Security

Introduction

You can’t access the media and go many days without hearing or reading something about computer security and particularly security when accessing the internet. You may get frustrated, bored or even down right frightened by people constantly banging on about viruses, scams, fraud and the like.

The truth is there have always been shysters, fraudsters and opportunist ne’er-do-wells who prey on the careless, unwary and unworldly amongst us. Most people, either in their own lives or in those of people they are close to, will have experienced the stolen credit card, the snatched bag, the dodgy goods or services or any number of scams.

What makes computer security issues so different? Well, for many of us, we are already sailing barely charted waters and aren’t ready to deal with sharks or other horrors of the deep. Security breaches in computer technology can have far-reaching effects. We can be scammed by someone across the other side of the world as easily as someone in our neighbourhood. If our computer is compromised we could have criminals infiltrating our lives in numerous ways including bank accounts and credit card fraud. Somehow the effects are more devastating and global than falling foul of a fast talker at the local market. And yet most of the issues can be approached and dealt with in the same way that you would deal with security in the rest of your life. 

Nothing in life is a hundred percent safe and you expect to take sensible precautions. You need to do the same with your computer and the internet. 

Your house, no doubt, has locks and bolts, perhaps security lights and intruder alarm and maybe a large dog. All of these things will help to keep you and your possessions – including your computer, safe.

Back-ups and Passwords

In your home you may have a special place where you keep important documents – a tin box, a safe, a locked drawer. There is probably a lot of important information on your computer that a) you would not want to lose and b) wouldn’t want anyone else to get hold of – so… Back-ups – you’ve heard of them and if you’re not making one regularly, find out how. And strong passwords – they’re what stop people getting at your stuff even if they manage to get hold of your computer. What is a strong password? One that includes letters, numbers and other characters and you are advised to change it often. But a password is only any good if you can remember what it is so it will possibly have to be some kind of compromise between being strong and being something that you can remember.

Anti-virus

Unlike your home, your computer can come under attack just when it’s sitting on a table in the corner of your lounge. I am, of course, talking about threats that come via the internet rather than through a door or window. There are folks who for some reason – not necessarily for any financial gain – like to write pieces of code called viruses that are designed to get into computers and generally do stuff we’d rather they didn’t. Some viruses might be written to order so that their purpose is to directly benefit some criminal. 

There are thousands of these things running around the internet looking for unprotected computers. Your computer will be under attack within seconds of connecting to the internet. You’ve seen those scenes in the police dramas where the car thief goes down the row of cars trying all the doors until he finds one that isn’t locked – well, viruses are a bit like that and if your computer is unprotected they will literally get in and not so literally, drive it away. 

So how do you protect your computer from viruses? With an Anti-virus program. This is a piece of software that you install on your computer that checks everything coming into your computer to make sure it’s virus free. Any place that sells computers will almost certainly sell you an anti-virus package. 

You can also buy and download them from the internet – the trick is to get one installed without connecting to the internet. The answer is to get someone else to download it put it on a clean thumb-drive and install it from there. I say a clean thumb-drive, meaning one that you are pretty sure isn’t carrying a virus itself. Any memory device like a CD, DVD or thumb drive may potentially have a virus on it that someone else has picked up from the internet. They are called viruses because they are contagious and computers can catch them. By installing antivirus software you are vaccinating your computer against viruses.

Updates

However, just like you may need boosters for vaccinations, so your anti-virus needs to be updated. This is because new viruses are being developed and let loose on the internet all the time. The updates to your anti-virus give it the information to deal with these latest threats.

If you have purchased anti-virus software you will also have an annual subscription – you have to pay to keep your software updated. There are free anti-virus programmes on the internet which you can download and these are generally updated automatically. Free programmes do not have all the features and facilities of paid programmes, but you may find that they will do the necessary work for you.

Virus Removal

Inevitably, your computer will get infected at some stage – no system is perfect – we all catch colds from time to time. If this happens, most computer repair guys will carry out virus removal for you. How do you know if you’ve got a virus? That is difficult to say as the symptoms will vary depending on the type of virus. If your computer is behaving differently from the way it normally functions it could be sign of an infection. If the infection is bad you will definitely know about it because viruses can make your computer unusable.

Firewalls

What about firewalls, I hear you say; is a firewall like a smoke detector or a fire blanket? Well, not quite. It acts like a barrier so you could consider it as a blanket that stops threats getting through. Unfortunately the analogy falls down a bit here. Your computer firewall actually lets some stuff through – a bit like your front door – you want to be able to get in and out of it and to let in friends and relatives. What you don’t want is for it to let in the bad guys and that is what the firewall is like. It knows that your computer needs to be able to send and receive stuff from the internet but it tries to limit where that stuff is coming from. Then the antivirus checks out what it lets through – that’s you with the chain on the door or checking through the spy-hole to see if the visitor is someone you want to open the door to.

Malware

Malware or spyware – something else you can pick up from the internet. This sits on your computer and may not interfere with the functioning. These things are like insidious viruses. They are bugs sitting under the coffee table in your lounge – listening to conversations – finding out about you and your family. On your computer they can be recording key presses – for instance, when you enter a credit card number or password.

To deal with this you need anti-spyware/malware. Most anti-virus packages that you pay for will also include anti spyware/malware. Otherwise, again there are freebies available on the net. 

Scanning

Imagine you are a spook in the security services. Every week you may “sweep” your home or office for bugs. You need to do this for your computer. You should set up your anti-virus to run at a regular time every week and if you have separate anti spyware, remember to run this from time to time – particularly if you think you have clicked on a dodgy link or feel your machine may have been compromised.

If I’m always checking who comes in through the door, why do I have to run a scan- you may ask? The answer is, just in case someone has sneaked in somehow – or someone you thought was just an encyclopaedia salesman turns out to be a con man after your life’s savings. Any viruses that have slipped through the check on the door will hopefully be picked up by the scan.

Conclusion

Well, after all that I’m too scared to use the internet, I hear you say. You’re certainly never going to let any personal or financial details loose on the internet. But if you read of the crime figures, the muggings, the break-ins and so on, you might decide never to go outside your front door. However, most of us do – because we know how to avoid trouble – or at least not go looking for it. We don’t walk dark streets alone at night. We remember to lock our front doors when we go off to work in the morning. A lot of the things we do to keep safe are second nature to us – but don’t forget we learned them – at our mother’s knee. Children are very vulnerable for the very reason that they haven’t yet learned how to avoid danger or how not to be preyed on by the criminal minority. Those of us new to computers can be vulnerable and we have to learn to be safe.

Those of us who are familiar with computers know by instinct when a link is a bit dodgy or when surfing a particular site is probably not wise. When an email is obviously not genuine and when that phone call from Microsoft is just another scam. This awareness is something that you develop as you become immersed in the cyber-world but there are many things you can do to help keep yourself safe. The main ones being your locks, bolts and chains and your regular checks for sneak-thieves and spies i.e. up to date firewall, antivirus and anti-spyware.

Don’t let the criminals on the street make you too scared to step outside your front door. Don’t let criminals on the internet make you too scared to venture onto into the fantastic, mind-bogglingly big, exciting world of the internet and make full use of it.

If you have any security concerns don’t hesitate to give us a call or drop us a mail. Telephone 4261 7737 Email info@abcomputertraining.com

Fun With Windows 7

A couple of Windows 7 tips.

By default the Shut Down button is set (not unsurprisingly) to Shut Down. If you want to access Restart or Log Off for example, you have to choose it from the dropdown menu. Now this may be OK if you generally only use the button to shut down your computer at the end of the day, but if you regularly log out or restart it then it may make sense to have those functions as the default action. Simple. Right-click the Start button, then select Properties. Under the 'Start Menu' tab you will find Power Button Options. Click on the dropdown menu and choose the function you wish to have assigned to the button instead of Shut Down.

One great feature of Windows 7 is the way you can arrange your windows simply by dragging them around; dragging one off the top of the screen for example will expand it to full size. However this feature may not be for everyone and can become annoying, so wouldn't it be great if you could turn it off? You can. Click on the Start Menu and type 'regedit'. Allow it to run if required, then go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Change the value of WindowArrangementActive to 0 and then restart your computer. The features will now be disabled. You can re-enable them by returning WindowArrangementActive to its original value.

Skydive!

A few months ago Alan won a parachute jump with Skydive The Beach in a Facebook competition.

Today he did it; a tandem freefall from 14,000 feet.

See the pictures here:

Alan Skydives The Beach

The Moral: It's amazing what you can win if you get involved with social media.

Facebook Places

Less of a post, and more of a question.

Has anyone else experienced problems with Facebook locating businesses when creating a page? We've had two issues recently where a business couldn't be properly located. In the first case Facebook recognised the address, but then located it nearly a kilometre away from where it actually is. In the second case it refused to accept that the address even existed, despite it being a simple Number plus Street. Indeed in that second case both Google Maps and Bing Maps (which Facebook themselves use) both recognised it.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? Is it just an issue with shoddy map coverage in Australia, or a more deeply-rooted problem?

Repairing Windows

When you buy your shiny new PC or laptop it comes with Windows already installed on it. This is great, but what if something goes wrong and Windows won't start? How to you repair or recover it?

Once upon a time a computer would come with the Windows disk, which you could use to reload the operating system if necessary, and which also allowed you to boot from something other than the computer's hard disk. Some PCs and laptops come with a recovery partition - part of the disk is put aside for a few emergency files. They won't allow you to completely reinstall Windows, but you can reboot from that if there is a problem.

However for most users your solution is a repair disk. Often when you start up a new computer it will prompt you to do this, but a lot of people skip the option, intending to do it later. And they don't. Or, in some cases, can't.

Windows 7 Disk Creation

In Windows 7 you can generate a repair disk very easily. You just need a blank CD or DVD, and a drive with a writer/rewriter. Just click Start, type repair, and then click Create a System Repair Disc. Put a blank CD or DVD into your drive, then click Create disc. Windows will then create your disk. Once it's done, file it away somewhere safe.

Things are a little trickier for Vista. Some versions do include a tool for creating a recovery disk. To find out if you have it click Start then All Programs then Maintenance then Create a Recovery Disc. Follow the instructions.

Vista's Panel For Creating A Repair Disk

If you don't have that option then you will have to get the recovery files from elsewhere. We use Neosmart; the files will cost you about $10, but it's a worthwhile investment. They do them for both Windows 7 and Vista, in 32-bit and 64-bit versions (and if you're not sure which version you have then the rule of thumb is that you probably have 32-bit).


You will need to download the files, and follow the instructions they give you. Essentially you will get one file with a '.iso' extension. You need to burn this to a CD or DVD as an image file. You may or may not have software that can do this; if you don't then you can download ImgBurn for free, and there are instructions for doing that, then burning the disk at that link.

In all cases you must create the disk before there is a problem; once your computer is failing to boot, it's too late. You can create one on another machine if you have access, of course. If you use Windows to do it then obviously it has to be the same version as yours. If you download the Vista files, though, you can do that on any machine; we created a disk on a Windows 7 PC in order to repair a Vista machine.

Using your repair disk is simple. If your computer won't start because it says there is a problem with Windows due to possible damage, changes or corruption of files, then stick the repair CD/DVD in your drive. Restart your computer, but hit the 'Esc' key, or whichever key will get you to the boot menu; it should say at the bottom of the screen as the computer powers up. A window will appear displaying possible boot devices; normally there will be two, the HDD (Hard Disk Drive), which should be highlighted, and the CD/DVD drive. Use the arrow keys to select the CD/DVD drive, then press 'Enter'. The computer will then try to boot from your repair CD/DVD rather than the main disk. Follow any on-screen instructions. You may be prompted to repair damaged files; just let the computer do its job and all should be well.

Whilst this all seems to be a bit of a fiddle, it's a job worth doing in order to give you peace of mind and make sure that your computer always starts when you need it.

Prezi - Presentations With Zoom

I think most of us are familiar with Powerpoint, or Powerpoint-style presentations. But there is an interesting alternative if you want your presentation to look just that little bit different.

It's called Prezi

The idea of Prezi is to make the presentation of information more interesting. Powerpoint is very linear in its approach; you move across the screen from one slide to the next, with only the odd reveal effect to liven things up. Prezi, however, allows you to design your presentation like a large whiteboard or canvas. You place the objects in your presentation - pictures, videos, text and so on - on the board in a suitable arrangement, then create a path between them. This path doesn't have to be a straight line; you can move from one part of your canvas to any other part. Rather than slides you have 'frames' which surround parts of the canvas and define the limits of what is currently being shown on the screen. You can also zoom in and out of the canvas, which allows you to, say, embed the context of one frame inside another. For example a frame may show the title of a talk. The next frame zooms out of this and shows the title as being on the cover of a book being read by a person. The view could then zoom out showing the person sitting on a train opposite another person reading a book. And you then zoom in on the title of the book they are reading.

Rather than try and describe it any more, watch the official Prezi video, which shows you what a presentation can look like - towards the end you get to see how many of the key components are arranged on the canvas:



Prezi is a web-based application. That is, to run it you don't download any software to your computer but you design and create your work on their site. It is free to use, however in this case all presentations created are publicly viewable on the Prezi website. You can pay for an account, and this allows private storage. A premium account allows offline editing.

When you have finished your presentation you can download it to your computer. You don't need an internet connection to run it, but any computer you run it on must have Adobe Flash. The vast majority do, of course.

Of course, as with Powerpoint it is possible to create bad presentations. It's easy to overuse the zoom and rotate functions and, if done really badly, you can even induce nausea in members of your audience. Prezi has a more limited palate of fonts and colours compared to other presentation tools. In addition the different approach to creating presentations means that there is a small learning-curve to be overcome, as you switch from a linear slide-based approach to a more flexible layout. This can be partially overcome by pre-planning your presentation before even going to the Prezi website.

The Prezi style of doing things is probably not suitable for all kinds of talk, but it is a great tool to add to your  presentation arsenal.

IWIB Awards - 2012

We are pleased to announce that on Friday Catherine received a Highly Commended in this year's Illawarra Women In Business awards, in the Best Home-Based Business category.

Here she is getting her certificate:

And you can link to the rest of the photos HERE

Congratulations to Catherine, and to all of the finalists and winners. It was a great event, and a true celebration of the marvellous women who work in our local businesses.

(Pictures by Shimmer Images)