If your computer becomes infected with malware, it is very difficult to get it back to full working order again. The reason being that malware hides itself in your system files, which you cannot simply delete as your computer needs them to start-up and run. So then, what options are open to you?

Leaving the malware on your computer should not be considered an option. In addition to slowing it down, you will also have to deal with frequent error messages and will need to constantly restart it due to it freezing up. Then there is a major security issue too, as all of your files and personal information will be accessible to third parties.

Deleting, and then reinstalling, everything on your hard disk will solve the problem, but that is hardly convenient. Even then, if even one of your personal documents that you save on a USB or CD prior to deleting your hard disk was infected, then, when you copy it back on to your newly cleaned hard disk, the malware infection will spread again and you will be back in the same position as you were in before.

Enlisting the help of a professional is the only solution that is guaranteed to work. The people who provide antivirus and spyware removal services will be able to clean your computer of malware without needing to delete any of your programs or documents.

As a result of their vast experience of dealing with the various kinds of malware, they know exactly where to look for it on your computer. Having found it, they then clean the infected files which normal antivirus software is unable to. Even infected system files can be dealt with as they have fresh copies of them which they can use to replace your infected ones.

It does not take antivirus and spyware removal services very long to remove all malware from your computer, with a day or two being the normal time frame. Many also offer a guarantee that you do not have to pay them if you they do not mange to completely resolve the problem.

—

This article was written by a computer expert who has more than 10 years experience in the industry. He is currently doing spyware removal service in Greenwich, CT and can be contacted at http://kinneymedia.com

Preventing Identity theft is also crucial in protecting your personal assets and good name. Online thieves are standing by to steal your banking, credit card and personal information like social security numbers on a constant basis.

Those of you that have been unwitting victims of identity theft, it is necessary to take the best steps right away so as to decrease the probable damage.

A few of the measures that you ought to immediately be thinking about are.

1. Position a fraud alert.

Putting a fraud alert is without doubt the very first thing you ought to do if you have all ready been a victim or to prevent becoming one.

There are really great services that make this easy and ensure your constant protection and prevention of serious damage to your credit and finances, one of the best is LIFELOCK IDENTITY PROTECTION SERVICES

By setting a fraud alert, you may be in a position to stop the identity thief from opening further accounts in your name or from opening any to begin with.

There are two kinds of fraud alert available to you. An extended or initial fraud alert. An extended fraud alert may sometimes be positioned after you’ve been victim of a crime. By doing so activity is only allowed against your account after private identification.

The initial fraud alert is a unique kind. This kind of alert might be done prior to become a victim. In situations when you either misplace your wallet or it becomes stolen, placing an initial fraud alert can make sure your account is guarded until the wallet is retrieved.

2. Closing Vulnerable Accounts Immediately

Close the accounts you know, or believe, are being tampered with or opened fraudulently immediately.

Clearly, you will need to open all new accounts. New credit cards can even be needed. Everyone is advised to maintain written records of these applications. While you definitely will still need to call the credit companies and or banks,  writing them a letter will make sure you and they have a better record of the circumstance. Most credit organizations will ask for in any case.

3. File a report with the right companies

Identity theft is most definitely a very serious crime. You ought to not keep the incidence to yourself. Once you’re finished protecting yourself, ensure that you file a report of the incidence with the affected agency. People are urged to present report of incidences of identity theft to both the local police force or federal trade commission.

4. Be Careful When Shopping Online

Overall it is very safe to shop online. Most shopping sites like eBay, Amazon, the retail stores and others take great caution to protect your financial information so you do not need to be super paranoid. Again, set up alerts with your credit card companies and banks for charges made to your cards, this way you will always be aware of what is going on with your accounts.

Look for the security checkout symbols and information on shopping sites, especially the smaller ones that include:

5. Watch out for Phishing Sites and Scam Emails

One of the greatest threats to identity theft is via Phishing Sites and scam emails, learn more at this complete post on protecting yourselves against these threats at: Complete Phishing Guide and Prevention

Always be extra cautious. Carelessness and not criminal cleverness is seen to be one of the major reasons for identity theft.

Here is a great video from TayoTheHacker on YouTube on how to trace a Network IP address for added computer security. This can be helpful in several ways on many occasions. You can trace a webserver, your own ip and who they who they connect to. It is also uesful to find out what computers your request goes through before reaching a destination.

Phishing is just another computer security vulnerability that carries big risks. Theft of money and identity is big on the Internet and of the biggest ways that thieves and scammers get this information is via phishing websites.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is basically the use of a fake website that is the exact design of a real site used to get you to log in with your personal information. Good examples of typical phishing sites are IRS, banks and Paypal duplicate sites. The login info is then used to steal your identity or money.

Phishing Venues

The most common way that computer users fall prey to phishing sites is via email. An email is sent to the computer user under false pretenses, with a link to the fake site. Usually it comes in the form of an alert of some sort, like “Your online banking needs to be verified” or “your Paypal account has been limited, please login to fix errors.” The user then uses the link to go to the fake site and the login info, such as username and password is recorded giving the scammer all they need to access your accounts.

How to Prevent Phishing

The best way to prevent this type of fraud and theft is to always type the url’s of all your bank, Paypal, and other identity sensitive sites directly into your browser, and never follow a link from an email or from anywhere else.

If you do get an email that is legitimate, then then going directly to the site instead of an email link can ensure that your information is not at risk and still take care of any problem.

For bank alert emails, which are rampant for phishing scams, the best case is to actually call your bank if you are concerned that the email maybe real.

Paypal has tons of fraud like this associated with their site and their policy is to never contact you and ask you for personal information via email.

IRS has the same policy since a rash of phishing emails have been sent to unsuspecting victims claiming that they need the taxpayers personal info in order to issue a stimulus payment. They never send those so they are always frauds.

Firefox Browser Settings and Protection to Alert for Phishing Sites

If you use Firefox browser, which is the best browser for computer security, as Internet Explorer has so many problems and vulnerabilities, then you can set up security protection for phishing alerts.

Go to Tools from your Browser Toolbar

Click Options

Click Security Tab

Select:
Tell Me If The Site I’m Visiting is a Suspected Forgery

This is a great security option as Firefox will actually block access and let you know if the site your are visiting is a suspected forgery.

Just a quick post today about computer security as it relates to passwords. For most of us who spend even a little bit of time online we surely have lots of websites we visit regularly and so it’s likely that we have login information for them especially shopping sites like Amazon, eBay and others.

Choosing Passwords

It is very important to choose passwords wisely. While it is easier to choose simple ones that we can remember this practice makes it to easy for online predators to hack your information and make your security and identity more vulnerable.

Typically people choose passwords that include their kids names, birthdays or simple one word passwords and this is a mistake.

Example of a Great Password:

^&gh#$#AFHA454^#$%&#$dfha#@

See the deep combination of characters, capital and small letters and numbers is the best way to protect your online accounts and personal data, and decrypting those is much harder than a password like, Joey.

It is also a good idea to vary your password from site to site. Many times people want it to be easy to remember and so they will use the same one, but this can make you more vulnerable in the long run.

Read on to learn how to make remembering passwords easy.

Remember Passwords Easily

If you are using Firefox (or the dreaded Internet Explorer) the browser can remember your passwords for you, and then each time you visit a particular site the browse will automatically insert your user name and password eliminating the need to type it in each time.

If you go that route, which is fine, then make sure to set a Master Password in Firefox, which means that every time you open your browse you have to type in one main password which will activate Firefox to automatically add your login on different websites.

This provides an added layer of protection and also if anyone should be on your computer, they will not be able to access all your passwords. This is especially important for laptops, which can get stolen, and then your identity and all your login info is open to the thief, but with the master they will be locked out.

Firefox will automatically send a little pop up screen at the top of the web page whenever you enter a new user name and password and ask you if you want it to remember it for you. You can choose on a case by case basis.

How-To Set Master Password in Firefox

Click on Tools

Click Options

Click Security Tab

Click on Set Master Password

It’s a well known fact that computer security is an important issue. When a system connects to the Internet it is exposed to thousands of malicious Malware, viruses, spyware, hackers, and other nasty infections and other risks that can ruin a system, cost you money for repairs and lose data that is stored on the computer.

Beyond the obvious, there are some really hands-on things that you can do to protect yourself from Malware and virus attacks and always ensure the utmost security for your computer system.

1. Proper Virus Protection – Always have the best anti virus software installed and running on your system. Our best pick of a virus and spyware software combo is PC Tools.

2. Real Time Virus Protection – Make sure that real time protection is part of the virus software you use to avoid being infected by drive-by infections that can happen just by visiting a website. Learn more about Real Time Virus Protection.

3. Secure Browser – If you are using Internet Explorer as your web browser, think again. It is full of security risks and Firefox is a much better choice.

4. Firefox Security Selections – If you are using Firefox make sure to set up Security Options properly.

1. Go to Tools then Options
2. Then select the Security Tab
3. Click on the following options in that window to select them:

• Warn Me When Sites Try to Install Add Ons
• Tell Me if the Site I am Visiting is a Suspected Attack Site
• Tell Me if the Site I am Visiting is a Suspected Forgery
• Also make sure to select a master password, so when you have Firefox saving your passwords for you they will be more secure.

5. Firewall – You can use the firewall that comes with Windows operating systems, or you can download a free firewall for extra protection that can also be customized. Firewalls prevent hacking attacks on your system, learn more at this post: 3 Free Best Computer Firewalls.

6. Admin Protection – In Windows you can create different users, such as guests. This is helpful to avoid being logged in as administrator, which makes vital areas of your computer more accessible. If you create yourself a a guest account and work and surf the net from that user profile, your system will be more secure.

7. Beware of Shareware – Shareware is usually some free software or program that can be downloaded for free use. These can be risky because often times they can carry viruses and other malware, like spyware. Be sure to know what you are downloading and where its from.

8. Stay Away from P2P Sites – One of the easiest ways to get nasty viruses, and especially Trojans is person 2 person (P2P) file sharing sites.

These sites are free-for-all downloads usually used for free music file downloads. Some main ones include, Limewire, Bearshare and Morpheus.

You create a free account on these sites, download the software (which is often full of Spyware/Adware) and you get access to millions of other peoples computer files through what is called the Gnutella Network. You search for particular files, like MP3 music  and then download them from other people’s computers.

First, this is a sure fire way to get the Feds to knock on your door, due to copyright infringment, since downloading free mp3 music is illegal. Second, you are basically exposing your system to thousands of other computers and whatever viruses and malware they may have. Very risky!

9. Never Open Unknown Email Attachments – Viruses are often sent through email in the form of attachments. You should never open files that come from sources that you don’t trust or know. Yahoo and MSN Hot Mail are usually pretty good at scanning for viruses in email but they do miss stuff, so the best thing to do if you get an email with an attachment from someone you don’t know, hit DELETE!!

10. Phishing Emails – This computer security threat is more geared toward identity theft and stealing your personal information and money.

Thousands of emails are sent on a daily basis with subject lines such as: Your Bank Account May Have Been Accessed without Authorization, or the IRS Needs Your Information to Send you a Stimulus Check.

The email will then include a link to the site which will ask you to enter your personal login info, social security numbers, account numbers and other personal info. The link will take you to a phishing site, and not the real site, thought the design will be a duplicate. Many people fall for this and get robbed or have their identity stolen. NEVER follow the link, if you are unsure if the email is real, then type in the web address of the site in question manually and then go to your account, or call the institution.

Banks rarely send such alerts, they will contact you by phone, and the IRS never asks for personal information via email, neither does Paypal, which these thieves often use to scam people.

11. Always Back Up Your Files – Finally, you always want to have a back up of all the data, files and folders on your system. You can do back ups in several ways, you can burn them onto CD or tape drives but a great solution that eliminates the hassle of that is to use an online data backup service. They are very cheap, and the best one is Mozy Online Backup, where you can get 5GB free of backup storage and unlimited backup for under $5 a month!

A firewall is another method of computer security that puts a safe barrier between your system and Internet network connections.

It is a protective barrier that blocks certain connections to bad activity which can put your computer at risk.  Computer firewalls block hackers from infiltrating your system and hide your computer from unsolicited network traffic.

A computer firewall is NOT to be used as a replacement for anti virus software or Malware removers, but is actually used in conjunction with those.

The Windows operating systems, like XP and Vista do come with firewalls as part of their system, but they are not customizable and do not allow users to specify certain network connection restrictions and which sites to block. For added protection, computer security and the ability to customize connections to your computer here are 3 great free firewalls.

3 Best Free Computer Firewalls

1. PC TOOLS FIREWALL

PC Tools Firewall Plus is a very powerful and efficient personal firewall for Windows that protects your computer from intruders and effectively controls any and all network traffic in and out of your computer system.

Features:

• Smart automatic protection
• User-friendly
• Designed for both, novice & expert users
• Advanced rules to protect your PC against common attacks
• User defined settings options

Safely download the PC Tools Firewall

2. COMODO FIREWALL

Features:

• Detects and prevents intrusions
• Blocks Access Attempts to Your Computer
• Identity Theft Protection against hackers, scripts and Malware
• Blocks installation of Malware/Viruses and Spyware
• Full user customization to block and approve sites
• Malware scan checks for infections prior to install of the firewall

Safely download Comodo Firewall from their official website

3. ZONE ALARM FIREWALL

Features:

• Detects and prevents intrusions
• Detects and prevents hacking
• Blocks Access Attempts
• Online Invisibility
• Light on System Resources

Safely download the free ZoneAlarm Firewall