Computing Workshop

www.RockCreekComputing.com

Bill McArthur

Session 7  

Topic 1: Malware and Anti-Virus Software

"Malware" refers to a variety of computing entities that can attack your computer. Some examples are: virus, trojan horse (or just trojan), spyware, and hijacking. The attacks can come from email attachments, malicious websites, and file downloads. You must be careful when you use your computer online to avoid these problems. One part of your protection is with anti-virus software, and more generally, security suites. McAfee and Norton are the two biggest names in security software. I've used both with success. Zone Labs has a security suite called Zone Alarm, which I've used for many years with success. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) might give you a security suite at no additional charge, so it's worth a phone call to find out. Because I don't have first-hand knowledge, I cannot recommend any other security suites, but there are many others that are used. It is imperative to update your security suite on a daily basis. If your computer is attacked, seek help to solve the problem. While you are in residence at Rock Creek, you can use our form for that purpose.

Topic 2: Firewalls

The firewall of a car or truck protects passengers from engine fires. A firewall on a computer protects the computer from unauthorized access from and to the Internet. To test the effectiveness of your firewall, you can access www.grc.com and run the "ShieldsUp!" set of tests. A well functioning firewall provides essential protection.

Topic 3: Secure Browsing

When entering sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or SSNs, on the Internet, you must be certain that the information is encrypted so that snooping eyes cannot intercept the information. The mechanism for encrypted browsing is to only use websites whose addresses begin "https:" instead of "http:". In addition, you should never connect to the Internet using a wireless connection (router) that doesn't have a password associated with it. Password protected routers use encryption to protect the information that travels between your computer and the router. In order for a website to support "https:", the website must purchase a security certificate. If the certificate is out of date, uses the wrong domain name, or has some other problem, you will get a warning when you access the website. Here is an explanation of what the warning might mean to you.