March 09, 2010

Is there a terrorist in the house?

By Daniel Eaton

Did you know that there are individuals out there who's lot in life is to produce as much damage as they can to the United States? I'm sure you're aware but did you know that they can use YOUR home computer to their evil end?

When one thinks of a terrorist you think of some mad man in a cave with a big gun. What we really need to be concerned with is the techno wizard behind the computer screen that develops and deploys new breeds of computer viruses, trojans, worms and other nasty's than can quickly and irrevocably eat your - your friends - or your businesses hard drive and everything on it. If you're a home user you might say "So what, there's nothing on it that would be of any value to anyone." If you're a business, it can cost you thousands to replace essential business information destroyed by a virus. The serious hackers aren't necessarily interested in destroying your data, they are more interested in using YOUR home computer as a server to help spread the nasty's or target high profile servers which has greater benefit to them.

These new breeds of viruses are so sinister that they can impersonate a friends, family, or business associates e-mail identity to spread their tools of the trade. You may see a message from a friend with an attachment. The message says, "you should see this web site". You click on the attachment and .. poof, you're computer is now infected and starts spreading through your address book. They fool you into doing something as simple as clicking on the attachment. You may not even become aware of what you have done as their evil deeds can work in the background.

So what can we do about it. First and foremost, never open an attachment from someone you don't know. Secondly, purchase virus protection software. There are several on the market. Norton Anti-virus, McAfee Virus Scan plus Computer Associates EZ Armor is offering it free for 12 months. Whatever program you decide, be sure to install virus protection software if you have not already done so. It doesn't stop there. Once you have a virus protection installed, you must update it periodically (preferably every day) in order to be protected. New viruses are being born every day. Each program has methods to update their virus protection. The Norton Antivirus live update is simple and effective, however that is still no guarantee that you will not get infected. You must practice safe computing techniques. The one most obvious yet overlooked is DO NOT OPEN ANY ATTACHMENTS from people you do not know or ones that you are not expecting. That alone is the easiest way for you to infect your own computer.

The next step is to be certain that your operating system is up to date. Microsoft has made it simple. All you need to do is to go to the Microsoft windows update page and follow the instructions. If you are using Microsoft office you should also go to the Microsoft Office Update page and update your office software.

If you connect to the internet you should also have a personal firewall. Without one you pretty much have an unlocked open door to your computer. You protect your home against the neighborhood burglar by locking your doors, you should do the same with your home or business computer with a firewall.

Don't help the terrorist. Take these simple steps and insist that your friends, family and associates follow the same protection. Let's do everything we can to protect ourselves, our economy and our country.

B L O G SPOT

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