Computer safety
Anti-Virus Software
Your computer should never be without up-to-date anti-virus software. In fact, all college-owned computers, MUST have this software installed as part of the college's standard software configuration! This essential software has definitions for the more than 100,000 viruses, worms, and trojans that have been identified so far, and actively scans your files and downloads for these, and similar, viruses. Your anti-virus software MUST be kept current. New viruses are continually being programmed and released, so yesterday's definitions can do nothing to protect you from the virus that may be identified tomorrow.
Viruses, Worms, Trojans, Phishing, And All Those Annoying Pop-Ups
Some of the most troublesome computer problems in today's instant-access, constantly-connected world are caused by software that, chances are, you didn't purchase, didn't install, and may not even know exists. And many of the rest are because of predators casing and exploiting this relatively new, incredibly vast, faceless area of information and entertainment. If the problems affected only your computer, they could be easily solved -reformat the hard drive, reinstall the operating system and move on but many are not so easily solved and don't affect just your daily computing.
The problems can be as limited as crashing systems, displaying annoying messages, and handfuls of unwanted email, but they can also be as far reaching as crippling networks, shutting down businesses, and personal financial ruin. Just by viewing the wrong web page, responding to the wrong email, and even just by being connected to the Internet, you put yourself at risk. This paragraph is meant to alarm you. It's meant to make you stop to think, "What can I do to protect myself?" Just as we're all taught common sense methods of physical safety -keep your doors locked, don't talk to strangers, trust your "gut"- we need to keep ourselves educated about the risks, and the precautions we can take to avoid those risks, while we use our computers for everything from shopping, keeping in touch with far away friends and relatives, listing to music, to playing games.
Know Your Enemies - Viruses, Worms, and Trojans
Viruses are programs designed specifically to interfere with the normal operation of your computer. They can do anything from display messages, turn documents into templates, to delete all the contents of your hard drive. They can spread by opening infected documents, using an infected floppy disk, running an infected application, or viewing a webpage that has the virus built into its code.
Worms are viruses that use the internet to spread themselves (you don't necessarily need to do anything to get them, and once your computer is infected, they use your computer as a host and scan the network for other computers to infect). This scanning of other computers also results in serious performance decreases of web surfing, email (Webmail, Eudora, etc.), and any other on-line activities.
Trojans (or Trojan Horse applications) are programs that appear to be harmless, but that actually infect your system with a virus when you run them.
The "payload" (what happens as a result of infection) of newer viruses and worms can go far beyond your computer many are written to spy on your computer and internet activities, and to steal account numbers and passwords. These kinds of viruses and worms enable identity theft, which can be a long and costly process from which to recover. Many of the worms that have made headlines recently also have the capability, just by their methods of spreading, to crash entire networks, thereby shutting down business and potentially wreaking havoc with the economy.
Adware, Spyware, and Hijackware
Adware are programs that pop-up various advertisements and offers, often based on the websites you visit. These ads are independent from pop-up windows that appear when visiting specific sites.
Spyware are programs designed to track all of your computer activities, from which applications you use to which websites you visit. They often work in conjunction with viruses to record your keystrokes (such as account numbers, usernames, and passwords) and transmit them back to a host who can then use or sell the information obtained.
Hijackware is software designed to allow someone else to control, or hijack, your computer.
Spam and Phishing
Spam is unsolicited electronic mail. Just as various catalogs and such get your name and postal address from companies with which you do business, mass emailers get your electronic address from on-line companies with which you do business. The result is millions of unwanted, unsolicited messages sent out on a regular basis, for everything from pharmaceuticals to home loans.
Phishing is malicious spam designed to lure people into providing confidential personal and financial information (credit card numbers, bank account numbers, PINs, Social Security numbers, etc.). This information is then used to empty accounts and for identity theft. Some of these messages are made to appear legitimate, looking as though they are coming from banks or credit card issuers, and ask to "verify" account information, while others might be "pleas" asking for help transferring large sums of money (some of which, they claim, you'll be able to keep just for helping out).
Get Your Shots
Just as you get immunizations and vaccinations against certain infectious diseases, get tested regularly for other diseases and illnesses, and in general exercise caution in your daily activities, you can take steps to protect your computer, and yourself, against the malicious element on-line. While there is no guarantee that you won't ever get a computer virus and you can never completely eliminate spam, you can greatly reduce the risk and annoyance.
Keep Software Up-to-Date
Keep your programs "especially your operating system and anti-virus software up to date. You can usually download patches and updates from the manufacturer's website, and many programs have built-in features that you can configure to automatically download and install updates at regular intervals. Many of these updates fix problems with the software's original code, such as bugs and security holes. A large percentage of recent viruses take advantage of such flaws, and millions of needless infections have occurred because patches that had been available for months were never applied.
Attachment Caution
Never open an e-mail attachment if you're not sure what it is, and be cautious with everything else. Even email attachments coming from friends and colleagues may not actually be safe. Some viruses will send themselves to everyone in an email address book, while others will make it look like the message is coming from a random address book entry. If you're not expecting a certain attachment, check with the sender before opening it. While any attachment can potentially contain a virus, you should be especially cautious/wary of attachments that end in ".exe," ".pif," and ".scr." Please see Wheaton's email attachment practice.
Firewall
Another way to protect your computer from intruders is through the use of a firewall, which will limit "back-door" access to your computer by other computers on the network (computers are very "social," but don't necessarily know the difference between benign and malignant network traffic). Some computer operating systems come equipped with firewall protection, but you may need to enable it manually. There are also software companies that offer firewall protection bundled with their anti-virus products. You can also purchase stand-alone (not built into or bundled with something else) firewall software.
Passwords
Yes, it can be tough to remember the myriad of passwords and codes you use on a regular basis from your ATM PIN, your email password, to the right sequence for that combination lock you hardly ever use, but passwords help protect your computer from unauthorized use, and your various accounts from unauthorized access, which in turn help protect your confidential documents and information. The longer the password is, the harder it is to figure out. For example, a two-character alphanumeric (letters a-z and numbers 0-9) case-sensitive ("a" is different from "A") password has 3844 possible combinations; changing that to three characters increases the number of possible combinations to 238,328. Wheaton requires your email password be from eight to fifteen characters long, which means that there are roughly 218 trillion to nearly 770 heptillion (24 zeroes) possible combinations. While passwords of this length are difficult to figure out, it would not be impossible (given the time and inclination, and programs to do the work for you), so your passwords should be changed on a regular basis. Wheaton requires email passwords to be changed at least once every six months, and you should seriously think about changing your other passwords at the same time (just not to the same thing). Passwords are your friends, even if it's hard to remember their names.
Anti-Spyware/Adware Software
Anti-Spyware/Adware software removes a significant number of spyware/adware items, and will therefore reduce the number of pop-up ads you get and will help eliminate those programs designed to spy on your computing and internet activities. Beware of some of these programs, however, because they might actually make the problems worse then offer to fix them if you purchase their products. Wheaton Technology Support recommends Spybot Search & Destroy and Adaware, both of which are free for personal use.
Spam Filters
Many online and computer-based email readers have built-in spam filters. While they are pre-programmed with known spammer addresses and subjects, they are not perfect as-is, and one change to an address or a subject line can cause spam to be missed. You will need to help train the feature to more accurately recognize the junk mail you receive and reduce the "false positives" that may be labeling some of your legitimate messages as spam. Be careful when manually creating filters that send certain messages to the Trash, as many people accidently end up sending ALL their messages to the Trash, not just the unwanted ones.
You may want to consider keeping a separate email account for your online activities. Most ISPs offer multiple email addresses per account, so you could have one set up for regular messages, and another one to use for your on-line purchases, site registrations, etc. While creating a separate account for internet use would not necessarily eliminate spam received to your general account, it should help reduce it. If you're already receiving a significant amount of spam, you would probably want to use the second address for your standard email correspondence.
You should also check the privacy policies from your on-line merchants. Some will not sell your address to other vendors, while for others you need to check or un-check a box that lets the merchant know that you do/do not want to receive unsolicited messages from other companies.
Surf Smart
Regularly empty cache, cookies, and history
The cache stores copies of the pages you visit, and all files associated with them (images, automatic media content, etc.), and should periodically be emptied. If a virus is embedded into the coding of a web page you visit, that virus will be downloaded to your computer. If you have high-speed internet access (cable, DSL), you may want to configure your browser to not store these files, or to empty the cache whenever you exit the browser.
Many websites place cookies on your computer to keep track of your activities on that particular site, while other cookies can track your overall web activities. Cookies can also contain username and password information for certain sites (so you don't have to retype them all the time). These cookies should also be regularly cleared. You may need to re-enter your account names or numbers for certain sites after deleting the cookies.
Your internet browser keeps track of all the websites you visit and stores them in the history file. That's how it's able to auto-complete sites when you type them in. Adware will often use your history file in determining which ads to display, so it's important to remove all those entries regularly.
Safer Online Shopping
You should use the utmost caution when shopping on-line. Shop only on sites that offer secure check-out (look for the closed lock on your browser window), check out the company's reviews from other customers, and even consider paying a little more from a better known and more trusted site.
You may also want to consider keeping a credit card to use exclusively with on-line purchases. Check the activity regularly, and report any unauthorized use to the issuer IMMEDIATELY (as you should do with any credit/ATM/check card).
Some credit card issuers (Citibank and Discover, for example) offer the ability to create single-use account numbers for use on-line. A unique card number can be generated for a purchase, and can only be used by the originating vendor. If the number happens to be stolen, it's useless.
Don't Take the Bait
Any reputable company will NEVER send you a generic ("Dear member"...) email asking you to confirm your account information by providing them with your name, account number, and PIN or password. At most they may send a request asking you to log into their site to update your address or email information, but they'll still never ask you to give them your PIN/password. Why would they need your PIN/password when they already have access to all of your account information? You should NEVER give any of your PINs or passwords to anyone, not even to Technology Support.
Also remember the old adage "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is." How many third-world citizens have thousands or even millions of dollars tucked away need YOU (not the State Department, the local Embassy, or even bank representatives) to help them get it, willing to part with sometimes more than half of the sum if you assist them? How did they even get your contact information?
You should use the same caution for emails that you would use for in-person requests for your confidential account information.
Wired vs. Wireless
How secure is your internet connection? If you're connecting on a wireless network, your computing might not be as secure as you think it is. Wireless connections offer about the same security as cell phones, so if someone is out there "listening" they could capture the information you transmit, even if your wireless connection is password protected and encryped. For basic surfing, wireless is fine, but for maximum protection, you should connect to a standard/wired network.