Help to keep your computer secure.

I am often asked how a user can prevent them from getting viruses, junk email, diallers etc. The answer is it can be difficult and there is no single piece of software that will take care of the job for you. However there are some steps you can take to ensure that you do not fall victim to hackers and those "internet nasties".


Firewalls:

A Firewall is a piece of software (or hardware) that assists you to keep your internet connection secure. They vary in form and operation some put your computer in "stealth mode" by selectively blocking incoming connections into your computer. Others can even prevent unauthorised applications on your computer from accessing the Internet. If you are a Windows XP user then there is a firewall built into the operating system, this one only blocks incoming connections. There are others on the market, use your preferred search engine and look for firewalls.


Anti-Virus:

The anti-virus is the computer equivalent to a good dose of penicillin. These are often employed as a preventative measure to ensure that your computer does not become infected. If, however, your computer was to become infected then the anti virus program would enable you to preserve your system by either placing the infected file into quarantine or deleting the infected file. Also, in some cases, the file can be restored (the virus component removed). This is useful if the file that became infected was of some importance. If your system has been infected to such a state that it is impossible to boot and or work with the system then some anti-virus vendors produce stand alone virus cleaners, these are bootable disks that then scan and remove virus.


Spyware removers:

Today's internet surfing is not without countless perils and pitfalls, these nasty little annoyances come in many shapes and sizes, some are as "innocent" as cookies that track your surfing (a cookie is a small document placed on your hard disk that can record data) to fully fledged programs that install on your computer and take over your internet experience. The answer to this comes in the shape of a spyware remover, such as Spybot Search and Destroy. These programs scan your computer for spyware components and then remove them, but be advised some "free" programs (for example file sharing programs like bearshare) use spyware to pay for those programs.


Conclusions:

When you are on the internet or taking a file home to your pc remember that there are many ways a computer can become infected or make it's self vulnerable to attack, some sound investments in good anti virus and firewall software will help guard against these attacks, but above all be vigilant, if you get an email from some one you do not know with a file attached to it then do not open it, it may well be a virus.

Remember also that when you are surfing on the internet that there is a potential risk that you are "leaking" information. Look into spyware removal software, and be mindful about where and who you offer personal information to.