On this page, we have two items to help you protect yourself and your information.  Click one of these buttons or just scroll down.

Computer Security Checklist
Keeping your Personal Computer and Network Safe
There are just a few items to do to keep your PC safe, but it can take perhaps an hour or more per month to do so.  If you put these maintenance tasks off, it can take a lot longer, especially if you have to clean up problems.  Fortunately, some of these are one-time or once-a-year efforts.  You can decide how often to do the recurring tasks, we suggest monthly. 

One-time:

• Put a password (any password) on all Windows user accounts - you can even use the same one.  A Windows computer without a user password is like a house with an open back door. It doesn't need to be complex, but should not be a simple name or word.
•  If you have broadband and have a router, be sure to change the default password on the device.  If you have a wireless network access point separate from the router, do the same for that device. And activate WPA or WEP encryption on the wireless network.

Annually:

•  Get, install, and keep a valid subscription to a quality computer security program.  We currently recommend Norton Internet Security 2010 for most people, you can get it at any office supply store or at .  If you don't want to use an all-in-one security suite, then you'll need to get programs to protect you against hackers, viruses, spyware & malware, spam, and other online threats.

Recurring:

•  Keep your system up-to-date.  Run Windows Update (or Microsoft Update), Adobe Updater, Apple Software Update, and get updates for any other software on your computer. Alternatively, you can run Microsoft Update and the Secunia PSI or OSI (see our Recommendations).  Periodically, check with the computer manufacturer for driver updates (we like this better than getting them from Windows or Microsoft Update).  And if you leave your computer on 24/7, restart it occasionally.
•  Make a copy of the personal data on your computer.  The copy can be on a thumb drive, an external hard drive, a CD-R, or a Network Storage Drive.  We recommend you copy these three folders for each active Windows user account:  My Documents, Desktop, and Favorites.  If you have your personal files located elsewhere on your computer, you should move them to one of these locations. If you use Outlook, you need to locate and copy your personal folder file(s) (*.pst) - use the mail icon in the control panel to inspect your settings and open the folder that has your personal folder file(s).

If you have not followed this checklist or only did some of it, your computer will almost certainly need some help.  If that's you, visit our

Safe Computing Practices
Keeping you and your information safe on the internet

There are a number of actions, behaviors, and things to avoid here.  We feel that safe computing is more of a process than just a list of do's and don'ts.  We'll include plenty of do's and don'ts below, but you should focus on education - for yourself and for those who depend on you (your employees, spouse, children). 

Suspicion:  The first process is a paranoid view of what's available on the internet.  Here is where you don't just accept what you see on the internet as the truth, but treat everything you see with a healthy dose of suspicion.  Even this website could be getting you to do something you shouldn't.  Well, maybe not us, but there are plenty of websites and emails that act and look like they are helping you, when in fact they are misleading you, infecting your computer, or compromising your information.

• Know that email is inherently insecure.  Anyone can send an email message and easily make the From: line be whatever they want.  Spammers will often raid people's Contact lists or email address books for addresses to use, although they are also now just randomly generating fake email addresses.  Don't trust anything you read in email, particularly warnings about viruses, scams, etc.  We have seen thousands of these (literally!) and absolutely none of them was true.  The worst one's are those that have some truth in them, mixed with fakery.

• Websites can say anything they want - there is little or no enforcement of any law or rule of decency, or anything.  While many websites (like us!) do give good information, there's really no way for you to know for sure without some corroboration.  So generally, if it's a website you know and trust from past association, you can trust it (somewhat, websites do get hacked!).  If it's a website that's a known online entity (amazon.com, for example), then you can also trust it.  If it's a website that's been passed onto you by a friend, neighbor, associate, or acquaintance, be careful!  Even our smartest netizens have been fooled by sneaky websites!  You can look for multiple corroborations easily - we often do a 6-second research project by googling whatever we're questioning, looking for suspicious hits, and then maybe googling that term plus other terms like "spyware", "malware", "scam" and "hacker".

• Even your own computer can be easily compromised, especially if you don't follow a good security checklist like ours above, and safe computing practices.  It is absurdly easy for someone to send you a fake email from someone you know, which has you open a file attachment that looks legit but actually also places a little bit of spyware on your computer.  That little bit is not even noticable - but it "holds the door open" for all kinds of spyware, malware, and hacker programs.  In general, "X-out" any popup messages that do not come from a program that you installed on your computer.  Then run straight to our and get some tools to help you remove whatever got on your computer that made that happen.

Passwords and Usernames:  Boy we hate 'em, but they are necessary.  You need to have both usernames and passwords to navigate around the internet these days, if you want to do anything useful (to you) like online shopping, communicating, and sharing.  The biggest trouble is that you end up with zillions of passwords and usernames, and you can't keep them straight.  Plus, you shouldn't write them down or record them anywhere.  So how do you handle this? We suggest you create four passwords, and segregate how you use them.  Then, commit those four passwords to memory (try typing them each 25 times and it'll be easy!). We suggest:

1. Create a simple password that you can use on your Windows user account.  It need not be complex, but easy to remember and not easily guessable by a stranger (which can be someone physically at your computer, or someone who hacked into your network and is 'at the door' of your computer).  You can use spaces, and any key on the keyboard.  A short phrase or sentence is best.  If your computer has multiple user accounts, you can use the same password (or simple variations) for each account.  Do not use this password online.

2. Create an 8-character password that you will use on all websites that don't include online shopping or any other financial transaction.  This can include newsletter websites and social networking websites.  This password should include at least one letter, one capital letter, and one other type-able item (like #, $, %, etc.) but don't use spaces.  Lots of folks have an easier time remembering this password because they type it a lot, but you can also use a mnemonic - characters associated with something you know.  Be aware that some websites may have specific password rules you must follow, which may alter your choice of password.

3. Create another 8-character password to use for all websites where you make purchases with a credit card or give access to your money.  This includes online shopping sites (reputable merchants only!).  Again, this password should include at least one letter, one capital letter, and one other type-able item (like #, $, %, etc.) but don't use spaces.  Be aware that some websites may have specific password rules you must follow, which may alter your choice of password.

4. And finally, create another 8-character password to use strictly for online banking or financial transactions.  This includes your bank, credit card company, and online financial institutions (like Paypal).  Again, this password should include at least one letter, one capital letter, and one other type-able item (like #, $, %, etc.) but don't use spaces.    Be aware that some websites may have specific password rules you must follow, which may alter your choice of password.

Do not mix the use of these passwords.  If you suspect for any reason that one of these passwords has been compromised, simply change that password to a new one, and change the password on all the places where you used it before.  Be sure to type a website address directly - don' t depend on hyperlinks in websites or emails (which can be easily faked). 

About the username - the simplest thing is to use your email address for numbers 1 and 2 above.  Use something different for all websites for #3 above.  For #4 above, your financial institution will likely have strict requirements for usernames (and possibly passwords) that you must follow.  Again, memorize this stuff.

If you have a safety deposit box or safe, that's about the only place we'd call a safe place to have a record of these usernames and passwords. 

Mail, IM, Social Networks:  I know we touched on some of this above, but it deserves full treatment IMHO.  

• Email accounts are a dime a dozen.  You should have at least two:  The first one is usually provided by your internet service provider, and that one you shouldn't use online anywhere - just use it to communicate with your friends, family, colleagues, your financial institution(s) - anyone from who you actually wish to receive email.  The second email account should be a free one, gmail, hotmail, whatever you like.  That's the account (let's call it the junk mail account) you use when registering at websites - even one's where you use a credit card. Check your primary account daily, check the 'junk mail' account less often.  Almost every commercial entity on the internet will sell your email address to someone, helping to generate junk mail.  Lastly, you can periodically start up a new junk mail account and start using it.  After a few months, the old junk mail account will be getting nothing but junk mail, and you can stop using it (don't bother to try to de-register that account, after a while the host will know you aren't using it and kill it for you).  And of course, never use your primary email account on anything online if you can avoid it, it'll just attract junk mail (aka spam).

• Never respond to junk mail - ever!  Don't try to unsubscribe (unless you actually did subscribe to something) or have yourself de-listed - it doesn't work and just proves to the spammers that your email address is valid.

• Never assume that the email you are reading (in any email account) is actually coming from who you think it is (or the email address listed in the From: line).  Email is absurdly easy to fake.  Your bank, credit card companies, and any other financial institutions should never send you an email warning about anything, nor give you a link to log in (email is so easy to hide where hyperlinks actually go). 

• Make it a practice to never click on a link in an email - if you want to see something, open your web browser and manually type in the address.  Again, hyperlinks are easy ways for hackers to invade your computer.  This includes online greeting cards, notices from a delivery company, free money (or anything), and all the myriad ways that hackers have been fooling even smart people for years.

• For that matter, also make it a practice to never open a file attachment in an email, even from someone you know.  If you need it, save it to your desktop or My Documents folder or somewhere, then scan it with your security program first.  If it's safe, then you can consider opening it.  But only if you were expecting it or have communicated with the actual sender beforehand to make sure they were the one who sent it to you. 

• If you have a spamblocker (Outlook's Junk Email feature can work ok, and Norton Internet Security's Anti-Spam is even better).  Any junk mail filter takes time and effort to train, on an ongoing basis.  The spammers are always finding new ways to get past the filters, so this is a continuing process.

• For that matter, never open suspected spam - just delete it.  If you just gotta know what's in it, open it safely. In Outlook anything in the Junk email folder is safe to open from there, otherwise, just save the email as a text file and then look at that text file.

• If you use Outlook and don't use anything except your email folders and your Contact List, you may want to consider using WebMail (from most any internet service provider).  Outlook is overkill unless you need all the features, and WebMail is much safer for you.  Usually, WebMail is scanned for viruses, is filtered for spam, and will never get deleted if your computer crashes.  But one caveat - if you delete email, it is pretty much gone forever.  If you might possibly need it in the future, save it to your computer.

• For IM, you should never assume that the buddy you think you know is actually that person, unless you have traded IM screen names in the physical world.  Even so, you should never post personal details about you - your birthday, address, phone number, favorite color, etc.  Nefarious netizens can impersonate anyone.  And if you have IM'd anyone you don't know in the physical world, never, ever agree to meet them in person!  And don't assume someone you've been IM'ing for awhile is still the same person - people you know let their IM accounts get hacked every day.

• For the rest of social networking (Facebook, YouTube, etc.) follow the same rules for IM, and don't accept friends you don't know in the physical world, or friends that haven't been verified as "ok" through some other means (and email isn't one of them).  Never give your contact info out, avoid posting pictures that give away your physical location (street names, address numbers, etc. in the background), and don't post pictures or information that anyone would consider inappropriate - the internet has a way of hanging onto whatever you put there for a long time.  At some point, you don't want to be embarrassed, or worse.

• Lastly, don't respond to "unsolicited" anything in the online world - it doesn't matter if it's a noble cause, a great charity, a  catchy chain email...nothing.  There is no identity-verification on the internet (to speak of), and there are literally thousands of nefarious netizens working hard to generate this stuff to get your information, money, or just the use of your computer.  If you feel charitable, use your web browser, and type in the address of the place you want to go.  For that matter, we like the six-second research project, googling the terms of what you want, and just looking at the titles of the hits.  We often google those terms, and add other terms, such as spyware, virus, hacker, spam, rumor, urban legend, scam, etc.  Just look at the headings on the search results and there are usually enough hints as to whether something is risky or not.

Software (purchased or Downloadable):  Even if you are using the most expensive software, that doesn't mean that it's not buggy, has no security vulnerabilities, or will even do what it's supposed to do.

• First and foremost, don't install any software you don't really need.  Everytime you make a change to your computer (adding or removing software, updating software, etc.) you run the risk of something getting messed up on your computer.  This can be annoying, like slowing the system down, or disastrous, like trashing your computer completely.  If you haven't backed up your information, that can be brutal.  One of these days, there will be really useable software 'sandbox' environments where you can try out software without changing your computer, but the various offerings from companies aren't ready for for prime-time (imho).

• Do not ever install or enable file-sharing software, except perhaps between computers on your own local network.  Not just because it's usually illegal or at least unethical, but because it's also a back-door into your computer for hackers to get in and do real mischief (or damage).

• Keep your installed software up-to-date - we're talking about the commercial stuff you use such as Microsoft Office, and the (short list of) free software you can get from the internet.  That short list includes Quicktime, iTunes, Picasa, Adobe Reader, and Adobe Flash Player.  When you do get this free (and good) stuff, decline any offers for other free stuff - it is almost never worth it.

• A word about alternative browsers.  We have a slightly different view of the utility of such - they aren't worth it.  Hackers and the like are constantly finding new ways to do you wrong, and the more stuff you add to your computer, the more you have to work to keep it secure.  If you decide you want to use a 2nd browser (IE comes with all Windows computers), then plan on being assiduous about keeping it as up-to-date as you keep IE.  And don't assume that if you use an alternative browser that you can ignore IE updates - you still need them.  There is little more risky than out-of-date software that opens your computer to hackers. After all, they can get the same stuff you can, and they usually do it to reverse-engineer it, or find ways to get around security and compromise your computer.

• A word about hackers, spammers and other 'nefarious' netizens.  They aren't all bad guys, often they're just trying to make a buck like anyone else - at your expense (like, as in YOUR bucks!).  Spam is a cheap way to make money, send out millions of junk emails, and even if only one or two folks click on it, you are ahead and making money.  There are gangs of hackers in many places in the world, and they take over computers from unsuspecting folks, and then trade them like baseball cards - continuing to load spam programs and virus-like programs to capture information, spread their contamination, and open the door to still more stuff you don't need or want on your computer.  We implore you to NOT be a sucker for the stuff that washes across the internet - play (er, use) your computer wisely, and safeguard your information (not to mention sanity).

• Watch your taskbar - if new icons appear, that's evidence that your system is getting junked up. Feel free to use our if you need to, to get rid of the clutter.  We're hoping that with Windows 7 now available, there should be less opportunity for such - assuming you've followed our other recommendations! 

• Never, ever operate your computer without protection.  We mean protection against viruses, malware, spyware, hackers, and all the other threats.  And never let your protection lapse, they are almost always subscription-based.  Only use the current version of these programs (hackers can get them as easily as you can, and reverse-engineer them). If the protection program is stopping you from doing something (and you really want to do it), figure out how to adjust the protection program's controls to allow that action, don't just shut it off.  Gamers, I'm talking to you!

And finally, periodically check your system for damage, unintended software installations, and damaging activity.  Use the tools in our to help you keep your system clean, lean, and working for you!

Follow these tips and you'll likely keep yourself and your computer out of trouble.  And if ever in doubt about anything on the internet, take a moment and do an internet search - see if it looks suspicious.