Although proper network and internet security takes advanced tools like antivirus software, that is not enough to keep you safe; you must also be aware and prepared. Here are our recommendations that will help you stay safe on the internet.
Good To Know
- Know how to spot a fake email and check an email’s legitimacy.
- Five quick checks:
- Install an antivirus program that can scan email attachments.
- Check the sender’s address to make sure you know that person or organization and that you’re familiar with the address.
- Check the subject line of the message for suspicious language, such as gibberish or directions to open an attachment or click a link.
- If the message has an attachment, scan it with an antivirus program. If the attachment contains a file that you weren’t expecting to receive, you might want to delete the message without opening the attachment.
- If the message is from a person you know, but looks suspicious, then send a new email message to that person to verify that the message is legitimate.
- The full explanation is at “When to trust an email message” by Microsoft: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/when-trust-email-message#when-trust-email-message=windows-7
- Five quick checks:
- Always hover your mouse over a link (but don’t click) to see where that link will take you.
- If you are using a browser, hovering your mouse over a link will display the destination of the link in the grey area at the bottom right or left hand corner of the browser.
- If you are using email or other software, hovering your mouse over a link will display the destination of the link in a small pop-up box next to the mouse cursor.
- If it looks suspicious don’t click on it. If you aren’t sure, you should consider purchasing an anti-virus program that checks the links for you and gives you a green or red indicator.
What Not To Do
- Don’t click on the buttons in an unknown pop-up window to close it.
- Pop-up windows are small browser windows that appear on top of the website you’re viewing. Although most are created by advertisers, they can also contain malicious or unsafe code.
- Unless the window originates from your own antivirus program, don’t click on pop-up windows that alert you to “infections” on your computer. Press the CTRL, ALT, and DEL keys at the same time and use Windows Task Manager to close the pop-up window.
Safe Computing Practices
- Uninstall outdated programs you no longer use and update the ones that you do including your OS. Many viruses utilize outdated software installed on your computer as a way to get in the back door through exploits that would be patched if it were updated.
- Use your browser’s privacy settings and turn on the pop-up blocker.
- Being aware of how websites might use your private information is important to help prevent fraud and identity theft. Each browser has specific ways to adjust your personal privacy settings to make your browsing more secure.
- A pop-up blocker can prevent some or all of these windows from appearing. Most browsers have a pop-up blocker you can turn on or install as an add-on and activate.
- Turn on User Account Control (UAC).
- UAC can help keep viruses from making unwanted changes. When important changes are made to your computer they require administrator-level permission. UAC notifies you of these changes and gives you the opportunity to approve or prevent them.
- Keep a backup of your files.
- Backups can protect you from viruses when you have enough backups to go back to a time before the virus infected your computer. Since you may not detect an infection immediately, you should keep several backups that span at least several months.