMPORTANT. Internet Explorer is set by default to be anything but secure. Of course it's easy to browse the web with these settings but also easy for others to take control of your computer. But there is a good compromise. Internet Explorer Security Settings should be adjusted to offer some level of protection against web sites doing some really nasty things to your computer. Of course setting all the levels to maximum offers the most security. But that can also make using the web a highly unenjoyable and cumbersome experience. And some sites or the programs on them would not work at all. But you can take some precautions without sacrificing much. Install on Demand for instance can allow programs to be downloaded AND installed without your permission. Disabling it will require you to accept a program before it installs even if you never saw the download in progress. Highly preferable. To change the default settings for Internet Explorer (version 6.0 in my case) Go to the Control Panel and double click Internet Options. Click on the Advanced tab. Under the Browsing section Uncheck Install On Demand and Install On Demand (other). Uncheck Enable third-party browers extensions. Scroll down to the Security section. Check, Check for publisher's certificate revocation. Check, Check for server certificate revocation. (mine is unchecked) Check, Check for signatures on downloaded programs. (mine is unchecked) Check, Warn about invalid site certificates. You can leave the other boxes checked or unchecked as they were at default levels. Next click on the Security Tab. Click on the Internet icon. Click on Custom Level. Under Activex controls and plug-ins Choose prompt for Download signed ActiveX controls. Choose disable for Download unsigned ActiveX control. Choose disable for Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe. Scroll down to the Download section. Choose disable or prompt for Font download. (mine is prompt) Scroll down to the Microsoft VM section. Choose high safety for Java permissions. Scroll down to the Miscellaneous section. Choose disable for Don't prompt for client certificate selections when no certificate or only one certificate exists. Choose prompt or disable for Installation of desktop items. Click OK and confirm and apply and OK to accept the settings. Yes you can disable more here but that's your choice and it depends on your needs. These settings serve me well enough without interfering with my needs. You may need additional changes depending on your programs or habits. To see this same section illustrated with the graphics see my IE 6 SECURITY page. |