gracie's security pages basic e-mail safety securing your computer safer net surfing gracie's zone alarm pages moonlake cybersmiths e-mail gracie |
to protect yourself from nasties on the net, and from passing them along to others, you ought to install and use a few very fundamental programs. some are free, others are reasonably priced, and you will gain a lot of peace of mind. so here are my suggestions relating to security programs you should have: * use virus protection software: an anti-virus program (like mcafee virus scan, norton anti-virus, kaspersky anti-virus and the free avg and f-prot for dos), is absolutely essential, as is keeping it constantly updated with the latest 'virus definitions.' if the updates aren't automated, check at least once a week or more. if you do nothing else, do this. you can find one list of av programs here. note: there's a lot of debate about whether to run an av program constantly in the background or just do daily on-demand scans. running in the background uses a lot of resources; the e-mail scanning often works by creating an intermediary mail server first, really slowing your e-mail. if you are very careful about what you click on (attachments, downloaded programs), you may want to just run an on-demand scan every day, which is my choice. watch those clicky fingers <g>. * use a firewall: definitely use some type of firewall product, such as a personal application-based firewall software package, like the highly-rated zone alarm or tiny personal firewall and, if you are on a network or sharing broadband, a hardware appliance (linksys routers are great), which still should be used with software walls. such firewalls can provide a high degree of protection against attacks from intruders who are constantly scanning home user systems for known vulnerabilities. additionally, zone alarm contains mailsafe, which grabs potentially dangerous e-mail attachments and makes them temporarily non-clickable, so you can check them out first. for lots of info on setting up and using zone alarm, see gracie's za pages with step-by-step advice. important note: windows xp's rudimentary firewall provides no outbound control, is not a substitute for a good firewall product like zone alarm, and, by giving a false sense of security, can do more harm than good. * consider trojan protection software: anti-trojan programs (like the cleaner and tds-3 scanners and the differently-abled boclean) are less well-known but also recommended. they scan for trojan horses, programs planted on your computer; anti-virus software will pick up some trojans, but not all or even most. keep this updated, too. if you want to add an anti-trojan program to your arsenal, you can find one list of at programs here. * watch out for adware/spyware: usually installed along with 'free' programs, these send information on your habits back to the company. download accelerators and browser add-ons are just two of the common types of these potentially loaded programs. ad-aware is a free (and adware/spyware-free <g>) program that will detect many types of this garbage. and watch what you download. at the very least, install, run, and keep updated a good anti-virus program and a good firewall. go on to basic e-mail safety -->
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"thanx to the gang on the grc newsgroups for education, help, and fun." |
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