KEEPING
WINDOWS SECURE
Keeping Microsoft
Windows secure
There is no way to guarantee that your computer is 100% secure. The
best way to keep your computer safe is to be sensible online an only
visit reputable website and only ever download programs that you can be
sure are safe.
Here are some things you can do to help keep your computer safe and
reliable:
Update and Patch
The software that makes your computer run, the operating system, is
very complicated. It takes a lot of skilled people a long time to
create an operating system and inevitably there are some problems or
bugs. The companies that create operating systems (Microsoft and Apple
are two such companies) acknowledge that their products are not always
perfect. To fix the bugs as they are found they will release patches
which you can download and install on your machine.
The companies which write the operating systems will provide these
patches on their websites. You should try to get into the habit of
visiting these websites once a month or so to check for updates.
Microsoft, for example, releases patches on the second Tuesday of each
month and provides a special update website for you to download them
from.
Some operating systems will have built in programs to alert you
when new patches are available and might even download and install
these for you. Microsoft Windows XP has an automatic update program
built in but this has to be switched on by you.
Don’t forget about your other pieces of software such as Office
software and device drivers. Updates for these can sometimes increase
the performance of you computer and add extra features as well as
fixing problems.
Install Antivirus Software
Antivirus software can prevent computer viruses from affecting your
PC. Lots of companies make antivirus programs you can buy. A few
companies make antivirus software free for you to use at home.
Install Anti-spyware Software
Spyware is software which is often installed onto your computer
through your internet browser or is packaged with other software you
might have downloaded such as file sharing software. Spyware often is
installed sneakily and might cause lots of pop up windows to appear or
make your machine crash. Illegal spyware can also try to steal your
personal information. Antivirus software cannot protect your computer
against spyware. Antispyware is available for free from a few
companies.
Install a Personal Firewall
A firewall provides a barrier between your computer and the internet
only allowing programs to come and go that you have permitted. Windows
XP has a built in basic firewall (if it is patched up to date) but
better free firewalls are available.
Use alternative Programs
Mozilla Firefox
Firefox is a free alternative internet browser and can be used to
replace Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer has a lot of known
weaknesses that can allow some spyware programs to download onto your
computer without your knowledge. Using Firefox can stop a lot of these
attacks from happening.
Website – http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/
Opera Browser
Opera is another free alternative to Internet Explorer. Opera has
the same security benefits as Firefox and is also regarded as being one
of the fastest browsers available.
Website – http://www.opera.com/
Mozilla Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a free alternative to Outlook Express. It will alert
you to emails that might be phishing scams and also has some advance
anti-spam features.
Website – http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/
Backup Important Work
Like any machine a computer can break down. Break downs can be
caused by mechanical failures of the hardware (electrical components,
disk drives etc) or by failures in the software where parts of the
operating system in your computer become mixed up or lost (corrupted).
In both cases the information you have on the machine can be lost
forever. This could include some important data like personal
documents, digital photographs or downloaded music.
You can’t prevent your computer from breaking down anymore than you
can prevent your car from breaking down but your can protect your
information from being lost.
You should regularly back up your important information. This means
that you should take a copy of the information away from the computer
and store it safely somewhere else.
One of the easiest ways to back up your information is onto CD.
Most computers made over the last few years were sold with CD rewriters
(CDR) built in. If you computer does not have a CDR they can be bought
quite cheaply for under £20. A CD will store approximately 700Mb
of
data.
With a CDR you can write save your important information to disk and
store this safely for years.
If you have too much information to easily back up to CDR you can
purchase a DVD rewriter (DVDR). Some newer PCs will have these already.
They are a little more expensive than CDRs but should be available for
under £40. DVDRs work in the same was as CDR but can store
approximately 4.7Gb of data.
For even bigger back up requirements External hard drives can be
purchased. These can store up to 300Gb at the moment and this is
increasing rapidly. Prices for these drives vary depending on the size
and manufacturer.
Backing up to floppy disk is not a very good option. Floppy disks
only hold 1.4Mb of information which is not a great deal of space.
Floppy disks are also easily damaged themselves. Magnets such as those
found in TVs can erase the disks. Mobile phones can also wipe floppy
disks. Optical storage solutions such as CD and DVD are much better.
.
Original Tutorial
by Aspman
for TheTAZZone-TAZForum
Originally posted on August 30th, 2006 here
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