Security information for your PC.

This page will help you keep your Computer safe from viruses, hackers, and other malicious activities. First I will describe some of the dangers, and then I will give links to software (mostly free) which you can use to protect yourself. You do not need to be too worried by the info below. Following a few simple rules, and installing a couple of free programs is enough to keep you perfectly safe.

Viri (Viruses?)

Most people have heard of viruses. These are programs designed to spread themselves from computer to computer via e-mails, floppy disks (or other removable storage) or via network connections (including the internet). Most of these are relatively harmless, but some of the worst carry “payloads” which can do various sorts of damage - from inconvenience such as taking control of the mouse, to disastrous, such as deleting all the files on the computer. The most common form of virus these days is spread by e-mail. Normally the virus on an infected machine will use the e-mail program to send a copy of itself (as a file attachment) to everyone in the users address book. Often it will disguise the senders address, so that even if the recipient recognises the virus, he does not know who sent it, and cannot warn the owner of the infected machine. They will often include enticing subject lines such as the famous “I love you”. Other examples are “I saw this and thought of you..” “It was nice seeing you last night, Call me” “You just have to see this” and so on. In the case of e-mail viri, the recipient of the e-mail can only become infected if he opens or runs the file attachment. The simple rule to use is if you are not expecting an attachment, or you do not recognise the sender, or if it has a non specific subject as above, then do not open the e-mail.

Trojans or Trojan Horses.

These are programs designed to install and run on your machine, but keep quiet and not let you know they are there. Their function is to “phone home” via the internet, and let the writer of the program know that they are on your machine. They can be used simply to gather information and send it back for targeted advertising (also known as Adware - see below), or again in the worst case, will gather sensitive information such as passwords, credit card details (if you have stored them on your PC) or banking details if you use online banking. They may also provide a “back door” into your PC, giving a hacker full access to all your files and disks.

Spyware and Adware.

These types of program are a specific form of trojan, or may be part of a free program which you have downloaded and want to use. They are normally fairly benign in that they do not cause damage, but they do represent a serious invasion of privacy, and adware can become a big problem if it starts popping up advertisement windows while you are on the internet. Spyware basically tracks your online activity and sends the information home. This can be used for targeted advertising, or simply for building a profile of potential customers likes/dislikes. Adware is specifically aimed at targeted advertising. In it’s worst form, it will contact the home server, and continuously pop up advertisement windows. I recently had to remove one such from my Children’s computer which was showing them adverts for online gambling every minute or so. I’ve seen worse ones advertising adult web sites.
Some spyware/adware is part of a useful piece of freeware. One example of this is “download accelerator” a program designed to improve the downloading of files from the internet. It also shows adverts, and tracks your online activity. You must chose if the program is useful enough to justify the loss of privacy.

Hackers

Hackers are not really a threat to the average home PC user. There are multiple millions of computers connected to the internet, and there are far more interesting targets for the average hacker, than the contents of your PC. Simple precautions outlined below can easily make your PC totally safe from most hackers.

Read on for some simple measures to keep your PC safe.....