Some tips for safe computing
A lot of our computer problems are a
result of us being reactive to problems and not being proactive. Many of the computer problems
we experience are preventable had we known about what's out there and how to protect yourself. Remember, a chain is as strong as its weakest link,
so YOU have to make sure you have as few weak links as possible.
Here are some recommendations or preventative maintenance you can follow on a regular basis to minimise
your vulnerabilities.
I've broken down the tips into the following categories:
Tips to consider when buying a (new) computer
Get yourself a GOOD UPS (uninterruptible power supply) to protect your computer and its accessories, like your printer or scanner. A good UPS will protect the sensitive components of your computer and accessories from electricity fluctuations and provide it with power in the event of a blackout. You cannot get this type of protection from a $20 six (6) outlet extension or surge protector.Click here for a form to get recommendations for a compatible UPS for you. If you cannot afford a UPS, try to get yourself a very good line conditioner for the very least.
If buying a new PC make sure you get at least a three year warranty. It's like insurance in case a hardware component fails.
Shop around and compare prices/features. That computer on sale may be a refurbished PC or it may have technology which is being phased out.
Tips to consider after you've bought your computer
Make sure you have an anti virus program and you update the virus signatures regularly. Signatures help the anti virus software identify virus threats. Having the latest version of an anti virus program and out of date signatures WILL NOT help you against the latest viruses. Check the date of your current anti-virus signatures to see if they will protect you against these latest threats as identified by Symantec below.
Before logging on to the internet ensure that you have a firewall installed and enabled on your PC.
A firewall protects your computer from dangerous Internet threats such as hackers or data thieves. One very good firewall that is available for free is Zone Alarm. Remember to check for updates for your versions of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office and to apply them. Be on the lookout for Spyware. You can try the free Yahoo Toolbar with Spyware removal capabilities or Webroot.com's free SpyAudit to remove Spyware.
Avoid other toolbars that promise to help you search the internet better. They usually install Spyware on your machine and monitor your internet visits in order to send you junk mail or pop ups later on. So forget Bonzi Buddy and Webshots. These programs are pests and are very difficult to uninstall. Avoid file sharing or peer-to-peer programs like the plague.
Programs like Morpheus, Kazaa and Imesh sometimes contain Spyware or malware. Besides collecting information about you, they also put you at high risk to unsuspectingly get a trojan, worm or virus
because you're not sure what you're downloading until you actually run it. A word of caution for those of you looking for cracks, hacks or cheat codes for programs.
A lot of the sites offering cracks, serials, key generators etc. have pop ups that load automatically and can unsuspectingly install trojans, worms, a virus or popup windows with porn.
Get familiar with your computer and what software (programs) and hardware it has installed. Try to keep your computer programs up to date. If you continue to use outdated software you can put yourself at risk for future problems. Most software vendors release (critical) updates or patches to their software to fix bugs, problems or known exploits and make them freely available on their website. Try to make it a habit to check your software vendor's website often for updates.
Be on the lookout for virus hoaxes which you may receive via email. Do not forward them, instead delete the message and check a reputable site like Symantec's list of latest virus threats. for information on the particular virus.
Backup your DATA!!! Depending on how frequently your data changes, this would affect how often you should backup your data. If you have a lot of files you have created on your machine, do not make a backup and keep it stored on the same drive. Instead copy them onto some reliable storage media like CDs or DVDs, which are now found on almost every computer. This way in an emergency you can take your discs to another computer to easily retrieve your files.
Make sure you have a CD or floppy disk you can boot your system from in case of an emergency. Always keep a bootable operating system CD (e.g. a Windows CD) around in the event your hard drive refuses to load your operating system. You can check out KNOPPIX which is freely available for download. KNOPPIX can be used as a rescue system and it can run directly from CD. KNOPPIX is a bootable CD with a collection of Linux software, is capable of automatic hardware detection, and supports many peripherals.
Make it a habit to regularly run the Defrag Utility to speed up your computer. As you keep adding and removing programs/files from your computer the programs/files on your computer can become fragmented. Click to see an example of fragmented files. The fragmented files are in red.
When files are like the red ones, it means the computer could not find enough space on your hard drive to store them in one location. The computer would break the files up and store them in what ever free space exists and put links to the pieces so it could read the files later. However, this process takes much longer as opposed to if the files were stored in one continuous location or defragmented.
Internet users take note:
&
users only
Create separate user accounts for each person using your computer but make sure they all don't have ADMINISTRATOR privileges. A lot of computer owners with Windows XP create accounts for all the users. However, they are not aware that many of the accounts are created with Administrator privileges. Thus ANY account can make system wide changes i.e add/remove programs or data on the machine.
Put "strong" passwords for each account that can access your computer - (especially Administrator accounts). You can make it more difficult to guess your password by making it at least 8 characters long and by mixing letters with numbers or special characters e.g. $tr0ngP@$$w0rd
I would recommend that you only have one account set as an "administrator" account and you use it to just do system maintenance i.e. add/remove programs etc. All other accounts should be set as "user" accounts for your own safety, even the one you use on a daily basis. This way if your machine is compromised say by a virus or unauthorised user, only the files that the logged in user had access to could be affected and not the WHOLE system. Please remember not to name your Administrator account "Administrator" or "Admin".
For your personal email, use one of the free webmail services such as Yahoo Mail or Gmail (Google Mail). I prefer Yahoo Mail because of its advanced calendar, my yahoo portal and the fact that you can set up calendar, email and custom alerts to go to your mobile phone. If you are currently paying for an email address from your internet service provider, check out Yahoo's Mail Plus
Enable the bulk mail feature which your webmail provider offers. This feature would dramatically reduce the amount of junk mail you receive because only email from persons you have entered into your address book gets sent to your inbox.
Avoid opening unexpected emails, especially if they come with attachments.The method of tricking people to open emails that have a virus or which take advantage of an operating system or program exploit is called "social engineering". These emails look genuine and appear to come from persons you know, but they usually come with attachments and target programs such as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express. So one way to avoid them is to not open unexpected emails or to read your email in a web browser.
Avoid "automatic" forwarding of emails to multiple persons just because the sender asked you to, no matter how noble the cause. This may be hard to believe, but Microsoft won't be sending you $1 for each person you forwarded that message to. Nokia will NOT be sending you a free phone. That sick child in Rwanda will not receive 25c for each person you forwarded that email to. You did not win the lottery for US$5M. If in doubt...leave it out. A good source to check out for email hoaxes is the Hoax-Slayer.
When sending emails to multiple persons, try using the BCC: or blind carbon copy option. This way when your recipient forwards the email, their intended recipient does not end up getting a message where the recipient list is longer than the actual message.
Don't spend hours reading emails to find important emails. Instead, try using filters and folders for high priority emails. For example, you can filter incoming emails from family members to a "Family" folder. Or create a "Friends" folder for certain friends. This way at a glance you can quickly see how many important emails have arrived.
Additionally, you can try the different sort options to speed up locating legitimate email amongst bulk mail, you can sort your email by sender rather than by date.
