TOP 10 Things You MUST KNOW About Internet Safety
Tired of wasting so much time trying to stay current with Internet safety and security? Are you alarmed at the rapid rise of cybercrime and identity theft?
Well, I'm going to try to make it easy on you. Here is everything you need to know about Internet safety:
1) You need to spend the time necessary to find, install, configure, and maintain excellent anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software. You should update those applications daily and your operating system and other application software as regularly as you can to patch security holes that are discovered regularly. That's all as big a pain as flossing after every meal, but even more important.
2) Avoid common, off-the-shelf consumer-grade security software. You may not want to hear this next tip, but it's the awful truth. If the security software most people use was working as well as it should, we wouldn't have so many breaches of security. Excellent anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software can be hard to find for consumers, and even harder to find for free. That's because the better the software is, the less likely they are to give it away or sell to consumers off the shelf, because consumers require support they're not willing to pay for. Businesses are willing to pay for the software and support and hence have better, stronger software protection than consumers do.
3) Don't let strangers into you PC house. You also need to be very careful about any software you install. Windows Vista and Mac OS X each require you to acknowledge that you are aware a software application is about to be installed. Windows XP does not, and so requires even greater caution. Don't just routinely permit applications to be installed. You need to know that you initiated the installation.
4) Minimize the chance of getting hit by a zero-day threat. One of the most common breaches of PC and Internet security is called the zero-day threat, or the malware that was just written today (day 0) and that your security software couldn't catch because it didn't find it in its list of malware. What can you do to eliminate the zero-day threat? Nothing. But you CAN reduce the threat by having a two-way firewall, security software that is leading edge and includes some kind of non-signature based detection and updates at least once a day, and – this is the most important aspect of all if you ask me – have quality support lined up in advance just in case.
5) Learn to tame your curiosity so you simply ignore all those e-mail from strangers that sound so provocative or interesting. Especially NEVER click on any link or open any attachment that comes from any unexpected source.
6) Never download and install any program from any web site you're not already familiar with, no matter how great the site makes the software sound. Learn to recognize the telltale signs of trustworthiness – recommendations from already trusted sources who have tried the software, inclusion in sites such as tucows.com or C-Net.com, and other signs that the software provider is proven and trusted.
7) Guard important information such as your passwords and personally identifiable information. Use technology such as a password vault program to help you remember and automatically enter passwords when you're at a physically protected PC so you don't have to use the same one for every web site.
Teach anyone who will be using your PC to avoid high-risk sites. The highest-risk sites are porn sites, gambling sites, too-good-to-be-true download sites, and off-the-beaten-path gaming sites. These sites are often breeding grounds for the latest in hacker technology designed to defeat all of the common protective measures found on most PCs.
9) Stay current with threats and required responses. Subscribe to a good Internet Security alert RSS feed and monitor trends and threats.
10) Last, but certainly not least, join a managed internet security service cooperative. If you haven't guessed by now, maintaining excellent security is a lot of work, even for Internet Security experts. In fact, I estimate that maintaining even a reasonable degree of security will take an average person at least an hour or two every week. It takes an expert a dozen or more hours a month just to stay current. The best way I've found to cut the time I need to maintain strong security is to outsource the task to an expert. I subscribe to a managed Internet security service that will, for less than $15/month per PC, keep my PCs clean and safe by providing me with the corporate-grade security software their experts have identified and tested and also give me unlimited phone and remote connection support and regular security alerts and information. This has cut the time I have to spend on security to less than an hour a month for me, thus saving me a minimum of four hours every month. Even better, it's one more thing I don't need to worry about. That peace of mind alone is worth the $15/month – but combined with the time I save, it's a no-brainer. Take a look at iSafe or iCare.
Do all of the above, and you'll be amazed at how much easier life can be. Your PC hassles will be minimized and you will probably find that you can enjoy your PC more than you thought possible.
Enjoy!
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