- Why should I care about Security?
Whenever you are connected to the Internet there is always a chance that someone else will try to access your machine. There is always this risk no matter which ISP you connect with or what connection you are using. However it is much more important you secure your machine if you are using an ADSL connection. The major reasons for this are:
• Your computer is connected via a high speed link
• Being a permanent connection you could be on for many hours a day
• You have a static IP
Using a static IP means that your Internet address is always the same. Whereas with dialup that address is always changing, which means Internet ‘hackers’ don’t know what your new address is if you reconnect.
Having your computer connected via a high speed and permanent link also means you have to put a far greater emphasis on security. This makes you a much more vulnerable target if you leave yourself unprotected.
Note: The security of your computer is at all times your responsibility; please take the time to secure your computer.
- Why is computer security important?
It is important to make sure that computers are secure in order to protect the information on them from theft or destruction.
- Is there a way to test how secure my system is?
There are many sites that now offer online scanning to test the security of your system. You can find a list of the better online scans below:
Symantec (Makers of Norton Antivirus and Security products):
http://security.norton.com/ssc/home.asp
Sygate (Makers of Sygate Firewall):
http://scan.sygatetech.com/
Shields UP! (Written by Steve of security awareness site grc.com):
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
Note that these online scans are by no means fully comprehensive tests. Do not assume your system is fully secure on the basis of these tests alone.
- How can I make my computer more secure?
Install anti-virus software
Install personal firewall software
Keep your software up to date
Keep your password secret, and change regularly
Don’t open suspicious e-mail attachments
Only download software from reputable sources
- What can I do to secure my ADSL connection?
The first thing you need to do in securing your computer is to turn off all file and personal web sharing. This can be done in the network settings of your computer. When file sharing is on it leaves your hard disks basically open for everyone to see.
The next step to take is to secure your computer with a firewall. The basic premise of a firewall is to block open ports on your computer so they cannot be used as an access point. Firewalls can also make these ports invisible to any would be ‘hacker’ so they cannot even see that the port exists.
The most common desktop based firewalls are listed below:
Zone Alarm
Zone Alarm is widely known as one of the better free desktop firewalls for Windows. Being a free product there are some issues which can cause problems with your connection, however overall it is a good firewall to help secure your computer.
Black ICE Defender
Depending on who you talk to, some say that Black ICE Defender is one of the better personal firewalls and others say that it does nothing at all. It isn’t free however, at roughly $80 AUS.
Norton Personal Firewall
Norton Personal Firewall is from the well known family of Symantec products, which includes the Norton Antivirus range of products. Being a commercial product it isn’t free. There are two varieties to choose from.
Norton Personal Firewall Standalone
Norton Personal Firewall with Antivirus
- What is personal firewall software?
Personal firewall software helps prevent people from hacking into your computer while you are on the Internet. A personal firewall can help make your computer impenetrable to hackers.
With new hacking techniques appearing every day, it is important that you keep your personal firewall software up to date.
- What is anti-virus software?
Anti-virus software helps prevent your computer from becoming infected by a computer virus. Anti-virus software inspects files on your computer and reports any viruses which are discovered. Some anti-virus software will detect and remove trojans and viruses.
With new viruses appearing every day, it is important that you keep your anti-virus software up to date
- What is ‘hacking’ and ‘cracking’?
Hacking’ and ‘cracking’ are the terms used to describe unauthorised access and use of computer systems. Most hackers try to break into computer systems which are connected to the Internet.
- How hackers can break into my computer?
Hackers use many methods to break into computers. Some hackers exploit vulnerabilities in the software or hardware already on your computer. Some hackers will install software on your computer which gives them access to your machine. There are a huge variety of hacking techniques, and new methods are developed every day.
- How can I help preventing hacking?
There are several ways you can help prevent hacking attempts on your computer:
Install anti-virus software.
Install personal firewall software
Keep your software up to date
Keep your password secret, and change regularly
Don’t open suspicious e-mail attachments
Never install any programs you are not sure of.
Only download software from reputable sources
With hacking techniques appearing every day, it is important that you keep your anti-virus and personal firewall software up to date
- How do I know if my computer has been hacked?
T he best way to discover if your computer is being hacked is to install anti-virus and personal firewall software on your computer. These programs will help prevent and detect hacking attempts
- What is a virus?
A virus is a piece of computer code that attaches itself to a program or file so it can spread from computer to computer, infecting as it travels. Viruses can damage your software, your hardware, and your files.
Virus (n.) Code written with the express intention of replicating itself. A virus attempts to spread from computer to computer by attaching itself to a host program. It may damage hardware, software, or information.
- What is worm?
A worm, like a virus, is designed to copy itself from one computer to another, but it does so automatically by taking control of features on the computer that can transport files or information. Once you have a worm in your system it can travel alone. A great danger of worms is their ability to replicate in great volume. For example, a worm could send out copies of itself to everyone listed in your e-mail address book, and their computers would then do the same, causing a domino effect of heavy network traffic that would slow down business networks and the Internet as a whole. When new worms are unleashed, they spread very quickly, clogging networks and possibly making you wait twice as long for you (and everyone else) to view Web pages on the Internet.
- What is Trojan?
Trojans can be sent to people as e-mail attachments. The Trojan will install itself on the recipient’s computer system when the e-mail attachment is opened. Trojans can also be included in software which is downloaded from the Internet.
- How do worms and other viruses spread?
Virtually all viruses and many worms cannot spread unless you open or run an infected program.
Many of the most dangerous viruses were primarily spread through e-mail attachments—the files that are sent along with an e-mail message. You can usually tell if your e-mail includes an attachment because you'll see a paperclip icon that represents the attachment and includes its name. Photos, letters written in Microsoft Word, and even Excel spreadsheets are just some of the file types you might receive through e-mail each day. The virus is launched when you open the file attachment (usually by double-clicking the attachment icon).
Tip: Never open anything that is attached to an e-mail message unless you were expecting the attachment and you know the exact contents of that file.
If you receive an e-mail message with an attachment from someone you don't know, you should delete it immediately. Unfortunately, you're no longer safe opening attachments from people you do know. Viruses and worms have the ability to steal the information out of e-mail programs and send themselves to everyone listed in your address book. So, if you get e-mail from someone with a message you don't understand or a file you weren't expecting, always contact the person and confirm the contents of the attachment before you open it.
Other viruses can spread through programs you download from the Internet or from virus-ridden computer disks that you borrow from friends or even buy in a store. These are less common ways to contract a computer virus. Most people get viruses from opening and running unknown e-mail attachments.
- How can I tell if I have a worm or other virus?
When you open and run an infected program, you might not know you've contracted a virus. Your computer may slow down, stop responding, or crash and restart every few minutes. Sometimes a virus will attack the files you need to start up a computer. In this case, you might press the power button and find yourself staring at a blank screen.
All of these symptoms are common signs that your computer has a virus—although they could also be caused by hardware or software problems that have nothing to do with having a virus.
Beware of messages warning you that you sent e-mail that contained a virus. This may mean that the virus has listed your e-mail address as the sender of tainted e-mail. This does not necessarily mean you have a virus. Some viruses have the ability to forge e-mail addresses.
Unless you have up-to-date antivirus software installed on your computer, there is no sure way to know if you have a virus or not.
- I think my computer has virus, what should I do?
You should use up-to-date anti-virus software to detect and remove viruses from your computer.
- What is spam?
Electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Some people define spam even more generally as any unsolicited e-mail. However, if a long-lost brother finds your e-mail address and sends you a message, this could hardly be called spam, even though it's unsolicited. Real spam is generally e-mail advertising for some product sent to a mailing list or newsgroup.
In addition to wasting people's time with unwanted e-mail, spam also eats up a lot of network bandwidth. Consequently, there are many organizations, as well as individuals, who have taken it upon themselves to fight spam with a variety of techniques. But because the Internet is public, there is really little that can be done to prevent spam, just as it is impossible to prevent junk mail. However, some online services have instituted policies to prevent spammers from spamming their subscribers.
- Getting Rid of Spam
Spam has become ubiquitous - one of the facts of life, like taxes. Until strong anti-spam laws are passed and actually enforced, spam proliferation will continue because it's proven to reach a mass audience. If it didn't work, spammers wouldn't waste their time.
Most people, however, see spam as the scourge of e-mail and look for ways to stop it from infecting their e-mail boxes.
There are several ways to block spam from your e-mail inbox. They say prevention is the best medicine, so avoid giving out your e-mail address to unfamiliar or unknown recipients. This has become very difficult to do, however. Spammers can use software programs that troll the Internet looking for e-mail addresses, much like throwing a net in the ocean and seeing what gets caught in it. Nowadays it's almost impossible to shop online without providing a valid e-mail address. Offline stores are even asking for e-mail addresses in exchange for discounts or free merchandise. Realize that what they are doing is potentially opening the door for a flood of unsolicited e-mails. These organizations will most likely turn around and sell their list to someone else looking for valid e-mails. In these cases, it might be wise to have more than one e-mail address, one for friends, family and colleagues and another for unfamiliar sources. There are many free e-mail services in cyberspace to choose from.
However, also know that even trustworthy sources may be unwittingly shelling out your e-mail address. Ever receive an e-mail greeting card? The sender has given your e-mail to an organization that may very well be compiling e-mail lists to sell to spammers.
A second way to stop spam is to use your e-mail application's filtering features. Most e-mail applications allow you to block specific messages. When an offending e-mail comes in, set the filter to block further incoming mails from that sender.
A more aggressive approach to ridding unwanted e-mail is to report the e-mailer to the spammer's ISP. This is not always an easy task. First you must determine the spam's origins. Many of the bigger and more commercial ISPs forbid spammers from using their services and, once discovered, will actively ban the offending parties from using their services. But there are plenty of smaller ones that do not. To find the spam's origins, instruct your e-mail program to display all of the e-mail's header information. View the "Received" lines, and working from top to bottom you can often pinpoint the origin of spam. Spammers don't typically just send e-mails from their ISP to yours; that'd be too easy and apparent. Instead, they channel the e-mails through one or more ISPs in order to obfuscate the origin, but each computer that handles the e-mail will attach a "Received" line to the HEADER. There are numerous Internet resources available for help in tracking down the source of spam.
Don't be fooled by phrases such as "to be removed from this list, click here." Spammers use these types of catch phrases to entice users to respond to the e-mails. The spammers may or may not remove your e-mail from their list. Either way you have told the spammer that your e-mail address is valid and reaches a real person. They know this because you responded and asked them to remove you from the list. This can actually be more valuable to the spammers because they can now sell your address to another spammer with the assurance that the e-mail address is legitimate. So you may have been removed from one list, but there's a good chance that you will end up on another.
Yet another way to deal with spam is to just not be bothered by it. Accept it as a fact of life. Delete the e-mails from your inbox without reading them and move on from there.
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