Computer Help Items

A variety of articles, reports and guides to help with your computer skills and knowledge.

What is a firewall?

Connecting a computer to the internet makes it visible to every other computer on the network, and the opportunity for remote misuse this presents is huge. A firewall sits between a computer and the network to control which computers can connect to it and what services they can use.

A firewall is a device that controls the flow of communications across networks of computers by examining their source, destination and type - and comparing these with predetermined lists of allowed and disallowed transactions.

You need a firewall because once you're on broadband, your computer is continuously connected to the global internet and identified by a unique number - its IP address. So it's potentially visible to anyone else on the network, and malicious users may be able to gain access to it.

How does it work?

The firewall sits between your computer and the internet and permits or blocks connections between your computer and other computers on the net, according to rules defined by you. This can make it much more difficult to launch remote attacks on your computer.

There are two kinds of firewall - software and hardware. A software firewall is a program you install on your computer and a hardware firewall is a physical device that plugs into your broadband router and your computer via cables. They have the same basic function, but there are differences.

Increased security

A software firewall knows about the actual programs you are running, whereas a hardware firewall can only detect the generic nature of the services you are using - eg email, web access or instant messaging.

A software firewall can therefore make very precise decisions about what to allow or block as it can detect illegal attempts by specific programs to connect to the internet.

But it can be disabled by some malicious programs - 'malware' - if they do manage to infect your computer. A hardware firewall is more robust against such attacks, but it offers less precise control and is more complicated to set up.

If you have only one firewall it should be software. But it must be able to completely hide your computer from the internet except for specific connections your computer initiates. This is called 'stealth mode' and prevents attackers scanning your computer for weaknesses they could exploit.

Instructing your firewall

Once you've installed your software firewall, you must tell it what services you want to use and ensure it blocks everything else. It will have some basic rules built in, but will usually prompt you the first time any program you run requests an internet connection.

It's up to you to decide whether that's something you want to happen. If you just say 'yes' automatically whenever you get a prompt, your firewall will let everything through and will not protect you.

So ask yourself - does this request seem reasonable? For example, if your email program requests a connection when you try to send an email it makes sense to say 'yes', but if a program with a cryptic name you don't recognise suddenly asks for access, it might be malware and you should initially say 'no'. If what you were trying to do fails as a result, you might have to try again, saying 'yes'.Once you're sure the connection request is legitimate and necessary, you can make your decision permanent by ticking a box, thereby creating a rule your firewall will follow without prompting you again.

More than one firewall?

Finally, if more than one computer shares your internet connection, each should have its own software firewall. That will protect each computer independently against attacks from the internet and limit the spread of 'worms' between your computers.

This article is reproduced from the BBC Webwise internet pages.

What are Microsoft Updates?

Updates are additions to software

that can help prevent or fix problems,

improve how your computer works,

or enhance your computing

experience. Your computer will

be safer if it is set to download

these updates automatically.

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are combinations of two or more keys that, when pressed, can be used to perform a task that would typically require a mouse or other pointing device. Keyboard shortcuts can make it easier to interact with your computer, saving you time and effort as you work with Windows and other programs. There are hundreds of shortcuts. Learn as few or as many as you want. An example: to print: Ctrl + P. This means that you press and hold down the Ctrl key and press (just a gentle tap really!) the P key. There are too many to list here – but do a search within Google (type in: keyboard shortcuts) and there are plenty of websites with lists of these shortcuts.

Usernames, accounts and passwords

You have an email account. Your username for this account is your email address, and to access your emails you are required to enter a password.
Other examples where you will require the above information is when you use online banking, buy and sell on Amazon or EBay, use Facebook, Skype, and shop with any retail outlet online .... The list goes on and on!
The word account does not imply a financial transaction.

When deciding on a password – don’t use something that is too obvious! Don’t use your own name, or a partner’s name, or your birthday, or street name; try and think of something that is meaningful to you. As you can tell, as time goes by you will end up with more and more accounts that require a password. How will you remember different passwords? In reality, you won’t! I suggest keeping the same password for everything – but follow some basic principles:

Use a word that is a minimum of 8 characters and max 12
Use a combination of UPPER and lowercase letters
Use at least 2 digits

The reason for suggesting the above is that some accounts that you create will actually require you fullfill these requirements anyway. Example - your password is computer. Turn this into: COmPuteR123

Whatever you do - don't tell anyone your password - not even your computer tutor!

What is an Operating System?

Every computer needs an Operating System to work. Microsoft Windows is the most widely used operating system – versions of this system are XP, Vista and Windows 7. It’s a bit like an engine in a car – it’s the thing that makes your computer go!

Stay up-to-date & stay safe!

You wouldn't dream of leaving a brand new car unlocked and unattended in the same street as Thieving Keith the Car Thief, yet when it comes to computers, many of us do something very similar.

Unprotected computers are easy prey for viruses, malware and other online infections, and despite the very real dangers of identity theft, we'll accidentally - or in some cases, happily - share our most valuable personal information with the entire world wide web.

When fraudsters aren't trying to steal our identities, they're after our online banking details. Some of them are alarmingly convincing. Even the savviest computer owner has looked at an official-looking email and wondered whether it really is from the bank, or from eBay or Facebook, and legitimate-looking online shops can quickly part people from their hard-earned cash in exchange for products that never turn up.

The good news is that you can fight back. In the battle against net nasties, your PC can be your most powerful ally - and the utilities that you need don't have to cost you a thing. With a few cool tools, some useful information and some simple changes to the things that you post online, you can soon be much more secure.

Viruses, spyware and rootkits -

Malware - malicious software - has been around since the earliest days of the PC, and as computers have become smarter, it has too. While different kinds of malware do different things, they all have two things in common: they try to sneak on to your PC without being spotted, and they can be stopped with up-to-date security tools.

The most famous kind of malware is the virus, which works in much the same way real-life viruses do - if your PC is infected, it can infect other PCs it communicates with.

Viruses typically spread by email, but they can also turn up in infected files such as documents or downloads - and viruses called worms don't need to infect files at all, as they can spread by taking advantage of security flaws on computers.

Viruses and worms usually have a payload, and that's the scary bit. One of the nastiest kinds of payload is the rootkit, which gives someone else remote access to your computer. That access can be used to flood your computer with more malware, or it can be used to steal computing resources, for example by using your computer to relay spam emails or attack a specific website.

Another kind of payload is spyware, which sits on your PC and watches what you do, sending data to its operator. That could be something specific such as credit card information, or it could be everything you type or a list of websites you visit.

Malware can really ruin your day. It can redirect your web browser, taking you to a site of its choosing no matter what web address you type; it can plaster your screen with adverts; and it can slow your internet connection or your entire PC down to a crawl.

Spyware rarely travels alone - if a computer has one piece of spyware on it, it usually has tens or even hundreds of similar infections.

So how does it get there? It can be dropped on to your computer by a virus or a worm, or by a web page that takes advantage of unpatched web browsers - that is, browsers that haven't been updated for a long time, so don't benefit from the latest security updates.

It can be installed alongside a legitimate application - spyware is quite common in the world of free music programs, especially peer-to-peer downloading applications - or it can be tucked into a pirated version of well-known software.

The good news is that prevention couldn't be easier or cheaper.

No entry

You can fight malware in a number of ways. The first thing you need to do is ensure you have the most recent Windows Updates, and that you have the most recent version of Internet Explorer (or the most recent Firefox, or Opera, or…) as lots of malware takes advantage of security holes that were closed a long time ago.

Step two is to install good security software.

Should you splash out on a security suite? That really depends on personal preference. Many such suites offer all kinds of protection, including automated scanning, beefed-up parental controls and protection from every conceivable kind of problem, and they often offer extras such as PC tune-up utilities. In many cases, though, you can get similar protection by installing a few carefully chosen freebies.

Don't overlook the features in Windows itself: Windows Defender can help keep spyware and other nasties from infecting your system in the first place; the Malicious Software Removal Tool runs a monthly check for known worms; and Internet Explorer warns you of suspected malware and potentially dangerous websites.

Don't be lulled into a false sense of security, though - you still need to practice safe surfing. Unsolicited email attachments should be approached with caution, and you should never download a file you aren't completely sure about.

Staying away from the darker corners of the internet where pirated software lives is a very good idea, too, and not just from a moral point of view - you're much more likely to encounter malware on a dodgy download site than you are on more wholesome websites.

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/beginner-s-guide-to-internet-security-947930

Tony Balsdon. computer tutor

Helping older people unleash their digital talents