Computer Program Security

Not everyone wants or needs to run a full blown internet security suite. As a bare minimum, however, you should be running an antivirus software
Every computer with access to the internet is vulnerable to attack by cyber-criminals. These intruders are interested in what you have stored on your computer like credit card numbers, bank account details, passwords and so on. By stealing this information they can either use this information themselves or sell it to other criminals.
This is only one part of the picture. The other being that some of these attackers are just interested in using your PC as a means to attack other computers. This way if an attack gets traced, your computer will be the culprit. A lot of spammers work this way.
With the majority of home users using always on, fast cable or DSL connections attacks have been on the increase. It is much easier for a cyber-criminal to target a home user than a corporate network. Corporate networks are usually highly secured while the average home user is not.
Computer program security should be a priority to all of us surfing the internet. A lot of people neglect to pay attention to their computer's security while online. This not only puts themselves but also other people in danger. And the results may come to haunt you.
Maybe you clicked on an email attachment or a link in a webpage containing malicious code. Once you are infected, the spyware program might start to download extra malware to take over your computer. If you are lucky you will see the signs of an infection. The malware will often advertise itself by incessant pop-ups, changing your desktop wallpaper or urging you to download an antivirus program to disinfect your PC.
These are the most common type of infections which are easily detected. You could try to cleanup your PC by scanning it with the appropriate antivirus or antispyware software. If you want to be a 100% sure you got rid of these malicious programs you better format your harddisk and reinstall the operating system.
The most dangerous spyware however is the kind that doesn't announce its presence and quietly sits in the background preying on any information it can capture. It is therefore advisable to scan your PC regularly, but this is a routine most home users do not apply.
You would ideally have a program in place that protects your data, even when you are infected.

Fortunately, these kind of programs do exist. Have a look at http://pcuserinfo.com/reviews/sentrybay-personal-data-protection/ to take your computer program security into you own hands.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_D.

Phishing and Computer Security

Image via Wikipedia

I am sure everyone has received an email advising them that their bank has introduced some new security method which requires them to enter passwords and other security details into a web page or face discontinuation of a service.
This is called phishing and is usually carried out by criminals to persuade innocent victims to give away information that they may use to gain access to bank accounts, credit card accounts or other financial accounts.
It usually starts with an email
'The xyz bank has recently upgraded its security systems to make your account more secure and to protect your account from unauthorized access. To ensure that these new security measures are applied to your account you must change your password.
Click on the link enexamplebank.com
If you click on the link you are taken to a web-site which looks remarkably like the web-site for your bank, cheekily, it may even have a warning on it that you should take care to make sure any information you provide is secure. You are invited to enter your security details. By doing this you have provided the phisher with information to permit theft of your money.
No bank or other financial institution would ever ask you to enter these details on an email.
If in any doubt carry out the following:

• Never put passwords into an email (email is not secure)
• If asked to click on a link, hover your mouse over then link and see if the link is the same as the hover information
• If possible type in the web information you hold already for your bank
• On a bank website look for the closed padlock symbol which shows that the site is secure
• If it looks at all suspicious don't do anything with it
• Forward the email to your bank for them to deal with it
• Telephone your bank and ask if the email is genuine
• If you have been fooled and do enter information into a phishing web-site contact your bank immediately and them what you have done. This may mean that your account is frozen while action is taken. You will have to change passwords of course.

Phishing is the number one method at the moment for fund generation by criminals.
Don't fall for it

Chris Eden FIBA, MISSA, AIQA is a director of Quality Matters Limited, an established consultancy specializing in Quality (ISO9001), Environment (ISO14001), Information Security (ISO27001) and IT Service Management (ISO20000).

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Eden