Protecting your computer for free

Protecting your computer doesn’t need to be expensive, computer companies would like you to spend money because they make millions out of it.
The actual fact of the matter is that there’s lots of free downloadable computer software out there if you know where to look.

Whenever you buy a computer these days the first thing they will try and do is sell you anti virus protection from one of the big brands like Norton of MacAfee and charge you between £30 & £50 for the privilege.
This is a lot of money to shell out and you can get as good a standard of protection using a free anti virus programme.

Viruses generally come in 3 forms; Trojan Horses, Worms & Viruses.

Visit AVG antivirus and download the free software, AVG is a very powerful anti virus which will update itself automatically about 4 times a week with the latest software updates, so you don’t need to think about it.
So how can free software be as good as Norton and MacAfee who charge? AVG make money from corporate and business sales, if the anti virus is for home use it is free, which is very nice of them and they are getting free advertising from you into the bargain.

Other advice I would give is don’t open an email attachment from someone you don’t know or if you are not expecting it. Also look out for the type of attachment that is being sent some common

.doc (a document)

.txt (a text file)

.xls (a spread sheet)

.exe (a programme file)

If an email in your inbox says something like ‘here are the sales figures for this month’ and it ends in exe it is very likely to be a virus, just delete the email immediately.

If your operating system is Microsoft then you are entitled to all the free downloads and service packs they release. Make sure you are up to date by visiting – Microsoft Download Centre

Email Phising - Phising is simply a term used when someone tries to fraudulently acquire data like passwords, bank details, your credit/debit card number by posing as a reputable online company or trustworthy person. Be extra vigilant when you receive emails from companies and banks have you ever shopped with them before? Remember that companies will never ask you for you personal details over an email.

Another point to watch is that if you receive an email from i.e. Ebay they will always start the email with your name Dear Ross Fraser….

A phising email pretending to be from Ebay will start the email
Dear Member… (as they don’t know your name since it is a spam email being sent to millions of people)

If there is a link on the email to the website when you move the cursor over the link look at the bottom of the web browser and you can see where the link is actually going, if it’s not going to www.ebay… and it says its from Ebay then its spam.
The very latest version of Internet Explorer which is free has a built in database of phising websites it will automatically tell you when you click on a questionable link if internet explorer thinks the website is bad news. Secondly make sure you have a firewall!

A firewall is a piece of security software that runs in the background while you are surfing the internet. It acts as a gatekeeper deciding what goes in and out of your computer via your internet connection.
Microsoft have a free one built into Windows XP make sure you have it switched on, look for the shield symbol on the bottom right of your desktop and click on it.

Another free firewall that is very good is Zonealarm this can be downloaded free from their website. Once it has been installed and you need to change any of your computer programmes internet access settings you can access it on the bottom right of your desktop. One thing to note about firewalls are never run 2 firewalls at the same time it won’t make your computer any more secure it will just cause conflicts between the 2 firewalls, which can compromise your security.
If you use a router to access the internet rather than a modem, a router has a built in firewall anyway. You can run another firewall on your computer but sometimes it will cause conflicts. If this is the case turn off the firewall on your computer.

Adware and Spyware and how it affects you! Some websites use pop up ads, these are annoying windows that will open (pop up) either under or over the webpage you are viewing to advertising stuff.

Thankfully most sites don’t use them now, but some still do, if you browse with internet explores it has a built in popup blocker which will block popup ads from website automatically. If you don’t you can download the Google toolbar which has a built in popup blocker, or try browsing with firefox which has a built in popup blocker.

Some websites have genuine uses for popups, like login windows; if this is the case you can allow that particular website to use popups when you are viewing it by changing the setting at the top of the Internet Explorer browser. Other times popup windows will appear that are nothing to do with the website you are visiting this is because there is adware installed on your computer which is generating them.
Adware & Spyware can be serious but if you take precautions then you shouldn’t be affected by them.

Adware- is an advertising programme installed at the samee time as a shareware or freeware program you have downloaded. Adware will usually continue to generate advertising even when you are not running the original downloaded program. (it goes without saying if you are downloading programmes from the internet only download from reputable websites).

Spyware - similar to adware as it is attached to free programmes you may have downloaded. But instead spyware is collecting data about your internet and computer use, this information will be transmitted back to the spywares website of origin.

To see if you have any installed on your computer it is a good idea to check to see what programmes you have installed on your computer. You can do this on the control panel under add/remove software. It is a good idea to be removing programmes you don’t use anyway, but if you see any suspicious programmes then I would remove them.

Then install a bit of free software called Lavasoft. I run Lavasoft about once a week it looks out for any spyware or adware that could be on your computer and compares it with it’s database of ad/spyware it knows of. You then have the option to delete what it has found from your computer.

Some websites have legitimate uses for spyware - many shopping websites drop a cookie on your computer when you visit them. Cookies are harmless little pieces of data simply saying who you are. The next time you visit the website it knows it’s you from the cookie, Amazon do this. These cookies will show up in the Lavasoft scan but it is nothing to worry about if you delete them.

Learn how to protect yourself while shopping online The Cahoot webcard
For more useful free computer software there is a section on the Peazyshop Forum.