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Internet Security |
Internet security is one of the most important aspects of manintaining
your computer that you can do. There is literally an ongoing war between those
who would take control of your computer for fun and profit and those who try
to prevent it. Who has the upper hand changes daily.
I have found a number of places that will help you to secure your computer
against attack over the internet. If you use them all, your computer will
be far more secure than it would otherwise be.
First, you need to install all of the windows critical updates available.
If you think it simply takes too long, then you should download them overnight
and install them the next day. But installing the critical updates is the
first line of defence against an internet attack. Without it, there is little
you can do to plug the holes in your computers security.
Here's some links that will make it easier for you. These files can be burned
onto a CD and saved so you don't have to download them every time you reinstall
your OS.
- Windows
Update is the most important security measure you can do on your
computer. Without it, you're a sitting duck for all sorts of viruses and
trojans.
- Windows
XP Service Pack 1a Now you can download and save SP1 on your computer
or burn it to disk instead of having to download it every time you reinstall
Windows XP. There is a beta of the SP 2 available but I would not recommend
beta programs for a critical component of your computer. The full version
of SP 2 is slated to be released sometime this year.
- 826939 Update
Rollup 1 for Windows XP. Microsoft has released Update Rollup 1
for Microsoft Windows XP. An update rollup is a cumulative set of hotfixes,
security patches, critical updates, and updates that are packaged together
for easy deployment. Update Rollup 1 for Windows XP is a single package
that includes many previously released critical updates for Windows XP.
- Cumulative
Security Update for Internet Explorer 6 SP1. This download wraps
up multiple security patches from Microsoft into a single download. There
are other security patches available as well. See Microsoft's
Protect Your PC page for more details.
- Windows
98 Critical and Beneficial Updates. Get them while Microsoft still
supports Windows 98. Save them to your computer and burn them to CD.
- And if you have XP then you will want to
Shoot the Messenger before it gets annoying. This program disables
windows messenger service for you.
- Kellys-Korner
has a fix if you use shoot the messenger and Outlook Express or Hotmail
slows down.
After that, you should get a firewall. There are several free firewalls available.
Even if you have a 56K modem, you should have one. A hardware firewall built
into a router with a software firewall installed on your computer is best, but
a software firewall is acceptable. Note, that having multiple firewalls installed
typically does not inprove security. But not having one at all is tantamount
to placing a target on your chest and running through a firing range.
Next is an Anti Virus program. Here couple of free ones you can download and
install. All of them are free, but you must keep the virus definitions up to
date. I would suggest checking at least once per month, and recommend checking
once per week.
Next on the list is your internet browser. I know that many people are familiar
with Internet Explorer and would prefer to keep it, but it is also a very insecure
browser in it's default state. Luckily, you can change many of the options to
make it more secure. Another use for multiple browsers is if you are having
trouble with a particular web site. You can easily look at it in a different
browser to see if the problem is with their site, your connection or with your
browser settings.
Next is a list of various other things you can do to help lock down your computer.
These things are not neccessarily vital, but they will go a long way towards
protecting you from new, unknown, and future threats.
Then you can get a good pop up stopper. These programs or plugins will prevent
many pop up advertisements that constantly annoy us while we're surfing the
internet.
And finally, you may want to bookmark this page or place these links into
your favorites. These are links to the various companies that will scan your
computer for viruses. They are always up to date so you don't have to worry.
After your local anti virus program finds and cleans a virus, it's a good
idea to run at least two of these to make sure your system is clean.