Practice Safe Computing

Last revision: 20-Feb-2007

 

Caveat: This is a basic guide to protecting your computer, and your data, against the nasty stuff that's going around on the internet. I do not have all the answers, or even most of the answers. I just offer the things that I do to keep our computers clean and safe. It's working so far. I can offer no guarantees that this will always be enough. I will be happy to receive friendly suggestions on ways to improve this guide.

NOTE: I strongly recommend that you run Windows XP if your computer can handle it. It is more stable than Windows 95, 98 or ME, and offers security enhancements and improved methods of installing software updates.

  1. ANTI VIRUS SOFTWARE

    You should be running an anti virus (AV) program. Norton, McAfee, AVG (Free!), or avast! (Free!) are good choices. (I am now using avast!. It's a bit tougher to set up than AVG, but stays more up to date, and lets you know it's working.)
    Make sure your AV is set to check incoming email, this should be there automatically. Make sure your AV is set to check for updated virus definitions on a DAILY basis (avast! checks every 4 hours if you are on-line.). Things are changing very quickly these days. Have your AV do a complete scan of your system once a week, at least. A new virus might slip by your AV because it wasn't defined yet. Hopefully your full system scan will be based on updated definitions that will catch the virus and clean it out of your system.

  2. FIREWALL
    If you connect to the internet you need a mechanism that stops internet "fires" from spreading into your system. Firewall software lets things into your computer that were requested by your computer. For example, you use Internet Explorer (IE) to access http://www.omgtr.ca. IE contacts the web site and the web site sends back the home page which is allowed into your computer, and onto your screen, because you asked for it. If the web site tried to send it to you unsolicited a firewall would prevent it from entering your computer.

    • MULTIPLE COMPUTERS
      If you have several computers and they all connect to the internet via a single, high speed, internet connection (e.g. Rogers or Sympatico) then you are connected in one of two ways:
      • One computer is connected to the internet and the other computers go through that computer (Internet Connection Sharing)
      • All of your computers are connected to a "router" (magic box). The router is connected to the internet and all your computers get to the internet through the router.

    • ROUTER - FIREWALL
      Your router is probably a firewall - mine is. Check your manual. If your router functions as a firewall then you are finished with firewalls, all of your computers are protected by the router firewall. If it is not a firewall then you must treat each of your computers as if they were directly connected to the internet.

    • INTERNET CONNECTION SHARING - FIREWALL
      In this case the computer directly connected to the internet needs a firewall. The other computers do not need a firewall, they will be protected by the directly connected computer's firewall.

    • DIRECTLY CONNECTED COMPUTER - FIREWALL
      • Windows 95, 98 or ME
        You should run a commercially available firewall, such as Norton's firewall. Or you could download ZoneAlarm from Zone Labs. They offer a Free version of ZoneAlarm that does a very good job. ZoneAlarm is easy. Install it, accept all the default answers and then it takes over. For a while it will ask you if your programs should be allowed to access the internet. After a couple of days you will have used them all and it will stop asking questions and just do its thing.
      • Windows XP
        WinXP has a built-in firewall. You activate it as follows:
        1. Click on "start" and go to "All Programs", "Accessories", "Communications", "Network Connections".
        2. Right-click on the connection you want to protect.
        3. Click on "Properties"
        4. Click on the "Advanced Tab"
        5. Put a check mark in the box "Protect my computer and network..."

      That's it! You now have a Firewall.
      The WinXP firewall is not quite as good as ZoneAlarm which also checks outgoing traffic from your computer. You could install ZoneAlarm instead of activating the WinXP firewall.

  3. SOFTWARE UPDATES
  • Windows 95, 98 or ME
    Frankly, I've forgotten what Win98 will do for you in terms of automatic updates. I never used 95 or ME so I can't say about them either. However I did run a program called BigFix which regularly notified me about things that needed updating.
  • Windows XP
    WinXP has a built-in capability to keep itself up to date. Activate that capability as follows:
    1. Click on "start"
    2. Right-click on "My Computer"
    3. Click on "Properties"
    4. Click on the "Automatic Updates" tab
    5. Put a check mark in the box "Keep my computer up to date..."
    6. Select a setting that will work best for you. I have selected "Download the updates automatically and notify..."


    That's it. Your computer will now assist you in making sure that the latest "Critical" updates are installed. Critical Updates are those which fix a security weakness in Windows XP, or Internet Explorer, or Outlook, or Outlook Express.

    However... There are other updates which are not installed automatically - the "Non-critical" enhancements, improvements and bug fixes. You must look for these manually once in a while. Running Internet Explorer click on "Tools" and "Windows Update". Follow the on-screen instructions to download any WinXP updates and then any Driver updates.

  1. USE COMMON SENSE ABOUT E-MAIL
  • If you receive unexpected e-mail with attachments from someone you do not know, or even someone you do know, then exercise extreme caution before reading that e-mail or executing or saving the attachment. If in doubt - delete the email.
  • Never do anything with an attachment that has a double file extension. e.g. picture.jpg.scr Delete such e-mail immediately, and then empty the deleted, or trash, folder. Note: The newest round of virii conceals the second file extension but it is there. If you click on the attachment it will execute and attempt to infect your computer. Only your Anti Virus Software will save you!
  • If you receive an e-mail from Microsoft with a software update attached Delete it! Microsoft never sends software updates by e-mail. The attached software is a virus!
  • If you receive an email from any source - bank, PayPal, credit card, etc. - that asks you to go to a specific link to validate your personal information, or that asks you to run an attached program and enter data to validate your personal information, don't do it! No matter how official that e-mail seems to be it is certainly a trap, one that could clean out your bank account or max out your credit card.
  • When you send an e-mail ALWAYS have a subject line, and word the subject line such that it doesn't sound strange to the recipient. If you are sending an attachment describe it in the email so that the recipient can tell that it is from you and what it contains.
  • If you receive a "virus warning" from a well meaning friend, especially one that says that this is a virus that can't be stopped by the anti-virus programs... this is probably a hoax that your friend is unwittingly sending out. If you follow the instructions you will cause damage to your own computer. Check it out at http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/ or http://www.vmyths.com/.
  1. BACKUP.
    Copy your personal data to some external medium. CD, Zip Disk, Floppy Disk. Do it weekly, more often if you invest a lot of time creating whatever you are saving to your backup medium. Don't worry about programs or the operating system. Just your data. About once a month store a backup copy at someone else's house. Do the same for them.

As I said at the start, if you do all these things it may still not be enough, but all these steps together should keep you safe against the things that are currently at large on the internet. Good Luck to us all!

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Last revision: 20-Feb-2007