"Helping you make the most of IT"
- Keep Your PC Safe
WARNING - Your PC is Under Attack!
Home PCs are
attacked every 15 minutes!
You Can Protect
Your PC With These Products
An
investigation by the BBC reported
that, on average, a PC
connected to the Internet is attacked every 12-15 mintues.
Without proper protection your PC could be damaged, hacked,
used to send spam, used to attack other PCs, or
your personal information stolen.
In the worst cases all the above.
According to the BBC report it is essential that you take the following
action:
Install anti-virus
software and keep it regularly updated - once a week at least.
Install anti-spyware software
and keep it regularly updated - once a week
at least.
Install a Spam filter
and keep it regularly updated - once a week
at least. Install a personal
firewall in addition to the
Windows XP firewall - and make sure its activated.
Never reply to Spam not even to unsubscribe.
Always type in the website address of your bank or credit card - never
follow a link in an email.
Never open unexpected attachments in emails -first reply to the sender
to check they've sent the file.
Take time to keep yourself informed about the latest threat to your PC.
In addition to the BBC recommendations CTU would like to add the
following:
Make sure your PC is set up to receive updates from Microsoft
automatically. Vulnerabilities are continuously being found
in a variety of Microsoft products which require a "patch" to fix.
These can be automatically delivered as soon as Microsoft
releases them. If you are using XP open "Control Panel" and
click on "Security Center" to make sure "Automatic Updates" are on.
It is
strongly recommended that you use a different browser (the
program you use to surf the Internet) other than Internet Explorer.
As Internet Explorer comes already installed on Windows PCs
it is the World's most popular browser. As such it is a prime
target for hackers, spyware and virus creators. One of the
most secure and versatile browsers to use is "Firefox".
Each of the utilities you are recommended to install is available here
and
come with a free trial - there is a charge once you
decide
to keep the software but it's well worth spending a little now to keep
your personal information and your PC safe from criminal or malicious
activity.
. Beware
of the free alternatives of these tools, the BBC
investigation found
that some of them actually caused viruses or spyware
to be loaded on a PC.
All the
software on this website is tried and tested
and come from reputable and recommended sources.
Don't forget to register your use of the software as soon as possible
in order to get the maximum protection it provides.
All-in-one Security Suites
CTU would highly recommend McAfees "Total
Protection Suite" as this
not only protects you and your family in all
the areas
recommended by the BBC but also your
wireless network and any shared resources such as printers. In addition
it can block undesirable web sites and
offensive pictures to
keep your family safe.
But it doesn't stop there.
It also backs-up and
restores files and folders including photos and music and does all this
from one easy interface.
Another excellent all-in-one suite is ZoneAlarm
Internet Security Suite from Zone Labs. This is an
advanced set of security layers that have won more major awards than
any other security suite on the market. Highly effective yet
still easy to use for even the novice computer user. For PC
game players there is a "game mode" which suspends ZoneAlarm messages
without suspending protection. One feature ZoneAlarm has that no other
security program has (suite or plain) is spyware
site-blocking. This
prevents access to known spyware sites, even when any existing spyware
tries to contact them. All in all this is one of the best
security packages for your PC.
Alternatively, if you already have some protection
products
but need to fill in the gaps choose the software you need from
each category below.
Anti-Virus
A computer virus is the term
used to
describe any type of malicious software which alters the way a
computer operates without the knowledge or permission of the user.
Many automatically copy or send themselves to other computers
using any one of a variety of methods such as e-mail or a security flaw
in a PC network. A computer virus may have a number of
possible
purposes or "payload". For example, some use your PC to send
"Spam" others may destroy all your digital pictures.
E-mail has become one of the most common methods
used to
spread a computer virus and in 1999 the "Melissa" virus caused large
companies like Microsoft to shut down their e-mail systems until a fix
could be found. In 2004 the fastest ever spread of an e-mail
borne virus "Mydoom" infected 250,000 computers in one day.
Having an anti-virus program on your PC really is
an
absolute essential - but make sure you are using one that is updated
frequently and is easy to use. PC
Tools Anti-Virus
and McAfee
virusscan provide real-time protection and rapid database
updates and is trusted
by millions of people worlwide to keep their PCs free from malicious
programs. Recommended by PC Advisor, PC Pro, PC Answers, and
PC
Magazine. Choose either program to keep your PC safe from
"viruses", "worms", "trojans" and script based threats.
Spyware is a type of computer program that is
installed
without the users knowlege or consent and then monitors what users do
with their computer and then sends that information over the Internet.
Spyware can collect many different types of information about a user.
Some of the least harmful programs can track all the
websites a user
visits and send this information to an advertisement agency. Some of
the more dangerous versions of Spyware can try to
log what a user types on the keyboard aiming to catch and record
passwords or credit card numbers. Other versions of Spyware, sometimes
called "Adware" simply launch pop-up advertisements.
All Spyware is bad for your PC because, even the most harmless are
taking up resources of memory, computing power and Internet bandwidth
which may cause your PC to slow down. The worst are stealing
your
credit card details or your passwords for online accounts. If
your PC is connected to the Internet you need an Anti-Spyware program.
CTU recommends you use either CounterSpy
or Spyware
Doctor
because they are the best anti-spyware systems available and are
recommended by PC Pro, Tucows, PC Magazine,
PC World,
PC User and Download.com
Unsolicited junk e-mail sounds harmless enough but
not only are they a real nuisance, they clog up your use of the
Internet with their traffic and fill your Inbox with junk. In
2002 9% of all emails was Spam. In 2003 that had risen to
40% but in 2004 it reached a staggering 73% of all emails.
Its a problem that is not going to go away for some time yet
and as many viruses are distributed by Spam you need a good Spam filter
to add that extra layer of protection.
CTU recommends you use either iHateSpam
or Spam
Monitor because we believe they are the best available for
the home user and come from very
reputable sources. Both have a powerful filtering utility and yet are
easy to use
and manage.
Business users should contact CTU for information about Mailcontroller,
an exceptional and effective
managed service which filters Spam and blocks viruses before the email
arrives to your mail server.
Although Windows XP comes with a firewall built-in hackers are aware of
this firewall and have developed ways around it. The magazine
PC
World (not the chain store) reported that Microsoft admitted that it is
possible for a clever hacker to switch off the XP firewall.
Because of this kind of vulnerability you need an extra
personal
firewall from a reputable software company. Click
here for McAfee Personal Firewall
