A: Click on the following individual links to see each review on a separate window:
Q: Something odd is going on, loads of ads
keep popping up on my computer screen. What should I do?
A: Some hackers target users with fast connections. They
install viruses, worms or spyware on your unprotected computers. The pop
up ads are most annoying and intrusive but relatively harmless whereas changing your INTERNET connection number or collecting
your personal info is far more insidious. If your computer gets sluggish without a good reason, be very suspicious. Your system will run
much faster once you get rid of all the unwanted adware and spy programs. There is an excellent online spy ware info library at http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/library for referencing. You can find out what each one of them does.
Q: An intruder can change my INTERNET connection dial up number? Surely the telephone company should not allow this to happen.
A: Recently, many INTERNET users find
their supposedly free connection charges amount to hundreds of pounds. Unfortunately,
the telephone companies do not take responsibilty at this time as they claim
that most of your money go to the fraudsters. However, you can help yourself
to prevent this by keeping an eye on your dial up number. If it is a premium
number you don't recognise, stop using that connection. Enter that premium number
to get its free online report at www.icstis.org.uk
and see if the company is already under investigation. If you are a BT customer,
dial 150 and asked to have all premium calls barred for free. Alternatively, download a program free from BT to protect your modem against these premium numbers being installed on your dialup.
Q: I have launched the anti-spy stuff, but
how can I be sure that I won't get any more intruders?
A: New viruses and worms keep being created
universally, it is hard for those individual anti-virus software to catch up
and they also slow down your computer. Therefore, get smart and install a good
firewall to stop intruders. A firewall is like a bodyguard for your computer.
That means you still need to train your computer who you want to let in [e.g.
your normal mail] and who you don't [e.g. strangers]. It's not rocket science
so it won't take you long to do the training. If you are still using Windows98,
there is a free good Outpost Firewall which is sufficient to stop your unwanted intruders. Use BlockMost mode after training in RulesWizard mode. Get to know your firewall well, don't just use the default values. Outpost seems to work in XP also. For XP users, you might also be able to download an old version of Sygate Personal Firewall for free. Remember to train your firewall well so that your computer can still surf the net smoothly at the maximum security level. Alternatively, use paid
versions which include reliable technical support. Ask around. Your computer
will run much faster once you have it nicely cleaned up.
Q: I understand that one has to be careful buying an item from a stranger. Are there also risks for sellers?
A: Yes. Recently, many a seller gets a
cheque from a buyer, an amount a lot more than the price of the sold item. The
buyer later pretends it's a genuine mistake with a credible story. The seller
thinks that since the buyer's cheque has already been 'cleared' at the bank
surely it is ok to refund the difference back to the buyer. In fact the cheque
is fraudulent. By the time the bank informs the seller about the fradulent cheque,
it's already too late. Banks claim that this is not their responsibility as
the cheque appears 'cleared' does not mean it is actually cleared, incredible!
Prevention is better than cure. The seller should not send any money to the
buyer unless there is no chance of a fraud. The buyer would wait if genuine. Unfortunately, it usually is fraud, so watch out.
Q: I have an acquaintance offering me a financial deal. He says he'll deposit a huge sum of money into my bank account and I'll get 20% of the amount plus interest for my trouble. The attractive offer sounds like easy money. Shall I take up the offer?
A: No, absolutely not. This is a common scam. The money is likely from criminal activities like drug dealing, human trafficking etc. Do not accept the offer or else you might end up in prison for being an accomplice. If the money were legal, the person would have been able to deposit the money into his own bank account despite all his lame excuses.
Q: How can I find out more about computer related
security precautions?
A: There are some excellent sites, e.g.
MicrosoftSecurityAdvice,
where you can learn more on the subject.
Q: Where can I find out information on the
latest virus and worm?
A: You can search the latest information
at SymantecSearch.
Q: I've received an email from my bank telling
me to re-enter my security details, should I go ahead?
A: No. In no circumstance should you respond to a phishing email. And
also, it is vitally important that you do not click on their links or open any
suspicious email attachments. Your bank will never send you an email to make
such a request. Faking an email request is extremely easy for the hackers. Many
a bank customer has fallen for it however. If in doubt, always confirm with
your bank manager. Please visit The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) for further info on how to avoid being a victim.
Q: I was delighted to receive an email from
a company telling me that I have won a huge sum of money. It sounds too good
to be true, shall I trust this company?
A: If it sounds too good to be true, it
usually is. The fraudsters understands that bringing out the greed in human
nature is a powerful seduction. They are making a billion pounds a year out
of the unaware British public via fake Telephone Lottery Wins; Prize Draws;
Premium Rate Phone Calls and Investment Scams. There is no real free lunch,
genuine business people have to make a living. No business can survive to keep
giving money away for nothing. As for the fraudsters, they are forever plotting
to trick us so just be alert at all times. If you need money, it's easier if
you just go out there to earn it. Well, it's easier than winning the lottery
anyway. Losing your hard earned savings to fraudsters is just too much to bear.
It is therefore imperative that you do not be tempted to part with your money
upfront.
Q: I have noticed that sometimes my PC remembers
my credit card number whenever I do online shopping, is the auto-complete safe?
A: [extract from browsertools.net/IE-Privacy-Keeper/autocomplete.html]
While the auto-complete feature may be helpful for some things, it can also
seriously compromise your security and privacy, because anyone who uses your
computer can see the web sites you visited and the information you entered on
web pages. Also various malicous software can use auto-complete data to steal
your personal information such as e-mail addresses or credit card numbers. If
a hacker were to break into your PC, he or she can easily retrieve web site
passwords stored as autocomplete data.
Sometimes it can make sense to disable the autocomplete at all if you want
maximum security and privacy. There are several ways to do this, depending on
the web browser you use. For Internet Explorer 5 and higher:
- Choose "Tools" then "Internet Options";
- From the "Internet Options" multi-tabbed dialog
box that appears, select the "Content" tab;
- Click the "AutoComplete" button;
- Uncheck everything;
- Click the "Clear Forms" button;
- Click the "Clear Passwords" button;
- Press "OK" to close the dialog boxes.
Q: I have teenage children at home, how can
I smarten them up?
A: There's an excellent book called The
teenager's Guide to the Real World written by Marshall Brain [the founder
of HowStuffWorks]. This is a book you'd wish it were available when you were
a teenager. A small price to pay for invaluable wisdom.
Q: Should I panic if my computer gets infected?
A: Not really. Stay calm to avoid making
things worse. Things are never as bad as they seem if you don't panic. The worst
case scenario is to do a complete system recovery to have a clean start, it's
not the end of the world. It is therefore important to always back up files
you cannot afford to lose. A good tip to buy yourself more time is to trick
the virus, a temporary solution, e.g. instead of removing a malicious executable,
say svchos1at.exe, that keeps coming back, copy a small healthy executable like
notepad.exe and name this copy as the offending executable i.e. overwrite svchos1at.exe.
Make this one read only so it cannot be overwritten by the virus. The virus
thinks svchos1at.exe already exists and no need to spawn another one. It is
true that there are different types of worms, the ways to remove them are pretty
similar. [see the appendix of this page]. First you de-worm and then you install
a firewall and train it.
Q: Can I email you if I have any questions?
A: Yes. It's free if it's a quick question
otherwise a reasonable fee for full email support. Contact Zest4Best
Support for details.
Wizdom - updated on 14 Feb 2007
