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Useful Advice
We provide advice, installation, configuration and training for
all of the software mentioned here.
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Watch a BBC video on computer security
We're always telling you how important anti-virus and
firewall software is for securing your home PC - the Internet is a
dangerous place for unprotected PCs. Spencer Kelly met up with a
reformed ex-hacker, who gave him a demonstration of just how much damage
a worm or virus can do to your home computer.
watch the video
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Install Anti-virus software.
(go to our
links section for details)
Use a good quality product and keep it updated, perform
regular scans of your complete system and record the details of any
infection found. This will reduce the time needed to resolve the
problem should you require our assistance.
Ideally you should update your Anti-virus software on a daily basis, or
at least weekly, this will ensure you have protection against the
latest threats.
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Install a Software Firewall.
(go to our
links section for details)
A strong firewall will help defend your PC or
network from incoming attacks, while still allowing legitimate traffic
through. If you store personal information on your PC, use
internet banking or online shopping you need a firewall. A good software
firewall will help prevent the theft of your information and the
possible fraudulent use of your accounts.
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Run Windows Update. (go
to our
links section for details)
Microsoft releases regular updates and bug
fixes for recent versions of the Windows operating system and their
other software packages. By keeping your system up to date
and you'll avoid most of the security vulnerabilities that allow malware
to gain access to your computer.
The minor updates very rarely cause problems, the major updates such as
Service Packs can, in some cases, cause quite severe problems.
Before installing any major update you should perform a full system
backup and check that your backup actually works.
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Learn to recognise suspect e-mails.
(Known as Phishing)
The amount of official looking e-mails that ask you
to confirm your personal details by following a link in the e-mail are
growing daily. Around half of these lead you to very professional
looking sites that do indeed look exactly like your bank, building
society, etc. website. The site asks you to enter your account
number, address, PIN code etc. for confirmation purposes, the true
purpose is always the removal of your hard earned cash!
Never, ever, use the link in an e-mail to get to your bank, building
society, etc. website, instead type the address directly into your web
browser.
Never, ever, give anyone personal details such as passwords over the
phone, unless you have phoned them using a publicly available number,
(i.e. from a phone book or directory services).
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Ignore suspect e-mail attachments.
The majority of virus and trojan infections originate
from infected e-mails, these often have tempting subject lines that
attempt to persuade you that the attachment is harmless. The
sender's details are often forged, so even if you recognise the sender
the email may not be from them, check first before you open any
email attachments.
Here's a few examples of suspect subject lines;
FwD: illegal signs in your mail
Mail Delivery ( failure sender address )
Private document
Re: The photo you asked for
Re: document
Re: Extended Mail System
Re: Protected Mail System
Re: Question
Never open an attachment unless you were expecting it, or
have confirmed with the sender that they actually sent it.
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Internet banking and online shopping.
Only use sites that provide a secure connection.
Internet banking sites should be secure throughout the full session,
most online shopping sites are only secure during the checkout process,
this is fine as long as the checkout pages are secure.
You can identify a secure connection by looking at the address bar at
the top of your web browser;
Secure connections will show - https://
instead of the usual http://
(note the 's' to indicate
secure)
and a closed padlock symbol will appear at the bottom of the browser
window.
If you find a purchase that you really must make and the site does not
offer a secure connection, either look elsewhere or contact the owners
of the site to enquire about alternative payment methods. |
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