May 18, 2012

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How to Protect Your Children Online

Children are using computers more and more, especially the Internet. However, there are areas of the Internet that are not safe for children where they can look at explicit or illegal material, or worse. There are a number of safety measures you can take to protect your child online.

One important step to take is to talk to your children and explain certain things to them. You obviously do not want to go into detail about some of the things they shouldn’t look at, but you can set them ground rules and explain what type of activities are acceptable online. You can also try positioning your computer in a way that you can see what your child is looking at at all times.

There are also certain software tools you can buy that will filter out images and material for your children. These can include pornographic images, illegal files and other information. The software can also limit the amount of information your child sends to other people, as well as time them on certain sites before kicking them off. Similarly, the major search engines all have filters now that you can set up to allow your children to surf the Internet without seeing unacceptable material.

Children are perhaps most as risk on social networks or chat rooms where they could literally be speaking to anyone. Make sure your child knows that they should keep their personal information on such sites to a minimum. They should also be aware of the risks of people pretending to be something they are not, and should know clearly that they are NEVER to arrange to meet up with someone in the flesh that they have only ever interacted with online. Teach your child to also be careful when they are sending private messages and if they receive any unsuitable material, report it to a moderator immediately.

Filed Under: Security Tagged With:

Spotting a Computer Virus in Your Email

An email box folder littered with spam messages.
Image via Wikipedia

Getting a virus on your computer can be an annoying and time consumer experience. There are many malicious forms of virus that can be contracted on your computer which can damage everything from the hard drive to your computers functionality. One way that your computer can become infected with a virus is via your emails. Spammers can send deadly attachments to your email box that become active when you open the email. There are a number of things you can do to minimize the risk of this happening.

Probably the most important piece of advice when it comes to dealing with computer viruses is DON’T OPEN EMAIL ATTACHMENTS FROM PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW! This is the most obvious way you can be sure of not contracting a virus. However, some attachments can spread a virus without you knowing, so you should even exercise caution when opening things that your friends have sent you.

Another key point to remember is that you should always read the title of any email you get before you open it. Most emails that pose a security risk often give themselves away. For example, if you get an email from somebody in Nigerian telling you you have won a cash prize that you haven’t even entered, you can be sure that it has a virus attached! Dodgy email addresses are also a telltale sign of computer viruses and addresses with lots of number of additional letters should be avoided.

You can also set up a redirect on most email accounts that sends emails of a dubious nature directly into a spam folder. You can check the folder if you want, although it might be better to introduced a setting that automatically empties it every so often. You can also use anti-virus software to help you keep your email inbox clean.

Filed Under: Malware, Security Tagged With:

How to Remove a Virus From Your Computer

Contracting a computer virus is now one of the major risks of using a computer on the Internet. Although there are certain things you can do to try and lower your risk of getting a virus, there is still a chance that you will get one no matter what you do. If you have downloaded a virus onto your computer then you need to know how to take remove it.

The first thing to do is to disconnect your computer from your Internet connection. In order to locate where the virus is stored on your machine, you have to disconnect the connection to isolate the problem. Most modems also have a button on them that automatically cancels the Internet connection for situations like this.

You should also shut down your Internet browser. Unfortunately, some viruses lock your browser and prevent you from closing it manually. Luckily, there are programs you can buy like PRCView that can work around this problem, although you should be careful not to close any other functions as they may be necessary for the running of your computer.

The next step is to begin running spyware software in order to find out where on your computer the virus is stored. These programs can also erase the virus for you once you have located it. After this you need to start your computer again in SAFE mode. This is a special mode that is built into the computer that runs only the most essential programs. It also allows you to try and assess any potential problems and fix them. After you have scanned your computer and fixed the issue, you are free to reboot your system in the regular mode. Repeat this process as and when you need to when you contract viruses and scan your computer regularly to prevent future issues.

Filed Under: Security

How to Prevent Computer Viruses

I constructed this image using :image:Computer...
Image via Wikipedia

Computer viruses pose a problem for virtually everyone who uses a computer nowadays. Some of them can be quite vicious, deleting all your files and even wiping your hard drive of all software completely. There are a few things that you can do to prevent your computer becoming afflicted with a virus.

The first thing you should do is install some anti-virus software on your computer. You should also customize it so that it is set on automatic scanning. This means the software will automatically check any new files or programs you install or download and will alert you if any malicious viruses are found in them. This is especially useful if you are downloading things from the internet, where you never really know who made them.

You also need to have anti-spyware and anti-adware installed on your computer. Although anti-virus software will help prevent your computer from becoming completely immobilized from viruses, they won’t necessarily be able to pick up adware of spyware. In fact, the majority of cases of computers slowing down are caused by adware and spyware, so these programs are especially important. Make sure you also configure these to automatic scanning so that every new piece of software your computer receives is checked over.

There are also settings on your computer that you can alter to provide greater protection against malicious programs. For example, you can change your internet browser to a medium or high privacy option. This will help prevent a lot of cookies from third parties that you have not authorized. You can access this menu from the Internet Options key on the Tools menu, and by then clicking Privacy. You can also block certain sites from your internet browser options that you think are unsuitable or likely to hide a lot of viruses. This can be especially helpful if children use your computer.

Filed Under: Security

Checking a Zip Drive for Viruses

Many computer users choose to store there work on a zip drive. This is an external piece of hardware that is usually portable and can be used to save a large amount of data. Unfortunately, zip drives can sometimes become affected with viruses. If the virus spreads, it can infect all of your work that is stored on the drive and cause huge problems. Learning to scan your zip drive for bugs is a crucial part of keeping your data clean.

The first thing to do if you want to scan your zip drive is to click on the Start button on your computer. From here you can access the Computer folder and look at the various devices and attachments that you have connected to your machine. Once you have located your zip drive in the folder, right click on the icon and select Scan. This will start your anti virus software monitoring the drive and checking for viruses. Norton and McAfee are two major brands of virus software that can complete this task for you. However, if you use a program like AVG you will need to take additional steps.

You should open the anti virus software directly on your computer, rather than through your zip drive icon in the Computer folder. There should be a small bar on the right hand side where you can select several options. Make sure you click Open at this point.

You should then be able to select an option that say Scan (alternatively, this may be called Computer Scanner). You can there navigate around your computer to scan certain folders or destinations for bugs. From here, go back to your Computer folder and locate the icon for your zip drive. Begin the scanning process and wait a fwe minutes for the scan to complete.

Filed Under: Security Tagged With: ,

Removing the Cockroach Virus

There are many strands of computer virus out there and one of the more unusual is known as the cockroach virus. This is a bug (no pun intended!) that affects your computer by creating hundreds of tiny animated cockroaches on your desktop. These roaches then crawl around your screen eating your precious files! Although peculiar, the virus can create major problems for your machine and needs to be dealt with immediately.

The first thing to do is open the Start menu and open the All Programs option, followed by the Window Update tab. You should then select Check For Updates and Install All Updates to ensure that your computer is protected by the latest software from Windows. After that, you need to run your virus software.

You should open your anti virus software from the main icon. If you don’t have a software program already, you can download free programs such as Windows Defender. You should then update the software in a similar way that you updates Windows. There will be intructions on how to do this on the website of your chosen software program. Updating software regularly protects you from the most recent bugs, as new ones are created every day. Once this is done, run a scan of your computer and the software should elmininate the problem for you.

You should also turn on your firewall to protect against additional bugs. To do this, click on the Start menu and access the Control Panel. If you type firewall into the search box that is provided you will be taken to the Windows Firewall option. Here you can click on the option that will Turn On Windows Firewall. The firewall will act as an additional barrier when you are online and will prevent potentially harmful viruses infecting your computer.

Filed Under: Security
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