Home internet and computer security guide from Nuatech   The internet is becoming ever more hazardous for the unwary venturer onto its highways and byways. Viruses, malware, spyware, and other attacks are becoming automated and prevalent. These can slow down your computer, choke your internet connection, record your personal and financial data, dial high cost phone numbers, and leave you open to a wide variety of other attacks.

Fortunately there are a few simple steps you can take to ensure that your computer is as secure as it can possibly be. There are three main attack types you need to be aware of...

Malware / Spyware: Home internet and computer security guide from Nuatech
  This is a kind of program that is bundled with other "free" programs or can be installed when you click on a button on a site, or in certain cases, even look at a website on the internet. These can record any information you enter on your computer and broadcast it home where it is analysed and stored. These are the main causes for a computer and internet connection to slow down.

Viruses / Trojans:
  Another common attack is a virus. This scans your computer automatically and tries to install itself. Once it is in, it can do literally anything, including turning your computer into a server for pornography, sending many emails to unwilling recipients (spam) and causing your computer to participate in large scale attacks on corporate or government websites. Computers like this are called zombies, and at last count there were over 15 million of them live on the internet.

  Trojans can have the same effect, except they require you to open an attachment or file to install themselves. If you ever get an unexpected email, DO NOT click on the attachment. If its from a friend of yours, they may have a virus themselves which is automatically mailing everyone on their mailing list. Call them first to make sure they sent you the email. Even fairly harmless attachments can be disguised trojans.

Phishing / Fraud: Home internet and computer security guide from Nuatech
  Phishing refers to an email which is sent claiming to be from a bank or other organisation, but is in fact from hackers trying to get your credit card or bank account details. When you click on a link in the apparently honest email, it will open a website designed to look like the site of the bank or credit card company. You enter your details, and then they use it to withdraw money or copy your identity for further fraud. Banks and financial institutions NEVER email out requests like this. If in doubt, contact your local branch by phone or in person.

  A further extension of this is the so called 419 fraud, named after the Nigerian criminal code 419 for online fraud, since most of these emails are sourced in Nigeria. The email claims to be from a wealthy landowner (or something similar) that needs to free up some funds from an account. They request that you send money to them, for bribes and fees and so on, and then vanish. It might seem obvious, but many have been taken in by these impassioned pleas.

So what do I do?
  Well, there are a few steps you can take to ensure that your computer is safe.

Patch your computer
  The writers of computer software often release patches for their software, which increase security and add features to it. These are called service packs. The ones for Microsoft (the most common vendor) can be found here. These patches often come to hundreds of megabytes, which could take a week to download over a dialup phone line.

Do not use Internet Explorer Home internet and computer security guide from Nuatech
  If you are using a blue "E" to get online and surf the web, you are using internet explorer. This is an insecure program, and exposes your computer to many attacks when you so much as look at the wrong web page. A free alternative is offered here, the highly recommended firefox web browser.

Clean your computer
  There are seperate programs for cleaning viruses and spyware/malware from your machine. The best of them (all free) are listed below.
• Spybot Search and Destroy - A good general spyware sweeper.
• AdAware - A second spyware sweeper, it covers different types of spyware and malware.
• Microsoft antispyware - The official and some say the best antispyware program.
• AVG Antivirus - A free comprehensive antivirus program, it sweeps incoming links and all emails.
• Trend Micro Housecall - An online antivrus program, very well updated, and an important catch-all for what AVG might miss.

  We recommend that these programs be downloaded, installed, and run, then update to the latest versions, run again, and then run once a week to make sure your PC is clean of all viruses and other nasties. This might seem like a chore, but most of them have an automatic update and sweep system, so once you have them installed and configured, you can forget about them.

Use a firewall Home internet and computer security guide from Nuatech
  A firewall is a program that acts as a shield between your computer and the internet, and is a vital part of making sure that your computer is secure from intruders on the internet. Windows XP has a firewall installed in it, if you are using service pack 2, otherwise you will need to install a third party firewall. Sygate personal firewall is good and free for home use, and can be found here.

Am I safe now?
  Well lets find out! A free internet security service to probe your computer and test for strengths or weaknesses can be found here. Just click on the link and go through the simple procedures. It will probe your computer to see what it can find, then report to you any apparent weaknesses, as well as giving a recommendation on what to do about them if it finds any.

Or give us a call!
  Give us a call or contact us here and we will send someone around to take a look at your computer, install what needs to be installed, and teach you how to ensure that your computer is safe on the internet! We at Nuatech ensure that our customers receive not just the software to protect themselves, but learn how to use it as well!