Disclaimer:
There are links on this page that are
intended to help you gain information to make your computing experience better
in a few different ways. Many of the links on this page lead to websites
outside of this one. We cannot provide any warranty or guarantee
pertaining to the content of any of these websites. We can not be held
responsible or liable for either the content of any outside website or any
results arising from use of the information provided by any outside website.
We make these suggestions as a matter of our opinion only. By clicking on
any link on this page, you agree to absolve us of any responsibilities and/or
liabilities. Use this information at your own risk.
Furthermore, we do not claim authorship, responsibility, ownership or any credit for the content of any website outside of this website. Many of these outside websites have been created to help the average computer user gain the knowledge necessary to attempt to achieve a safer and more secure computing environment.
We sincerely hope that you find this information very useful. We do!
| Internet Security: | There are a
few different ways that most people connect to the internet these
days. The most popular choice for internet connections is
high-speed. This is great for the speed, but it has it's
drawbacks. One thing that high-speed users should be concerned
about is security! Many high-speed internet service providers
(ISPs) do a great job of getting you setup with their service and
connected to the internet. However, most of them do not see
the security of your computer and personal files as their responsibility.
As a result, there are literally millions of internet users whose
home computer and personal files are currently wide open to attacks.
A hacker with some knowledge could break into your computer and
steal your most personal files, often without you even realizing it!
Think about the information you store on your computer (taxes,
banking information, shopping websites, credit card numbers, passwords, personal
identifying information). And, if you've been watching the
news and keeping track of events over the past few years, you
already have heard of viruses like the Blaster Worm, The Sasser Worm
and countless others. Some of these viruses don't require any
action on your part to infect your computer. You just need to be connected to the internet and unprotected and they can go to work on your computer. The destructiveness and frequency of these viruses is increasing with each passing day. There are ways to protect yourself from these threats. The best defense you can have is knowledge. If you can arm yourself with some knowledge, then you can utilize some of the tools that are available to help protect yourself against these threats. When you connect to the internet, you are given an "IP ADDRESS" by your ISP. This IP ADDRESS uniquely identifies your computer on the internet. Without an IP ADDRESS, your computer can't communicate with the internet and the internet can't communicate with your computer. There are a number of "PORTS" associated with every IP ADDRESS. Your computer sends/receives information to/from the internet from your IP ADDRESS through these PORTS. These PORTS are given numbers to identify them. Think of these PORTS as channels on a TV. Different ports have different uses. For example, you used PORT #80 to view this website. PORT #80 is a standard PORT for websites and there are many other standard PORTS. When you are sending e-mail, you are using PORT #25. When you are receiving e-mail, you are using PORT #110. Hackers try to probe your computer looking for OPEN PORTS. If they find one, they have a channel into your computer that they can use to try and get your files or infect you with a virus. One thing you can do right now is test your internet connection for vulnerabilities. You can test your computer for open PORTS at the following website for free and I highly recommend it... Click on the link. Read the information presented. Click the proceed button. On the following page, you will see a blue box with silver bars in it. These are menu choices. A great test is the "All Service Ports" test. Click the area of the top silver bar that says "All Service Ports". This will test PORTS 1-1024. These are the most commonly used ports. The test should only take a minute or two. It is free and the information this test will provide you is very valuable. This test will tell you which PORTS are open on your computer.
Now that you have tested your PORTS for vulnerabilities, there are a few things you can do about open PORTS. If you have open PORTS, the way to secure your computer is with a firewall. There are two basic kinds of firewall. You can use a software firewall or a hardware firewall. A software firewall is just a piece of software that you install on your computer to block all unsolicited incoming traffic to your computer from the internet. If you are using Windows XP and you have updated to Service Pack 2, then you have a simple software firewall running right now. A hardware firewall is an appliance that you place between your computer and the internet. The hardware firewall also blocks all unsolicited incoming traffic. Hardware firewalls are generally much more reliable and more secure. We have hardware firewalls for sale on our HARDWARE page. |
| Viruses: | By now,
everyone has heard of computer viruses and the damage they have
caused. As time goes by, newer viruses are getting harder to
detect, spreading faster and causing more damage. Computer
viruses cause millions of dollars worth of damage every year and
that statistic only takes into account the companies that are
infected with a virus and also willing to
admit that. And, that figure doesn't tell the story of the
millions of people whose personal files are destroyed by a computer
virus. Viruses can destroy your personal files, make your
computer unusable and even destroy your computer hardware in the
worst cases. Thankfully, there is something you can do about
viruses too! Antivirus software is software that you install
on your computer. It's job is to detect and protect you
against viruses in real time as the virus tries to infect your
computer. There are commercial antivirus software packages out
there. Some are great. Some are terrible. Few are
free. However, there is one free antivirus program that has
been getting a lot of attention lately. If you are not
currently running antivirus software on your computer, then we would
suggest: -GRISOFT - avast! Download the free version of their antivirus software and get it installed and running. Protect yourself from viruses today! |
| Spyware: | Spyware is
very similar to viruses in the way your computer behaves when
infected. The symptoms are practically indistinguishable from
those of a virus infection. The main difference between
spyware and viruses is that the purpose of a virus is to infect your
computer, replicate and then infect other computers after your
computer has been infected. With spyware, the infection stops
at your computer. Once your computer has been infected with
spyware, the spyware does not attempt to infect other computers.
But the effects of viruses and spyware on your computer are the
same. The symptoms are that your computer slows down a great
deal, the internet may become very difficult or even impossible to
use and you may also notice strange Behavior from your computer as
well. For most spyware infections, we recommend a program
called: - Ad Aware - Malwarebytes If you have already tried Spyware programs and suspect that you still have spyware on your computer, then you should probably enlist the help of a computer service professional to remove the infection for you. |
| We hope that you've found this page to be both informative and useful. Hopefully, you will never experience a virus infection, spyware infection or a hacker attack. But, the information provided here should go a long way towards making your computing experience safer, and more enjoyable. Thank you for taking the time to read this page. | |