Gump on Internet Security

When surfing the internet, you’re just one little fish in the ocean among millions. So how do you stop some nasty predator from deciding you’re it’s next meal? There is one basic rule.

You don’t need to out-run the bear in the woods. You simply need to outrun the other campers. Or in the above example, keep ahead of the other fishies in the ocean.

It’s might sound a little cold but it’s true. Ask yourself this. If a car thief is presented with two cars. One car with locked doors and a club lock on the steering wheel. And the other car, maybe not quite as nice but with unlocked doors and the keys in the ignition, which will get stolen?


The two biggest issues are Spyware and Identity Theft.

Identity theft is pretty simple. Don’t put your personal information on the Internet, it’s that simple. Put it this way, would you put your photo, home address, phone number etc on a wall in a public park?

Spyware has replaced ‘viruses’ as the biggest threat on the Internet. Hackers have figured out that incapacitating your computer and replicating a pop-up that says ‘I love you’ might be fun but that’s about it. But with spyware, they can steal your personal information and ideally, money from you. So how do you protect yourself?

With anti-virus software? Nope, AV software these days is becoming redundant. Think of anti-virus software as the guards behind the castle walls. If the invaders have climbed the walls and drawbridge, its nice to have.

A firewall? Yep, absolutely required. This is the equivalent of the castle walls. The problem is, you can’t completely stop everyone and everything from entering and leaving the castle right? Even by simply surfing the Internet, you’ve immediately opened your computer to those particular ports.

Anti-spyware software? Also very important and should compliment the firewall. You should have both a real-time scanner and also run a full scan over your machine every month or so.


So what else? The most important factor is simply you use your head and be sensible. Be wary when accessing the internet. Even ‘reputable’ sites can be hacked and compromised, so you just need to be ‘aware’.

By taking a few basic precautions and being aware that there are nasties out there, you’re swimming way ahead of the school and really shouldn’t have any problem at all.


Cheers,
FG