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PC Pages > Net Safety
What is a virus? How can I protect against them?
A virus is a program or piece of a program that is loaded onto your computer and
runs against your wishes. Viruses are manmade. Even a simple virus is dangerous
because it may use all available memory and bring the system to a halt. More
dangerous viruses can delete or change the data on your hard drive. Viruses can
be found and removed using antivirus software available at your local software
store. We use Norton 2000 as it scans your email before you open it.
Is email safe?
Email is a terrific way to stay in touch with family and friends, and to make
new friends. But some of your messages may be read by someone else. You see, as
your message zips across the Internet to its destination, it passes through a
bunch of other computers. Those computers might make a copy of your message and
somebody may read it someday. When you send an email, pretend you're talking in
a crowded room. There's no such thing as a private conversation on the Net.
Is the Internet safe?
In general, you can have a lot of fun and learn quite a bit with the Internet.
But be wary of sharing too much personal information with all those strangers
out there. You never know who might use your name, address, or telephone number
against you. Keep personal information to yourself whenever you can.
Can somebody guess my
passwords? What makes a good password?
You use passwords to log onto the Internet and at commercial websites, like
Amazon.com. Try to make your password easy to remember-- so you don't have to
write it down. But make it hard for other people to guess-- no birthdays or
names. Make it six to eight characters and mix in numbers and capital letters.
What about sites that ask for my credit card? Is it
safe to send credit card and other personal info over the Internet?
It's a good idea to develop some trust with any business on the Internet. Make
sure you know how to find the business if there should be a billing problem.
Look for a phone number or address on the website. If the web page says it's
secured by SSL or HTTPD, it's probably very safe and reliable, but it's hard to
know for sure. The best advice is to be sure it's a reputable business, so
you'll have some confidence that your personal information will be treated
professionally.
Can somebody "hack/crack" my home PC?
If you just send and receive email, surf the Net, and download files, you are
not much of a target to a bad guy. If you have a homepage that has political or
religious content-- things that might light a fire under other people, you can
expect to be hacked.
Is personal information about me being gathered by
the Websites I visit?
It is possible that a web page might copy information from your hard drive, but
so far this has not been much of a security problem on the Internet. Mainly
companies like to check your computer files to see what websites you've visited
recently, things like that. If you want to know when a web page is doing this,
look in your Netscape or Internet Explorer Preferences and click on the place
where it warns you when a "cookie" is being sent.
How do I keep my kids from seeing certain online
content?
Cyber Patrol and Net Nanny are two of the reliable Internet "censors."
No software will block every piece of bad stuff on the Internet, but these go a
long way to giving you some control over what your children see. Basically,
these packages "screen" the Web page looking for words or pictures
that may be objectionable, based on your settings.
What is the biggest security threat to home PC
users?
The biggest security problem at home is not having a backup if you are hit with
a debilitating virus or if your machine crashes. Always save important files on
disks. Buy a high-density removable drive, like Iomega's Zip drive or Avatar's
Shark drive. Make a habit of copying your personal documents to a removable disk
every two or three days. That way, you can cleanse your hard drive of viruses or
repair the hardware, reinstall Windows and your other CDs, and you're back in
business. Backing up your data is not difficult, and should your machine ever
really crash, you'll really be glad you did.
The main problem we come across with customers is
that they have an anti virus application running on their system but do not
update the virus definitions. It takes 5 - 10 minutes to update your software
and should be done every 2 weeks, not to much to do to keep your system virus
free.
Keeping children safe on the web.
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