Posts Tagged ‘security’
Antivirus, Adware and Spyware
Adware, spyware and anti-virus software share some similarities, one of which is that all three are major problems for computer users. Let’s make a distinction between the three.
Spyware is software that does not necessarily harm your computer. What it does is build links whereby someone else apart from the computer owner can communicate from that computer. Normally spyware records the different kinds of web sites you go to and sends that information to web advertisers, who then later send you unwanted emails and pop-ups.
Which is why spyware is unpopular and avoided. It is more intrusive than adware. Spyware has its own separate executable programs, which allow it to record your keystrokes, scan files on your hard disks and look at other applications that you use, including but not limited to chat programs, cookies and Web browser settings.
Spyware then sends the data that it had gathered to the spyware author. The author will then use this data for advertising and marketing purposes. They also sell the information to advertisers and other parties.
Adware, on the other hand, is a more legitimate type of software.. It is similar to spyware but adware is advertising spyware which is bundled into free software or a free program and is installed automatically once that particular program or software is loaded into your computer system.
Some forms of adware, on the other hand, download advertising content when a particular application is being run. Some adware behaves like spyware in that it tracks and reports user data to the program’s writers.
The signs of spyware infection include pop-up ads that seem to be unconnected to the site you are looking at. Sometimes spyware pop-ups are advertisements about adult contents. Furthermore, if you become aware of your computer slowing down, there is a big chance that spyware and its components have found their way into your operating system. If Windows desktop takes a long time to load, it is best to scan your computer for spyware infections.
Viruses, on the other hand, are a harmful kind of software. They were designed and created for one reason alone and that is to inflict chaos on your computer. They may destroy whatever data they come in contact with, can instigate self replication and then infect as many components of the computer’s operating system or network as possible.
These days, a lot of anti-virus software also provides spyware and adware scanning and removal utilities. They then remove it as well as its components located in the system registry and other locations on your computer. It is therefore, good practice to regularly update your anti-virus and anti-spyware scanner to ensure that your computer is protected from the thousands of spyware and viruses in the Internet. Beware of free add-ons or free anything really.
Adware might be spyware in disguise and could be just waiting to be deployed for its writers to gather your data. Learn how to set up a firewall and pop-up blocker in order to minimize the risk of computer infection and ensure the security of all your computer records.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the best virus protection software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software
Exterior Security Lighting For Your Home
It is entirely natural that we all want to keep our homes and businesses safe and well protected, but there are many ways in which this can be accomplished. The cheapest and most cost effective way is exterior security lighting
It truly is a no brainer, bad lighting can make a home or business a much more appealing object than the house next door because it has less satisfactory exterior security lighting. Prowlers look for dimly lit points of entry into premises that seem to contain riches, so when you are designing the security system for your home or business you should try to think like a thief.
Look at your premises from the outside, or look at someone else’s first and ask yourself, how you would get in there if you had to. Pretend that you forgot your keys or that there is a serious problem in your office. How would you get in? This is where the criminal gets in and you must find out how to obstruct his every move.
Ten years ago, I lived in a bungalow alone with my small, knee-high dog and armed robbers attacked me in my home, in spite of the fact that I had a reasonable home security system. Do not let it happen to you. My blunder was that I had inadequate exterior security lighting.
They had cut my phone line during the day and because I used a cell phone for most of my calls, I did not notice. Also my dog was sick, but I did not realize that she had been poisoned too. At eleven o’clock at night there was a knock on the front door and I opened it, thinking that it was a neighbour in distress.
A man charged in and over-powered me and the rest was not nice. However, the whole regrettable issue could have been avoided, if I had thought like them..
I was in the habit of drawing the curtains when I got home, so I did not see that they had removed the lamps from my exterior security lighting too.
My advice is to check your exterior security lighting every night when you get home and keep the bushes or shrubs cut low around your front and back doors. Make sure that your exterior security lighting is working every evening and make sure that you can see who is buzzing your door bell.
Supply your garden and your doors with lots of light. Let them be on motion sensors and check who is at your door from a side window that looks out onto your front door. I had a beautiful frosted glass pane in my front door, but that is no good. I could not identify anyone through it.
Have a panic button fitted by your doors, a big one, so that if you are surprised you can swipe out and still hit it and above all make your next door neighbours aware that if your external siren sounds, that you are in trouble and that you need assistance immediately. If you are not in trouble, you can always say sorry later.
Owen Jones, the author of this writer, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with home security systems comparison. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.
Wireless Home Security System
Nowadays a house or even an apartment is not thought of as complete without an acceptable home security systems Not having one often has an effect on the market price of the property too – downwards if your home security system is found wanting or even non existent. People are just too anxious about the rising levels of crime. One of the problems for home owners is that stores and other businesses have got their act together and are very well protected in general. This has forced the average burglar too turn his attention to houses.
The number of burglaries has risen by almost 10% over the last five years because of this fact so now every household should be considering upgrading, replacing or installing a new home security system. It is a shame that the situation has come to this, but it is so. I myself was attacked in my home by burglars ten years ago. They tied me up and threatened me with a knife. They also threatened to skin my dog in front of me. It was not pleasant.
Modern technology makes it easy to fit a very good home security system, without having to spend a great deal of money. Often when you have work done on your home or your car, the labour element of the cost is more than that of the parts you wanted. It can be the same with the setting up of a home security system. However, a wireless home security system can be fitted by any reasonably capable person, which allows you to save money or just get a better system.
If you can run a wire from a fuse box and climb a ladder you can fit a home security system yourself. With older wired systems, it was tricky to hide the wires that ran to the sensors. You had to insert them behind coving and skirting boards an chase them into the plaster. It is a lot of work to do it correctly, but it is simpler with a wireless system.
If you go wireless, the only thing you will have to do or have done is wire the central control box directly to the fuse box and wire up the external siren too. After that you can just fix the appropriate sensors in the appropriate places and you are finished. All of this is explained in the instructions, which I suggest you scan while you are in the store in case they are in badly translated Chinese.
You can take the basic home security system as far as you like. Modern wireless technology allows many extras and variations. A basic system would consist of the control box, the external siren and all the sensors, but you ought to add outside security lights to this as a necessity. They can be wirelessly linked to the control box too.
Then you could add surveillance cameras and a speaker-phone on the front door. All of these things can relay information to your control box and from there to a PC, if required. The Internet can be used as an interface to control your system as well, if you want – even from work or while on holiday!
A wireless home security system is a very adaptable piece of equipment, but is not that complicated to install, go to the mall as soon as you have time to get some brochures.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with home security systems comparison. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.
An Automated Home Security System
These days people are becoming more concerned about their home security, mainly because of the mounting crime rate. Even homes that have an older security system should be checked to see whether their security system is out of date or passable.
It is not so much that an older system may stop working, but technology advances very quickly and your sensors may not be the best variety or even the variety that suit your home the best.
The kind of security system that you should be using can change as the constituent members of your family changes. For example, if you have just had a baby, you could hook up a surveillance camera to the bedroom or put a motion sensor pointing along side a toddler’s bed so that you know if he or she gets up out of bed.
There are many types of security systems, including wired, wireless, monitored and Internet. The Internet wireless system is or at least can be fully automated.
That means that you can control it through the hand set or any online device like a laptop or desktop computer. This means that you can check up on your home from your office or when you are away on holiday.
If surveillance cameras are part of your home security system, then you will be able to see and check up on your home on your computer monitor from anywhere in the world. If you connect sensors to some table lamps around your house, you will even be able to switch lights on and off to make it look as if you are at home when you are in fact hundreds of miles away. Put the TV on such a sensor and you can even switch that on and off as well.
If you put a surveillance camera in your children’s bedrooms and the living room, you could check up on the baby sitter or your business cash register on your WAP enabled mobile phone or PDA. This kind of automated can be fitted by a competent DIYer, but is intended to be fitted by professionals.
This kind of automated system is very comforting. Imagine being able to check up on your home, children or business by watching live video footage on any computer or Internet phone anywhere in the world!
An automated security system is not cheap, but is worth the peace of mind that it brings. You could get near total automated home or business security by the end of next week. Pay for it over time, if you have too, but they are not as expensive as you may think
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with home security systems comparison. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.
Free Computer System Security Measures
Today, more and more people are using their computers for everything from communication to online banking and investing to searching. As we do these things on a more frequent basis, we open ourselves to prospective hackers, attackers and crackers.
While some may be looking to phish your personal data and identity for resale, others intend to use your computer as a platform from which to attack other unsuspecting victims. Below are a few simple, cost-effective steps you can take to keep your computer more secure.
1. Always make backups of important information and store it in a secure location away from your computer.
2. Update and patch your operating system, web browser and software frequently. If you have a Windows operating system, start by going to windowsupdate.microsoft.com and running the update wizard. This program will help you find the latest patches for your Windows operating system. Also go to officeupdate.microsoft.com to locate possible patches for your Microsoft Office programs.
3. Install a firewall. Without a good firewall, viruses, worms, Trojans, malware and adware can all access your computer from the Internet with no trouble. Consideration should be given to the benefits and differences between hardware and software based firewall programs.
4. Check your browser and email settings for maximum security. Why should you do this? Active-X and JavaScript are often used by hackers to plant malevolent programs into your computer. While cookies are relatively harmless in terms of security concerns, they can still track your activities on the Internet to build a profile of you. As a minimum precaution, set your security setting for the ?Internet zone? to High, and your ?trusted sites zone? to Medium Low.
5. Install antivirus software and set for automatic updates so that you get the most recent versions.
6. Do not open unknown email attachments. It is simply not enough that you may know the address from which it originates because many viruses can be spread from a well-known address.
7. Do not run software from unidentified origins. Also, do not send these kinds of programs to friends and coworkers because they contain funny or amusing stories or jokes. They may contain a Trojan horse just waiting to infect a computer.
8. Disable hidden filename extensions. By default, the Windows operating system is set to ?hide file extensions for known file types?. Disable this preference so that file extensions show in Windows. Some file extensions will, by default, continue to remain hidden, but you are more likely to see any unusual file extensions that do not belong.
9. Switch off your computer and disconnect from the network when not using the computer. A hacker can not strike at your computer when you are disconnected from the network or the computer is off.
10. Make a boot disk on a floppy disk or CD in case your computer is damaged or infected by a malicious program. Clearly, you have to take this precaution before you are subject to a hostile breach of your system security.
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