Securing Your Computer
Five Musts For Securing Your Computer – March 2008
There are five things you need to have in place to protect your computer from viruses, spyware and all the other nasty stuff that may infect your computer:
1. Have a firewall in place. Typically, a firewall is used to block anyone that may attempt to use your Internet connection to access your computer. If you use a cable connection to the Internet, your firewall will be built into the router. A router is simply a piece of hardware that acts as a traffic cop to direct outgoing and incoming traffic from the Internet. Some routers allow this feature to be turned off so make sure the firewall is turned on.
For other types of Internet connections, you may need to use a software firewall. Windows XP includes a firewall, but lacks some important features. Vista also includes a firewall, but it is difficult to configure. A good and free firewall that works with both Windows XP and Vista is ZoneAlarm.
2. Anti-virus software is a must. It will work in the background to “catch” any incoming viruses and has a scan feature to make sure no viruses have slipped by. It is a good idea to have your anti-virus software set to automatically scan your computer at an off hour such as the middle of the night.
3. Anti-spyware software is also a must. Spyware is very similar to a virus and the distinction is blurring over time. However, spyware usually relates to a malicious program that gathers information about the user and transfers it back to the author of the spyware. Frequently, this information is gathered for use in marketing, but sometimes it is used for more unscrupulous purposes such as stealing a password or other private information.
Unlike anti-virus software in which you get conflicts if you run more that one product, anti-spyware software products compliment one another.
4. Make sure Windows is set to allow automatic updates. Since Microsoft frequently releases security patches, this is the only way to ensure you receive the benefit.
5. One of the best ways to ensure the safety of your computer is to use your head. Do not open spam and especially do not click on attachments from unknown people. Do not indiscriminately surf the Web. An infected web site will infect your computer. Be extremely careful when downloading any file that ends in .exe, .com, .bat and .scr.
Make sure your anti-virus and anti-spyware software is current, set to automatically download new virus definitions and is set to periodically scan your computer. You should have a firewall in place that is at least set to block incoming traffic. Windows should be set to allow automatic updates. Above all, use your head!!!