Remain Vigilant and Exercise Caution
We live in a world where there are many helpful and kind people and then there are also those who are filled with hatred and would wish to do us harm. This is a statement that most would agree with–look around us in our daily lives and we can easily pick out examples of each.
Often, when we identify these things we only look to those which are tangible. In the information age we need to expand our view of the world to our computers and the Internet because these same two types of people exist there as well.
Recently, on one of the websites I run that is focused on the southern Italian region of Calabria (ILÂ CIRCOLOÂ CALABRESE), we have had a few messages added to our guestbook that were put there by a spammer (someone trying to sell unsolicited products or services). The messages have since been deleted, but within one of the messages was a link to a website with malicious content in the form of spyware and a virus. Just a mere visit to the website is all that is necessary to infect a person’s computer if they are not adequately protected. One of our members clicked the link and was subsequently infected. That member is now fine, but this illustrates how easy it is to be a casualty of the ongoing battle between good and evil–only now the war is raging in cyberspace.
Going back to the tangible things that we know, we were always taught from early on, “Don’t talk to strangers”, “Don’t let a stranger into your home”, “Always lock your door”, “Always ensure the maintenance and security of your home”. This was sound advice and is still quite relevant in the physical world.
As a software engineer for more than 21 years, I have helped to define the emerging developments in Internet technology and the rise of the Information age. I have seen, as more people tune in to this newest addition to our lives, they tend to forget the things we have all been taught from early on (or perhaps they never learned how to equate these rules to cyberspace). I will now attempt to pass on the modern-day translations of these timeless rules. For all you parents and grandparents out there, listen up–you will need to update your understanding of these rules for the current and next generations so you can pass on the same age-old advice in this new era.
First a few definitions:
People: This includes owners of a website, senders of e-mail, hackers, spammers and your instant messenging buddies.
Stranger: Any people you do not know.
Home: Your dwelling. Your computer is an extension of your home.
Door: Your computer’s modem or router. It uses this to allow transfer of files, communications, and people in and out of your computer, and hence your home.
Never talk to strangers
If a stranger sends you an e-mail, is posting on a message board or is sending you an instant message, unless you share a mutual friend or you have a good reason to communicate with them…
In the traditional sense, you would have just ignored the stranger and walked away…this is no different.
Don’t let a stranger into your home
By going to their website or clicking their e-mail links they have walked right through the door and into your home. All websites you visit store their content, files, images and sometimes cookies on your computer so you can actually see the content. If you do not trust the website, do not go there.
Traditionally, you would never let someone into your home unless you knew or trusted them, so why would you do that now?
Always lock your door
If you are not using a firewall, the door to your home is unlocked whilst you are connected to the Internet. Anyone can get in and you may not even notice they are there. Hackers are particularly resourceful creatures and they can rob you without your knowledge. They can see files, personal information, put malicious software on your computer and steal your identity.
I recommend using or installing firewall software ASAP.
For the novice computer users:
If you are using a recent version (Windows 2000 or newer) of any Windows operating system, then you can turn on the built-in firewall. It provides basic protection.
For the intermediate users:
Download and install ZoneAlarm. It provides fairly good protection. It is free.
For more advanced users:
Download and install Sygate Personal Firewall. It provides very good protection and is highly configurable. It is free.
Traditionally, you would never leave the door to your home unlocked, whether you are there or not–you never know what might creep in…once again this is no different.
Always ensure the maintenance and security of your home
Poor security practices, poor judgement or general naivity with relation to computers and their use have given rise to massive issues from pests known as spyware, adware, browser hijackers and viruses. They are collectively known as malware–because they are bad!
As a result of non-adherence to one or more of the 3 rules mentioned above, the threat, impacts and subsequent monetary expenditure due to malware has compounded exponentially in recent years. It costs businesses billions of dollars worldwide every year and it is growing. The only way to stop it is education and adherence to the rules.
It is absolutely essential that everyone have good anti-malware protection. We’ve all heard of anti-virus software, but they are typically not concerned with the other types of malware. It may even be necessary to have a few types of protection to keep this menace at bay.
For anti-virus software, there are many flavours–some are expensive, some are free. My personal favourite is TrendMicro PC-Cillin, but others may have other preferences. This type of protection is reasonably mature and most will do the job adequately for virus protection.
When it comes to spyware, adware and hijackers, the distinction between products tends to get much greater, as it is an emerging genre of malware protection software. One of the best I have seen is Spyware Doctor for the spyware and adware. For those with a bit of computer skill, HijackThis is an invaluable tool for detecting potential issues and allows for manual removal.
Maintaining your computer’s health will protect your investment and your valuable data from loss or corruption. There is nothing worse than having a lifetime of photographs, genealogical research, important e-mails and other electronic items destroyed because a virus wiped out your computer’s harddrive.
Traditionally, if your house was infested with termites, you would eradicate the pests with the help of an exterminator. To do nothing would eventually bring about the destruction of your home…same thing applies here.
Remember folks, we must all remain vigilant and exercise caution in the information age. The rules have never changed just because computers have come about–they are still valid, and just need to be applied to the current way of doing things. Please pass this on to your children and grandchildren to help protect them as our parents and grandparent did for us.
WP Autoblog Software
November 09 2009 11:08 pm | Other
