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Computers and Internet |
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Computers and the Internet have become part of our lives, whether at home or at the office. Unfortunately, this growth has attracted “baddies” that for multiple reasons wish to harm your computer and your ability to enjoy the Internet safely.
The answer is security software. Anti-virus software, anti-spam software, firewalls and anti-spyware, only work properly if kept up to date. Most anti-virus software will update automatically when you go online.
What separates the good software from the bad is how convenient it is to install and set up on your computer, how easy it is to customise it to work in the way you want and how effectively it tells you what it's doing.
Computer viruses get their name from the similarities they share with medical viruses - they're undesirable and contagious.
They are small software programs, which cause problems ranging from minor irritations, such as displaying random messages on screen, to wiping all information off your hard drive.
You may not realise you've caught a virus. It might wreak havoc immediately or not be activated until a later date. Around half of Internet users have had a PC virus at some point, although they were rarely serious. Only approximately 10% have experienced lost data, for example.
Most viruses are transferred when two or more computers share information. The obvious source is the Internet, and emails in particular. But a CD burnt on an infected computer or a plug-in memory stick is also a potential source of viruses. So, if you want your PC to communicate with other PCs, you need to kit it out with basic protection.
“If you have the right book and the right software tools, which you can just download, you could start hacking in 20 minutes. It's easier nowadays. It's served on a plate for people who want to do it.” These are the words of an ex-hacker who now works to protect corporate IT systems from an online underworld of viruses, spyware and a host of other colourfully named threats. “The corporate companies have been successful at protecting themselves”, he continues. 'They have the resources. An average home user can't spend £20,000 buying software and hardware to protect themselves.' Fortunately good security software for home users cost from £40.
Whichever you choose, our ex-hacker says: “Don't rely on software alone. Keep your eyes open and watch for anything unusual. A person is always better than software, which is static and doesn't react intelligently”.
Computers flash up so many boxes asking you for a "yes" or "no" that people get used to just clicking "yes", "yes", "yes".... Be careful what you click and make sure you read all the information.
When you use a firewall, messages will pop up asking you whether programs on your computer may access the Internet or if Internet programs can access your computer. Be wary of those you don't recognise because they may be viruses.
Anti-virus software
Anti-virus software identifies and destroys viruses. You load it on to your computer and update it regularly over the Internet to tackle new threats. Take the 'worm', a type of virus that spreads itself via the Internet by hopping from computer to computer undetected. Variants of the Netsky worm, for example, which has been around for a few years, were found on computers in more than 215 countries last year. The number of variants was the result of a rivalry between Netsky virus writers and those of the similar Bagle virus to see who could achieve greater infamy. Neither worm had serious effects, other than slowly clogging up your computer, but they demonstrate how far viruses spread when virus writers get competitive.
Anti-virus software will detect one of these incoming worms and warn you. It will then try to remove it from any infected files. If it can't do this, it will delete the file or isolate it. Either way your software is safe. In addition, anti-virus software can be used to scan your computer for viruses that are already there.
Some Internet service providers offer protection from email-delivered viruses by scanning your email. But it's best to have your own protection, too.
Firewall software
Firewalls are all about prevention: just as a bricks-and-mortar firewall stops fire spreading, a computer firewall stops the spread of viruses and other nasties. A two-way firewall monitors incoming and outgoing data. If your PC was a nightclub, your firewall would be the bouncer. Incoming and outgoing data are 'frisked' and your computer will ask you whether you want to let them in or out. This stops your computer from being accessed by hackers.
There are legitimate programs that need to access the Internet from your computer - software that needs to update itself, for example - so you must tell the firewall to leave this alone. A firewall is also useful for stopping your computer accessing certain websites or types of content - this is handy if you have children who go online and you want to restrict access.
Spyware
Spyware is software that sneaks on to your PC and spies on what you do online. It then relays this information back to whoever created it. It's hard to know it's there, although having several spyware programs on your computer will slow it down. It's common to get the same pop-up adverts again and again, many of them linking to porn sites.
Spyware can carry 'key-logger' software. This records every key you press, and a hacker could use it to collect your online banking passwords.
The worst thing about spyware is you don't have to do much wrong to catch it. Not clicking on pop-up ads is a simple way of avoiding basic types, but more sophisticated spyware is capable of a 'drive-by-download'. This means you have only to visit a website and the spyware will download itself invisibly. It won't be picked up by your firewall either. Spyware hooks into your existing applications so your firewall will not notice it accessing the net. Your firewall thinks it's letting Internet Explorer access the web, but actually it's spyware.
Anti-spyware software will protect you. Like anti-virus software, it scans your computer and deletes the offending programs. It also works like a firewall and blocks spyware from your machine. As with anti-virus software, it has to be kept up to date to work properly.
Spam
Only the lucky few will never have received any spam. Spam is junk email and most of it is from someone trying to sell you something. Since sending an email is free, spammers rely on sending out so much that even the tiniest response rate makes it worth their while. Anti-spam software filters out emails that you've told it you don't want to see, but you have to train it to do this. It won't delete spam - instead, it just puts it in a different folder, so you can check it's not getting rid of anything important.
Whatever security software solution you’ll choose, remember that you need to be protected from all of the above.
We hope that this is a nice start towards selecting the appropriate security tools for your computer. To help you carry on with your research, we have selected a few websites that specialise in software offers. Click on the links of your choice on the right hand side of the screen and you will find a wide range of security solutions available. You may even be able to find some seriously discounted software out there that will suit your needs and get the bargain you’re looking for.
Enjoy Internet safely,
© Before-buying.co.uk 2006
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