Internet Safety
Whenever you use the internet you are at risk from viruses, trojans, spyware or just inappropriate websites. Keeping yourself and your children safe requires a few simple precautions.Internet safety is about protecting your computer from the rest of the internet so you don't get any nast surprises. The key elements are
- Internet Firewall protecting your computer from direct attack
- Antivirus software protecting your computer from viruses in emails, websites or malware
- Anti-Spyware software to remove adware and spyware
- Browser safely, if you spend time surfing the internet then you need to protect yourself from websites that use holes in your browsers security to infect your computer. Using a safer browser is the easiest solution.
- Download safety. Be very careful downloading and installing software from the internet. Are you getting it from a trusted source, or are you installing junk that will clog up your computer and may contain spyware to monitor you
- Email safety. Whenever you get an email from someone you don't know, or if you get an email with attachments from anyone, you need to exercise care that they don't contain a virus
- Keep your software up-to-date. Subscribe to security mailing lists so you are alerted whenever there is a serious security issue with any of the software you use.
- Use parental controls, or an ISP that offers parental controls to protect your chilldren from straying into inappropriate areas of the internet. Just like the real world, letting your children wander off anywhere they like simply isn't safe.
Keeping Your Software Updated
Keeping all of your software up-to-date is about more than just getting new features or bugs fixed, its about keeping security holes plugged.
Using a Safer Browser
Internet Explorer may be the most common browser as it comes with windows, but it isn't necessarily the safest or best as there are a number of free alternatives.
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