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A Basic Guide To Internet Security
By John Rivers
The internet is a wonderful place; many of us use it on a regular
basis for a multitude of functions. Email helps us to keep in touch
with family, and friends all over the world and most people have at
least one email account. The growing use of digital cameras and camera
phones means that we can send pictures at the click of a mouse. MP3
players have become increasingly popular, and we can download songs
to play on them with extreme ease. All of this is great, and the internet
is becoming a big part of our everyday lives.
Unfortunately, there is a downside to all of this increased use of
the internet. That is the growth of the spread of viruses and other
so-called ‘malware’. Originally, internet hackers were
satisfied keeping their attentions focussed on government and business
websites, and their viruses were intended to attack corporations. Most
hackers saw this as a challenge. However, there is now an increasing
trend towards home computer users being targeted by these attacks.
The amount of damage that can be caused by a virus varies, but there
are a number of easy steps that a person can take to help increase
their internet security.
The first step to keeping your computer free from viruses is to have
up-to-date antivirus software running on your computer. You need to
make regular checks to ensure that your software is updated, and to
scan your entire computer for viruses. There are a number of cheap,
and free antivirus software programs available that provide excellent
protection. You can find these by searching through your search engine
for antivirus software.
The next step to maintain your internet security is to be extremely
cautious about the type of files that you open, or download. The majority
of viruses are actually spread through email attachments. Having these
on your computer, in your inbox, is not the danger; the real danger
is when you open the attachment. It may not be obvious that anything
has happened when you first open the attachment containing the virus,
quite often they appear blank. The damage is caused by the program
that is activated within the attachment. If you do not know, and trust,
the person who has sent you the attachment then delete the email.
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About the author:
John Rivers is owner of Security
Profs. Introduction to Internet security using personal firewalls,
anti-virus, anti-trojan.
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