Protecting Your Internet Identity - Part 2

This month’s article is part two of the series “Protecting Your Internet Identity”.

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Tip  3. Protecting Your Computer
When you think of protecting your computer from attack the image that springs to mind is some cyber criminal “hacking” remotely into your pc and stealing your information. For the most part this is pure fantasy and Hollywood has exploited this myth to the point that the general population are convinced a group of super hackers exist. They don’t.
There are no magic tools that can penetrate a strong defence on your computer and if your computer is hacked 99% of the time it is you or someone using your pc that has enabled this to happen. Simply put the real threat to your computer is those whom you allow to use it.  In most cases of virus infection I come across, the computer user has either disabled their protection or has actively allowed a website or individual to gain access to the computer. Here are a few simple steps to avoid this.

• Restrict access to your computer to just yourself and if you can’t do this ensure that anyone using the computer uses the guest account only.

• Never under any circumstances give your password to someone so they can use your account on your pc.

• Ensure you install a proper anti-virus on your machine and ensure that it cannot be disabled without entering a password. Please note Anti-Virus software is not foolproof and viruses can get past it under the right circumstances. Thus exercise caution on the web at all times.

• Scan your machine frequently for virus and spyware infection and if one is detected do not rely on the anti-virus to remove it. Seek Professional help immediately. One virus detected usually indicates that more are lurking on your pc.

• Actively avoid all illegal music video gaming sites.

• Use Fire foxes web browser and avoid using Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Safari for web browsing. (donwload Firefox from this link -http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/)
• Don’t download every “whiz-bang” program you come across on the internet. Chances are you really don’t need it.

•  Have your computer checked regularly by a qualified and trusted computer technician and if you notice unexplained slowdowns or error messages seek technical help immediately.

•    Never respond to unsolicited emails and be suspicious of emails purporting to come from friends that seem odd. It is very simple for any hacker to impersonate anyone’s email.

•  Don’t allow friends or family to connect usb or external hard drives to your computer. These can contain viruses which will infect your machine.

Oliver Reidy is a computer technician and has been in the industry since 1981.You can contact him via email  at

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