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Troy's Security Tips

Recent studies in online security have shown that a new computer, fresh out of the box, can be attacked and taken over by hackers in a matter of minutes. New viruses continue to pop up on a regular basis. Unwanted advertisements pop up on your screen again, and again, and again, and... well, you get the idea. It's almost enough to make you throw your hands up in disgust and never log on to the internet again. Well, not so fast. With a little planning, you can protect your PC from all but the most determined malcontents. How? We start by identifying the three basic types of threats.

1. The Firewall

You should think of your firewall as a shield: it is your most basic frontline defense against hackers who are trying to attack your computer directly, as opposed to sneaking in using a virus or trojan. Without one, your PC is all but guaranteed to be compromised. Fortunately, getting a firewall is easy.

• If you're using a router to share internet access with two or more computers, congratulations! Your router already provides you with a built-in NAT Firewall, protecting you from outside attacks.
• If your computer is running Windows XP with Service Pack 2, you have an easy to access firewall already. To make sure it is on, click on the "Start" button, then click "Settings" and then "Control Panel". If you see the message "Switch to Classic View", click on it. Then find the "Windows Firewall" icon and double-click it. Make sure it is "On", then click "Ok".
• For everyone else, we recommend the free ZoneAlarm Firewall from ZoneLabs.

2. Antivirus

A virus is the ultimate wildcard. Viruses often slip into your computer attached to emails, or downloaded files. Once in your PC, they can do almost anything they want. I've seen some that simply display a smiley face on your screen, some that email your private files to strangers across the internet, and some that erase everything in the computer's hard drive. Ouch.

Fortunately, there are several good antivirus scanners on the market, and they all do a great job of stopping this junk before it gets a chance to do any damage. We recommend Grisoft's AVG Anti-Virus, which is free for home use!

3. Malware

Malware is a sort of catch-all term for programs that can spy on you, pop up advertisements, send you to web site 'X' when you tried to go to web site 'A', change your homepage, etc, etc. There are lots of people on the internet claiming they can keep it off your computer, but unfortunately many of those turn around and infect you with their malware. Argh! It's the fasted growing threat to computer users, and it's the toughest problem to solve.

However, with the following arsenal of applications at your disposal, you should have little trouble keeping malware off your PC.

• Webroot's Spysweeper -
  The best of the best, this commercial scanner keeps your system squeaky clean.
• Lavasoft Ad-Aware -
  One of the most highly respected anti-spyware scanners on the market, Lavasoft offers a free version for download.
• Spybot Search & Destroy -
  A giant in the Malware removal business, and completely free.
• Mozilla Firefox -
  I highly recommend that everyone download and use Firefox right away. It's a replacement for Internet Explorer which blocks a lot of malware before it has a chance to start. Firefox also blocks pop-up advertisements, supports the latest web standards, and features tabbed-browsing. A must have. 100% free.

What if it's too late?

If you feel that the security of your computer has already been compromised, and you can't seem to get it cleaned up, don't worry. Avanti offers a cleaning service that can get your PC back up and running without having to erase your data and start over. Plus, once you're clean, we'll install the tools listed above for your convenience. Please call us for details.