Internet Security 101

Are you wondering how to make your computer more secure?  Concerned about your online security?  Spyware, trojan horses, computer viruses, keyloggers….   It is enough to make your head spin and want to disconnect your computer forever.  The Internet can be a downright scary place; full of online threats, including malicious software.  Malicious software can range from an annoyance to downright dangerous.  In fact, it can lead you to having your personal identity stolen; becoming the next victim of identity theft, one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and the USA.  It is good to know that there are some steps to take to make your computer more secure.

Secure your WiFi (wireless) network:    WPA1 is good, WP2 is best, and WEP is certainly better than no encryption at all.  Make sure that your encryption key is a minimum of 14 characters long; a combination of numbers and letters.  Change your router’s default name and password.

Exercise caution in using Public WiFi (wireless) Internet connections, such as public libraries and restaurants:  Cyber criminals often take advantage of weaknesses in these networks to gain access to your computer.  If you do use this type of Internet connection, on your laptop set it to “Public”.  Also, be sure to be protected with a personal firewall, firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-keylogger software.

Protect your computer with a login password:  Set a password for your computer when you login.

Turn your computer off when not in use:  It is much more difficult to hack into a computer that is turned off.  It is much less likely to be infected with a computer virus, spyware, trojan horse, keylogger, or other malware.  Remember not to leave your computer unattended in a public place either.

Be careful when using flash drives, USB drives, floppy disks, CD-ROM’s that have been in another computer:  They could be infected with malicious software.  When you do insert these devices in your computer, scan them with your anti-virus software.

Use strong passwords for email, personal banking, and other applications requiring a password:  Your password should be at least 8 characters in length; a combination of numbers, characters, small letters, and capital letters.  Don’t use common names or any word in the dictionary of any language.  Remember to change your passwords often.

Keep your operating system up-to-date:  To make your computer more secure update it on a regular basis.  Your operating system vendor is constantly coming up with new security patches to protect your computer from the latest security threat.  It is a good idea to set your computer to update automatically.

Install anti-keylogger software:  Keyloggers, malicious software that secretly records keystrokes and even captures screen shots, are a very real threat to your Internet security and privacy.  Anti-virus and anti-keylogger software do not detect all keyloggers.  You need to have anti-keylogger software installed to detect keyloggers.  I personally use and trust Zemana AntiLogger.  It acts differently from other Internet security software, that relies on time consuming “full system scans” and virus signature files.  It detects and blocks keyloggers.  CLICK HERE for a free, fully functional 15-day trial of Zemana AntiLogger.

Install anti-virus software:  Be sure to install reputable anti-virus software.  There is reputable and free anti-virus software available for download online, such as AVG AntiVirus.  Remember to keep your computer up-to-date; anti-virus software is only as good as the last update.  It is good to get into the habit of running a full system scan on a regular basis, such as weekly, as well.

Install anti-spyware software:  It is crucial for your Internet security and privacy to have anti-spyware software installed.  There is reputable and free anti-spyware software available for download online, such as Spybot Search & Destroy.  That said and done, before downloading anti-spyware software online, make sure that it is reputable.

Following these tips on how to make your computer more secure should go a long ways in increasing your online security and privacy.

Selling, recycling, or giving away your old computer?   Think that simply formatting data will permanently erase your harddrive?  Think again.  Unfortunately, formatting data on your hard drive and erasing it will not permanently delete your hard drive.  You need to use disk deleting software to permanently erase data and files on your hard drive.  Otherwise. your personal information is at risk of being recovered by cyber criminals.  You could become the next victim of identity theft, which happens to be one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and the USA.

Formatting a hard drive only erases the address tables., leaving your all your personal information still intact on your hard drive.  Most of your data could be recovered using data recovery software.  This is fantastic if you have accidentally reformatted a harddrive. On the other hand though, it is not good if you’re selling, recycling, or giving away your computer.  With your computer in the wrong hands, cyber criminals could very well steal your identity. This could lead you to becoming the next victim of identity theft, one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and the USA.  Not using proper disk deleting software to permanently delete your hard drive is very much a real threat to your Internet security and privacy.

Recently, I was reading a somewhat alarming story about how much of a threat to our Internet security and privacy data not properly deleted, by disk deleting software truly is.  Two MIT students, back in 2003, purchased 138 used disk drives from various locations.  They found more more than 5,000 credit card numbers, medical reports, deleted personal and corporate financial information.  On top of that, the students found personal email and pornography on those disks.

To securely erase data and files from your hard drive you need to use a process called disk wiping, also known as file shredding.  This is a secure method of ensuring that data on your computer and other storage devices is permanently deleted. To permanently and securely erase data on your hard drive you need to use disk deleting software, also known as file wipers, shredders, and wipe programs.

Disk deleting software overwrites your hard drive with 0′s or random patterns. This makes it virtually impossible to recover data and files on your computer using data recovery software.

Apparently, according to an article I read in PC World, some hardware can recover data that has been written over once or twice. That is where secure delete standards, such as the Department of Defense 5220.22-M, comes into play. This specification states that overwriting the drive sector three times with specific, different characters constitutes one pass.  Seven such passes are recommended by many Internet security experts to make the data completely unrecoverable.

However, it is good to know that to read data overwritten by even the simplest disk deleting software requires expensive hardware to recover, so only the most determined professional sleuth would be able to recover your data.  This does not mean though, that you shouldn’t use reputable, disk deleting software to permanently delete your harddrive.  Darik’s Boot And Nuke is available for download online.  This disk deleting software is completely free of charge and securely wipes the hard disk of most computers.  To permanently delete your hard drive,  Darik’s Boot And Nuke overwrites your hard drive several times.

As mentioned earlier in this article, formatting does not permanently erase your hard drive.  Don’t play Russian Roulette with your personal identity.  Securely and permanently delete data on your hard drive using reputable disk deleting software.

Is your computer running slower than molasses in January?  Did your old Vic 20 run faster than your PC is running now?  Getting weird pop-up’s?    Wondering how to remove malicious software?  Your computer could very well be compromised; infected with a computer virus, trojan horse, keylogger, spyware, or other malicious software.  This could actually lead you to having your personal info stolen; added to the ever-growing list of victims of identity theft.  As you can see, malicious software is indeed no laughing matter.  Thankfully, there are some definite steps that you can take to prevent, detect, and remove malicious software.

If you suspect your computer is infected with malicious software, keep it disconnected until you are ready to clean your computer.  This will help prevent any malware already on your computer from sending your personal data to cyber criminals.

Next, boot your PC into Microsoft’s Safe Mode.  In this mode, only the absolute necessary programs and services are loaded.  This way, if any malware is set to load automatically when Windows starts, this mode may prevent it from doing just that.

The first step to booting your computer into Safe Mode is to shut down your PC.  Now that you’ve done that, locate the F8 key and turn your computer back on.  As soon as you see anything on your screen press F8 continuously.  If all goes well, you’ll now see theAdvanced Boots Options menu; select the Safe Mode with Networking and simply press Enter.

Your next step is to delete temporary files.  This may speed up virus scanning and even delete malware already installed on your computer.

Now, you want to run a virus scan ASAP.  If you already have anti-virus software installed on your computer, make sure it is up-to-date.  Remember that anti-virus software is only as good as the last update.  Run a “full system scan”.  If this does not detect any malicious software, download and install another anti-virus program, such as AVG AntiVirus Free Edition.  Run another “full system scan”.

Next, download and run anti-spyware software.  There is free and reputable anti-spyware software available for download online, such as Spybot Search & Destroy.  All they ask is that you can spare some change for a small donation.  Proceed with caution before downloading anti-spyware software; be sure that it is reputable.  There is so-called “free anti-spyware software” that is far from free; asking you for $39.95 to delete a “trojan horse” that may or may not exist and even infecting your computer with more malware.

To be sure to remove all malicious software, install anti-keylogger software.  Not all malware is created equal; anti-virus and anti-spyware software do not detect all keyloggers.  Keystroke loggers are a type of spyware that secretly records every keystroke and even captures screen shots.  This could lead you to being a victim of identity theft.  You need anti-keylogger software installed to detect and block keyloggers.  I use and trust Zemana AntiLogger.  It acts differently than traditional Internet security software, that relies on “full system scans” and virus signature files.  Zemana AntiLogger detects and blocks keyloggers.  CLICK HERE to download a free, fully functional 15-day trial of Zemana AntiLogger.

It is good to know that there are some steps to take to remove malicious software, without having to wipe your hard drive; a time consuming venture where you very well might lose all your data.

Are you looking for Internet security tips?  With the explosive growth of the Internet and the ever increasing number of viruses, trojan horses, spyware, keyloggers, and other malicious software many people are asking, “how can I protect my computer”.  This is a good question to ask, as malware and other online threats can lead you to having your personal information stolen; you can become the next victim of identity theft, one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and the USA.     Computer viruses and other malicious software are certainly a very real threat to your Internet security and privacy.  It should be reassuring to know that there are some steps to help protect your computer from malicious software and other online threats.

• Install anti-virus software:  This is your first line of defense against computer viruses and other malicious software.  There is reputable free anti-virus software available for download online, such as AVG AntiVirus Free Edition.  Many Internet security software vendors, such as Norton and Kaspersky, offer fully functional free trials of anti-virus software.  It is essential for your Internet security and privacy to keep your anti-virus software up-to-date; anti-virus software is only as good as the last update.  Don’t forgot to run a “full system scan” on a regular basis.
• Install anti-spyware software:  Many people assume that as long as they have anti-virus software installed, they are protected from all computer viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.  Anti-virus software does protect you from most, but by no means all spyware.  You need anti-spyware software installed on your computer to protect you from spyware.  I personally use Spybot Search & Destroy, which is free of charge.  All they ask is for a donation.
• Have a firewall:  A firewall acts as a barrier between your computer and hackers; keeping hackers out and  preventing any malicious software already installed on your computer from sending personal information to cyber criminals.  There is reputable free anti-virus software available for download on the Internet, such as ZoneAlarm.  Windows XP, Vista, and 7 all include a free firewall as well.  Just make sure that it is activated.
• Install anti-keylogger software:  Keyloggers are a very real threat to your Internet security and privacy; silently recording every keystroke you type and even capturing screen shots.  They can lead you to becoming a victim of identity theft, one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and the USA.  Anti-virus software only protects you from a small percentage of keyloggers.  Anti-spyware software does a better job, detecting most, but certainly not all keystroke loggers.  You need anti-keylogger software installed on your computer to detect and block keystroke loggers.  I personally use and trust Zemana AntiKeylogger to protect me from keyloggers.  CLICK HERE for an absolutely free, fully functional trial of Zemana AntiKeylogger.
• Keep your operating system up-to-date:  It is extremely important that you keep your operating system up-to-date to have the latest Internet security patches.  Set your operating system to update automatically.
• Resist the urge to open email attachments from senders you don’t know:  A matter fact, even if you do know the sender, be leery in opening the attachment if you are not expecting it.  The attachment could contain more than you bargained for; a trojan horse, worm, virus, keylogger, spyware, or other malware.
• Avoid visiting sites containing file sharing, warez, freeware, shareware, pornography, and the like:  These sites are notorious for infecting your computer with computer viruses and other malicious software.
• Create strong passwords and change them often:  This is a very important step in protecting your computer and personal information.  Don’t use the same password for every site and application; use different passwords and change them often.  A strong password should be at least 8 characters long; not a common name or any word that is found in the dictionary.  It should be a combination of numbers, symbols, capital, and small letters.  To learn more about creating strong passwords visit How to Create A Strong Password.
• Disconnect your computer from the Internet when not in use:  The longer your computer is on the Internet the greater the chance of your computer being hacked.
• Encrypt your WiFi (wireless) network and change the routers default username/password:  Learn more on how to secure your wireless (WiFi) Internet Connection.