It's War I Tell You!

by: douchrti
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Word Count: 847

As you may or may not know, a new computer is extremely
vulnerable when you first get online with it. There are ways
to insure security though. You can get the Windows Update CD
from Microsoft and install that before you get online. You
can also get most Antivirus Definitions dnloaded and save em
to disk and then install those before you go online. Of
course you have to be using that Product in the first place.
And you can get AntiSpyware on a disk and do the same. But
how many people do that in their excitement to take it out
of the box and hook it and see what She'll do.

Sans Internet Storm Center says those people will have their
Puter infected with adware or worse in less than 20 min! New
computers online stick out like a sore thumb. First comes
the shock, then the anger, then the question. How do I fix
it? If they are lucky they can fix it fairly cheaply. It
might involve a lot of time listening to elevator music
while you're in the hold queue. Either way it’s no fun.

Education is what’s needed here folks.

In this Article I plan on touching on simple easy steps you
can take to keep your Computer happy and safe. First lets
talk about your online connection itself. Dialup, Satellite,
DSL, whatever you have, make sure they are secure. Call em
and ask em. What kind of security do they employ to keep
your websurfing secure? Most often they have the info at
their site. Read their Privacy Policy.

Ok, now the Browser part. A touchy subject with many. I use
Firefox mostly and IE only when I have to. Unless you've
been living in a hole you know IE has its vulnerabilities.
Nothing against IE folks. It gets targeted so much because
that’s what people use most. Hackers, Spammers, Phishers,
and the rest know this and swarm like sharks. Firefox has
its problems too. They are getting noticed and they are
having to work harder too at keeping their browser safe too.
Whatever you use, keep it updated. Whatever you use, get
some monitoring software, like Bigfix or Winpatrol. Learn
how they work and you'll be a happy Websurfer.

While we're talking about software products, let’s think
about what you do online. There are many products out there
that try and cover all aspects of protecting your computer.
It’s hard to write software though to do all that. I've
found a mixture of products do well for me. Right now I use
Win patrol, Sygate Firewall and Avast Antivirus with
Ad-Aware SE to cover my bases. But what works for me may not
work for you. So how do you find the right combination or if
you're lucky the single product that will do the job?
Education. Pure and simple. You have to become educated in
what is going on out there on the WWW and be prepared for
it. We're not talking a lot of money either in most cases.
There is some great products out there that are free! The
Web is diverse, with Forums, Blogs, Instant Messaging, Video
Conferencing, and of course Websites. Especially the new
.XXX ones. Each has its own uniqueness as far as
vulnerabilities. Whatever your preference, make sure you're
safe.

Chances are though, you'll pick up some spyware. It’s hard
for the hardware and software Suppliers to keep up to the
minute patches available. Although I've seen patches
available in under 3 hours from some suppliers. Hopefully
what gets you will be harmless, just annoying. This kind
just puts a cookie on your puter and tracks you as you go
from website to website. Marketing info is what they are
after. But some Spyware can be nasty. They log your
keystrokes, and this means your logins and credit card
numbers.

And now for Email. How the human race ever did without email
we may never know. Its one of the greatest conveniences ever
and what a timesaver. You don't need a stamp and there’s no
dash to the mailbox in the rain. But as always, along with
the good comes the bad. People want to use your Bank account
to put money in, They want you to open this attachment, and
please just click on this URL! Spammers, Hookers, Phishers
Oh My! My advice, scan anything that is not from someone you
know with Anti-Virus. Never click on a URL from your Bank.
Go there yourself from your Browser. Check to see if your
Mail Program has an option to warn you if there is anything
in the email that may be a virus, like in Outlook Express.
It can be inconvenient sometimes, but worth it. Some of the
better Web based services like Yahoo have a Junk Mail Folder
that helps immensely. I never even open the folder, I just
delete the contents everyday.

Remember, you need to become educated if you're going to be
on the Internet. I hope to see in my lifetime the end of
Online Threats.

About the Author

About the Author: Doug Woodall has a website at http://www.spywarebiz.com There he provides free information and recommended products to combat Spyware,Viruses and other Online Nasties.

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