Why do people have security issues?
A large number of home users are infected with spyware or trojans, most home users talk of very slow computers. all of this is caused by bad security.
Some people don’t know how to be secure, some don’t care, other know what to do but see it as too hard.
the problem is that the bad guys (hackers) are interested and motivated in getting into your computer.
the users are not very motivated or interested in keeping them out.
about 80% of all email is spam, and most of it is sent from computers that have been hacked.
you want less spam?
then start to be more interested in security.
What can you do to be secure?
get an anti-virus program, you can even get a free program.
get a firewall, the windows built in firewall is a good start, a NAT router is also good.
get a spam filter, thunderbird can do spam filtering for you.
update your OS and programs, update , update , update…..
use auto-update if you can , browsers, mail programs, anti-virus, all must be updated.
Change your behavior
Don’t click on links in email, don’t do it, don’t even think about it.
Don’t open attachment in emails, unless you trust then sender then don’t open attachments.
Don’t browse to dodgy web sites, this means no searching for warez, porn, free ringtones.
Virus scan you computer every week.
Will this change the world?
This is just a start, think of it as bailing out a sinking boat with a tea spoon….
it will buy you time, others will notice what your doing and start to help.
the hackers will always have a new way to get in to your computer, the tips above will help.
As long as you keep your system patched, run a firewall and change you habits then you become a much harder target, you will be more secure than most home users.
links
free firewall
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/
Or even zonealarm
Http://zonelabs.com
free mail program
http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/thunderbird/
free anti-virus
http://www.avast.com/
