I hate spam. And
I'm not talking about Hormel brand luncheon "meat." I'm
talking about the onslaught of unsolicited advertising flowing into my
e-mail Inbox like an ubiquitous oil. Not to mention the
not-so-occasional infiltration of viruses.
Basic Rules for
dealing with spam
Never ever reply to unsolicited e-mail. Even if it
says "click here to take your name off our mailing list."
This is the only way the spammer knows for sure he has a verifiable,
good e-mail address. Just delete it.
(If you have Outlook Express, go to Tools, Block
Sender to block that spammer in the future.)
Use your e-mail program's security filters "Block
Unwanted Mail" feature. If your e-mail program doesn't have this,
you should consider getting one that does.
Some anti-virus programs will let you scan your e-mail
before you open it to make sure it's clean of viruses. Set your e-mail
program to NOT PREVIEW your mail before opening.
#1 -- Make sure you
have anti-virus software on your computer, and use it.
"How could I have a virus? I have an anti-virus
program installed!" Well, folks it's not enough to have it on
your computer, you need to update it weekly, and then run a thorough
scan. Scan e-mail attachments before opening it. Better yet, don't
open any attachments unless it's from someone you know.
FREE Antivirus software---AVG
Recommended by Al
Fasoldt. I downloaded AVG
from www.grisoft.com and
have been impressed enough to share with you. ( It "plays
nice" with my Norton Internet Security, too. )
#2 -- Windows
operating system by its very nature can make things worse. How you can
tame it.
-
Unless you are running a home network, remove
unneeded Windows networking components.
-
Download
and install Windows security patches for your operating system
from the Microsoft website. (NOTE: If you use Internet Explorer,
Microsoft recommends installing the latest
security patches for your version of Internet Explorer.
To see which version of I.E. you have, open Internet
Explorer, go to to Help (top toolbar), and "About Internet
Explorer".
-
Disable File and Printer sharing unless you are
running a home network.
#3 -- Test your
computer system's security right here, right now----and how you can
make it safer.
I contacted these guys, Gibson Research, and received
an enthusiastic response from Greg McIntyre, and permission to
reprint. For in-depth information, and easy step by step ways to
improve your system's security you can't beat this website. http://grc.com
Click on the ShieldsUP! icon on their site to enter the ShieldsUP!
area. Click on Test My Shields! and see your computer's I.P. address.
Click on Probe My Ports! and see what other computers can see about
you. It might be more than you're willing to share.
I ran their security scan and found that, even
though I was running 2 software firewall programs, and Norton Anti
Virus my system was vulnerable and showed certain ports open. My goal
was to reach "Stealth" mode on all ports. First I removed
all Windows networking protocols I didn't need (IPX, NetBios, and
Microsoft Client Network, and turned off Personal Web Server), that
made my computer easy pickin's for mischievous computers trolling over
the internet for open ports to access.
#4 -- If you use
the internet , and especially if you have a broadband connection to
the internet, install a firewall program.
Firewalls come in two flavors: software and hardware.
LinkSys is a well-known hardware firewall manufacturer. Most
users get by with the software firewall.
For a good software firewall, try Zone
Alarm---It's a FREE download, and it works great!
External Resources:
Shields UP!
Microsoft
Security Bulletin (Microsoft website, TechNet)
Internet
Security: The Basics (Microsoft website)
Microsoft
Critical Updates (Microsoft website)
Al
Fasoldt's technofile website
