When connected to the Internet, your computer is attacked at least a few hundred times every hour. But, you can take steps to help protect your machine, and there are a few things you can do – or not do – to decrease your chances of getting infected.
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, a national campaign focused on educating individuals, businesses and schools about ways to be safe and secure online. One way to be cyber secure is to treat your home computer like it's your castle.
Think of it like this. If your PC is a medieval castle, it has a moat, a drawbridge, and high walls. The castle's defenses can work passively, but sometimes real threats could be let inside by accident. The first line of defense is the firewall, which is sort of like the moat. It allows in only who you want to enter across the drawbridge.
A firewall works by examining information coming from and going to the Internet.
By adjusting the settings, you choose what comes in. Many late model Windows and Apple operating systems have built-in firewalls. However, if you are using an older system, then you may need to find and install that on your own.
Keeping your operating system up to date is the next step. Just like a castle, you must always be ready to fend off an attack. They built huge lookout towers and they made sure they patched any vulnerabilities in the foundation. In the old days, that meant the use of brick and mortar. Now, all it takes is downloading free security patches. Sometimes, though, we invite trouble in without meaning to. Worms and viruses can access your computer through e-mail attachments, computer networks or shared files. They can damage your computer files, crash your machine, and send themselves to your friends. You can also get spyware by downloading software that does not clearly state what it’s going to do. Sometimes it’s a new toolbar or another program that looks legitimate. But, then, it takes over your browser and shows you ads constantly.
Clicking on the wrong thing can be like leaving the drawbridge down. That means, an intruder will make it across the moat only to be stopped from getting into the castle by the impenetrable castle doors and high castle walls. That’s the equivalent of up to date anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Anti-virus software scans incoming files for known threats and stops them before they can do damage. Anti-spyware software searches out known cases of spyware and removes the files – kind of like throwing out uninvited guests.
Medieval castles were built on the premise of concentric circles of defense. That means, keeping the castle secure meant a series of obstacles that start on the outside of the castle and worked their way in. The following are some modern-day obstacles you can set up to keep your personal computer as secure as a castle:
Always use your firewall.
Keep your computer operating system up to date (remodel your castle’s defenses when something new comes along). With the most recent updates installed, your operating system is more likely to fend off all attacks.
Always use up-to-date anti-virus software. It is designed to fight off new strains of attacks as they arise. Make sure your computer is scanning for new updates regularly.
Install and keep up to date anti-spyware software. That can help you find and eliminate known spyware threats.
In addition, there are some good things to remember to stay cyber secure.
- Make sure you delete any e-mail attachments before you open them coming from people you don’t know.
- Set your browser's security settings to "medium" or higher for the Internet.
- Only download from sites you trust.
- Read privacy statements and license agreements before you download anything.
- Turn off software features you don’t use like file and printer sharing.
- Back up important files onto removable disks.
- Use strong passwords that combine letters and numbers. And, don’t share passwords, save them in a file or have your browser remember them.
- Don’t download programs, screen savers or games from Web sites you don’t trust.
- If you can't close a pop-up window, never click "ok" or "agree" or even "cancel." They are trying to trick you. Only close windows with the red "x" in the corner.
Take an interest in what your children are doing online, and learn as much as you can about e-Safety. i-SAFE provides easy and convenient i-PARENT online training at http://ilearn.isafe.org/. You can also learn more at http://www.isafe.org/, or our new Web site just for Hawaii at http://www.isafehawaii.org/.
