for Nov. 19, 2003

Hi, All;

This week: How vulnerable is your PC to an Internet Attack? This issue came up between the publisher of this newspaper and me after we installed DSL in the Shopper office last month. It got me to thinking about data safety.

If you dial up just when you need to check mail or to get on the Internet, then your vulnerability is already very low. PC's can be hacked only when you are online. Even if you get a virus that opens a back door to your PC, it can be accessed only for a very short time. Even at the Shopper office and at other DSL users I know of, they do not leave their DSL line up 7/24, limiting their venerability just like they were dial-up.

The odds exist that (1) a hacker finds your machine while it is on line, and (2) a hacker finds anything on your machine that is useful. True, if a hacker finds your machine and can get to your personal data (SSN, Tax Records, credit card numbers, etc.), if he does not want the data, he could sell it to someone who does--like an identity thief.

So that said, what should you do to keep hackers out of your machine? If you are running any version of Windows or any Browser, make sure you have the latest patches installed on your machine. These patches fix all the known accesses into the current and past windows and browser releases. The next question is, do you want to buy a "firewall?" This is either software or a piece of hardware that protects your machine from entry from the Internet. This is a personal choice; if you are worried about hackers and your data, it is worth the price for the piece of mind to purchase one. '

Til next week, (ComputerFAQ#165)

Robert

 

Please send your questions to

Nov. 19, 2003 How Vulnerable is Your Computer to Data Theft?

Nov. 12, 2003 Safely Deleting Thousands of tmp Files

Nov. 5, 2003 Finding the Windows Search Button & Misc Program Problems

Oct. 29, 2003 How to Print a List of Files

Oct. 22, 2003 Fall Cleanup Part 3

Oct. 15, 2003 Fall Cleanup Part 2

Oct. 8, 2003 Fall Cleaning of Your PC

Oct. 1, 2003 Explanation of DSL

Sept. 24, 2003 Installing DSL at the Shopper

Sept. 17, 2003 What New Computer Should I Buy? Part 2

Sept. 10, 2003 What New Computer Should I Buy?

Sept. 3, 2003 Protecting from Viruses and Worms

Aug. 27, 2003 Current Viruses "Bast Worm" and "Sobig"

Aug. 20, 2003 Does Microsoft Password Make Changing Passwords Easier?

Aug. 13, 2003 Passwords and Passport Part 2

Aug. 6, 2003 More About PassPort and Passwords

July 23 & 30, 2003 Where Are Microsoft Passport Passwords Stored? and More About Passport and Passwords

July 16, 2003 Internet Explorer Helpful Hint Part 2

July 9, 2003 Internet Explorer Helpful Hint Part 1

July 2, 2003 Some More Icons Explained

June 25, 2003 Online Ordering

June 18, 2003 Followup on Refilled Ink Cartridges

 

July 05, 2000 Introduction to ComputerFAQ

July 12, 2000 Computer Definitions

July 26, 2000 More Computer Definitions

August 02, 2000 Defining Bits, Bytes and Hex

August 09, 2000 Internet Service Providers (ISP)

August 16, 2000 Backup up your PC

August 23, 2000 Backup Devices.

August 30, 2000 What is the slowest PC for Internet Access

September 06, 2000 PC Nomenclature

September 13, 2000What to do with Mail Attachements.

September 20, 2000What Happens at boot up

October 04, 2000Desktop Areas

October 18, 2000Start Button

October 25, 2000Display Made Bigger

November 01, 2000 More Monitor Controls

November 15, 2000 Right Click Display Menu

November 22, 2000 More on Desktop Menus

November 29, 2000 More on Desktop Menus

December 06, 2000 Desktop Properties Menu - part 1

December 13, 2000 Desktop Properties Menu - part 2

December 20, 2000 Desktop Properties Menu - part 3