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New to computers?

There are some things you need to know, why no one seems to tell anyone properly I do not know! Perhaps I should say this here, I had to learn this the hard way so perhaps I can save you trouble.

Viruses:

You will be sent a virus, it is only a matter of time. What to do?

If you use email you will be sent a virus. It may not happen today, it may not happen for a year or two and it may be a silly little thing that does no real damage or which you do not even realise you have. But it may infect and destroy your and possibly all your friends or work colleagues computers within one week and could loose you access to all the work you have been generating and referring back to for tens of years. If you get a serious infection it will certainly cost you time, perhaps days or weeks and perhaps money too.

I am speaking from some experience having been sent viruses on a number of occasions by contacts within various large "blue chip" organisations who did not realise they were infected. Each time the result was the same, I lost a lot of time and occasionally some data. I now take this much more seriously and am now less likely to be affected. Learn from my mistakes and do the same before you fall victim.

Luckily some companies specialise in software to protect your computer against viruses, Norton, Symantec, McAffee or Dr Solomons are some of the better names. They are not expensive (compared to loss of access to your computer) and good versions check for 40,000 plus viruses and allow you to regularly update your virus definitions (the list of known viruses you are protected against) via the Internet.

What to do?

Ensure your computer has an antivirus program and if it is not one of the above, consider changing.
Ensure your virus definitions are updated at least every month.
Use the software to scan your computer at least monthly.
If you are able, configure the software to scan incoming email, that way before your computer gets the email it will have been checked.
Send and reply to email only in text not html format. Html formatted email can contain scripts (lines of program code which can do all sorts of things to your computer and you may not even know they are running)
If you are using Microsoft Outlook Express 5, visit http://www.microsoft.com and ensure you have the updated version that does not run hidden scripts in the preview window. If you do not have this download the "patch" from the Microsoft site. (check the FAQ on the site for more information)
Backup your data on a regular basis. Not the program files (for which you will have the original installation CDs or disks), but the files that you have generated using this software. Time is money and you have spent a lot of time generating this material, you must ensure that you retain access in case you are "denied access" to your computer. With the increase in hard disk capacities you may be tempted to get a Read Write CD drive but bear in mind the data you have created will not be as large as the program files so an iomega Zip drive which lets you write to 100mb disks could do the trick.

Firewalls

Do you know who is using your net connection?

When you connect to the Internet for example to browse a website "xyz.com", your browser requests pages from the server which hosts the xyz.com site. You are connected to a large network, the world wide web, your requests can cross many computer servers on their way to the one hosting the pages and more on their way back with the pages texts and images from the site.

You know you are connected to the Internet, so do a lot of other computers and their programmers.

Folk trying to get in?

Nasty individuals called "hackers" who know a lot more about computers than you or I, may be waiting or scanning for computers which are switched on and connected (logged on) to the Internet. When they find one (they can find thousands at a time), their game is to try to get into your computer for fun, malice or profit.

Trying to get out?

Not only are there entities on the outside wanting to get in, there are some on the inside (at least their programs are) trying to get out with little packets of information or worse about you.

There are likely to be lots of programs on your computer which can make use of an Internet connection. You may have loads of programs equipped with "ET" phone home characteristics. Some or all you may be blissfully unaware about but some folk out there are just not that ethical when it comes to learning more about you and me. Hackers mentioned above may have planted "trojans" somehow on your computer (little programs that appear benign but can let in the real attack when you are not expecting it) which will activate on a particular day at a particular time and try to get out and make a connection to let their masters in.

The point again is about denial of service but also security for your personal data. Who do you want to be in control of your computer, who do you want to know your habits, your friends email addresses, your credit card numbers, your Internet login or even bank account.

If you have no firewall on your PC (or at least at entry points on your company network) you are simply one of the easier targets.

What to do?

http://www.zonelabs.com offer a free personal firewall which you can download from their site and install in minutes. While I am sure this is not immune to all hacker attacks it has been recommended by many magazines and works on Internet and local network connections. It is definitely better than hiding your head in the sand pretending it will never happen to you.

Not happy with this one, or running a corporate network, there are plenty of commercial versions available, visit http://www.google.com or http://www.cnet.com and search for "firewall".

Backups:

Why is this is not a "nerdy" joke.
If you get a virus, or if a hacker manages to get into your computer, you stand to loose your data.

More basic than that, hard disks fail, in fact it is certain that yours will fail, perhaps not for many years or tens of years but it will sometime cease to function.

It is as simple as that.
Not just that someone else might get to see your files on train-spotting, the intricacies of flower arranging, your accounts or personal letters, but that:

You might not be able to see them ever again yourself!!

What to do?

Back up your data regularly, routinely.

Browser cache:

And what it can do for you or others?
Every time you visit a website the pages you see are also saved on the hard disk of your computer as is the address you visited.

Be aware that you and others can see this "Internet history" at the touch of a button.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 click the "tools" tab then "Internet options" then in temporary Internet files click "view files" ... or you could simply click your "history" button in the browser window.
Netscape 4.7 click "communicator", then "tools" then "history"...
you will see all the pages, images and other components you have viewed on the Internet recently.

Both programs offer you the option of deleting your cache and the contents of your history files but the point is that many users will not be aware that this ability to retrace their steps actually exists. People at work may be browsing the jobs pages when they should be working, your kids may be looking at porn when you are out of the room.

Be aware and avoid potential embarrassment.

The cache on your computer is not the whole story, if you are on a computer network with an Internet or email server at work, all this information is very likely to be on the server as well. And so it should, this is company property provided for you to use for work we are not talking about your own property here.

Windows security is your back door wide open?

Steve Gibson runs an excellent website which explains (among other things) how your personal computer if running Microsoft Windows 95 or 98 is delivered in a state insecure for Internet usage.

The jist of it is that your computer uses a language TCP/IP (a protocol) to communicate over the Internet. When your computer is delivered it also uses the TCP/IP language for communications between components within the computer itself and any network components (other computers). While this seems fine so far, someone gaining malicious entry into one computer who is using TCP/IP can then gain easier access to all your system resources and perhaps across a local network in one swoop.

Steve Gibson will show you graphically why you need a firewall and why you need to unbundle TCP/IP from all but Internet communications where your computer is concerned.

Visit Steve Gibson's site http://grc.com.

[Author mark@sticky-marketing.net date 20/02/01]