Be Safe, use protection!!

A misleading title but in the world of computers an absolute must.

When we talk about protection we mean from all the nasties out there in the cloud of the internet.

Most people using the internet today have a broadband connection, which means once your system is loaded you are at the mercy of all those who would do you harm on your beloved computer. If we wish to venture out onto the internet we have to ensure we are safe and protected. There are many things we can do to help us. If you connect via a router and a modem then the first thing you can do is protect the connection to your router by making it secure against an outsider trying to “piggy-back” to your router to access the internet and also possibly your computer and also “stealing” some of your bandwidth in the process. You will need to access your router and choose one of the encryption methods and note it down so that you can put the code into your computer system.

Nearly everyone who uses a computer to surf the internet has at least one email address. Try as we might, it is nigh on impossible to stop getting unsolicited emails and this is one of the easiest ways to get a virus so the first step is to look into finding a good antivirus software. This must be reliable as there are many which leave much to be desired and may even give you a virus or even worse, scare you into paying to remove virus’s it tells you you have on your system even when you don’t. I will now go through ones I would confidently recommend some are free some are paid for.

The free ones are these: PCTools Antivirus and can be downloaded from here http://www.pctools.com/free-antivirus/ and a picture is here

 

Next up is Panda Cloud Antivirus and can be downloaded from here http://www.cloudantivirus.com/en/. This one is different from pctools as its virus definitions are done in real time on the internet not downloaded at specific times.  There are other free ones but I have heard some problems with them even though they are well respected. The reason I have only named two is because I know these to be trustworthy.  There is a paid for Pctools and also a spyware program called Spyware Doctor. This one we use and it tells us if we are going to a site which is either harmful or has “dodgy” code in one of its features or adverts. We then block it. It also checks for rootkits which is code which can be installed deep into the operating system, often unnoticed but can do serious problems to your computer system. These also can come through the internet. Whichever antivirus program you choose from the above list make sure you only have one as running two can cause your system to run slow as both will be trying to do the same thing.

Ok, so we have protected ourselves against virus’s what else can we do? Well, it would be nice to be able to stop anyone on the internet getting into our computer system so we need a firewall. Once again, our old friend pctools comes to the rescue with pctools firewall plus and can be downloaded from here http://www.pctools.com/firewall/. Once again it is free.

By now I am sure you are wondering what software we run to protect ourselves? You might have heard us before shouting about it but here goes.

Our Internet connection, including our computer system, is protected by “Norton Internet Security 2010”. I know it might seem expensive but for absolute peace of mind it cannot be touched. You can get it from most retailers at quite a discount now and also for 3 pc’s, which is great as most households have more than one pc. We have used it for many years now and have never experienced any of the nasties talked about in the press, which must speak volumes.

Also, with NIS you can set up card and login details so you never have to input your card details when you want to purchase something on the internet, just type in your password and what card name and NIS does the rest. It is encrypted at both ends so no keyloggers can find your details or your login details.

We also use pctools spyware doctor which can be bought at good price for 3 pc’s once again. This protects us from spyware. As long as you use trusted software you know, if for any reason you get a flash up on the screen saying your system has a virus and we can remove it for $$$$’s then you know it is a scam and can just delete the frame.

In a later blog, possibly the next one, I will go through what software you can use to help your computer run sweet and in good order.

One final thing and it is personal. I often wonder if anyone ever reads this blog so it would be nice if you do to leave a comment and let me know what you think. You can also leave questions you would like answers to as well, I would be glad to help if I can.

David