The Cookie Monster – How Do Cookies Influence Internet Security?

A cookie is a small file that contains only text. It attaches itself to your hard drive for each website you visit during any given browser session. They are essentially messages for web sites that stay on your hard drive until you manually delete them, by yourself or with the help of software cleaning program. These cookies keep track of your activities on the web site itself. The message stored in the cookie file is an HTTP header that can be opened by the host web server at any point in time. The term “cookie,” is one well known within computer science lingo. It describes a clear piece of information held by an intermediary.

There are a number of different reasons a website might use cookies. Most sites use them to collect demographic data about the viewers. They look at how long you stay on their website, how often you come, and which pages you look at while you do. This can help companies refine their marketing strategies to meet consumer needs. For example, if you always visit the website after one a.m., and lots of other customers do too, they might launch a new ad campaign based on that information.

Another reason a website might use cookies is to offer you a personalized experience at the web site. The host server automatically assumes this is the first time you’ve visited the site if no cookies are present in your system. However, if the site deposits cookies on your hard drive, the host server knows you are a returning customer. You might have seen this before when you return to a website where you’ve made purchases in the past, and the header at the top says “Hello, Mr. Jones!” You may have wondered how they knew your name. It was the cookies they deposited on your system. Shopping websites may also make recommendations based on other purchases you’ve made from them in the past as the host server stores which pages you looked at and which pages you purchased from.

One final reason a website may use cookies is to monitor your advertising messages. Most sites run several banner ads at once. The cookies can help tell the host server which banner ads you’ve seen and which you have not. This can help the company from a business standpoint because they can tell advertisers that site viewers will see each of their ads an approximate number of times each time they visit the site.

Cookies do not compromise your internet security. In some fashion, they do compromise your privacy, but because cookies are simple text files, they cannot hurt your computer in any fashion. It is not a program. It is not a plug-in. It is not malware. It is not spyware. It cannot spread a virus. It cannot even access your hard drive information. Cookies only have six parameters that can be stored within them. Cookies can contain the name of the cookie. They can also contain the value of the cookie and the expiration date of the cookie. This is how long the cookie will stay active on your system. For example, if you visit a shopping website, they may deposit a cookie on your system that will stay active for seven days. After that, the cookie remains on your system, but the host server will no longer recognize it after that point. Cookies can also contain a path or URL. This means that any websites outside of this path are recognized as invalid, and other host servers cannot recognize a cookie from a different website. Cookies can also contain a domain. If one host server works for multiple sites, the cookie’s domain can tell it which of the sites to access. For example, if one company runs a banking website, a shopping website, and a charity website, the cookie will only be valid for one of the websites. If you use the shopping website, the cookie deposited to your system will not be good for the banking website. The final information a cookie can store is the need for a secure connection. Secure connections are used on websites where sensitive personal information is transmitted. A cookie with this information would prompt the host server to allow you to log in to their secure connection.

If you do not want your system to accept cookies, most browsers have a setting in their options menu that can help you reject cookies from websites to ensure your privacy from companies who deposit cookies on your system. It is a good idea to clean your cookies file on a regular basis.

Maintaining Your Privacy on the Internet – Five Things you can do

To Protect Yourself

Protecting yourself from predators on the Internet is very important for your teenager or child as well as yourself. Many people will try to get your personal information so they can have access to everything about you. If they can get your personal information, they can access your financial accounts, your credit records, and other valuable assets. You can be on guard and protect yourself from these thieves. According to the Federal Trade Commission, there are almost 10 million identity theft victims a year.

Five things you can do to protect your valuable personal information are:

Find out why you’re being asked for your personal information: your name, email or home address, phone number or Social Security number. If you share these items, find out how they will be protected. Be sure to tell your children to never give out a last name, phone number, or home address on the Internet. Never send personal information through email messages. Email is not a secure form of communication.

If you get a pop-up or email message asking you for your personal information, contact that company by clicking into their website and not following a link in an email or pop-up ad. If you are shopping on-line, don’t provide financial information such as a credit card number or bank account number unless you’re sure the site is privacy protected. Look for the lock on the browser status bar or by checking the website URL. If the website URL is https, the “s” on the end indicates it is a secure site. Read the privacy policies. The policy should always tell you if you have the right to see what information, the site has about you. It should also tell you what they do to protect your private information.

Know whom you are dealing with on the Internet. There are dishonest people everywhere but online you can’t judge someone’s character by looking him or her in the eye. It’s easy to pretend to be legitimate businesses so check out the seller before you buy. A legitimate business should have a working phone number and a physical address where you can contact someone in person if you have a problem. Another new way of getting a person’s personal information is by Phishing. For example, I deal with Paypal, an online pay system that is connected to my checking account. I am paid through Paypal for several of my jobs and I purchase through Paypal as well. There isn’t one week that goes by that I don’t get an e-mail asking that I update my information on my Paypal account or that someone has been trying to use it. They then request that you click on their link to go to the site to update information. Legitimate businesses don’t ask for personal information by e-mail. Always open a new browser window from somewhere other than the e-mail. Paypal has an e-mail you can forward a suspicious e-mail to and they will tell you if it is legitimate or not. That address is: spoof@paypal.com. I don’t even look at them anymore; I immediately forward them to Paypal. I also keep a very small amount of money in my Paypal account.

Free software and file sharing can introduce your computer system to Spyware that recognizes where you go and often connects you to other users who are running the same software. File sharing can allow someone to view other important information on your computer such as records and documents, tax returns, email messages, medical records, and other personal documents. Be careful of opening links in email messages. They could be loaded with viruses or can give a hacker an open line directly to your computer and all of your personal files. Some messages seem to come from names that you recognize but they may just be spelled a little different or have a slightly different last name.

Use and update anti-virus software and firewalls. This is a preventive measure and is important because it could keep you from getting a nasty computer virus or a worm that corrupts your computer beyond compare. Use anti-virus software that is routinely updated for the latest worms or viruses that might be circulating the Internet at that time.

Finally, yet importantly, if you’re not using your computer for an extended period, turn it off or unplug it from your phone line or cable modem. If it isn’t connected to the Internet, no one can get in.

Spies Everywhere - What is Spyware and Why is it so Bad?

What is Spyware? Why is it so bad? The definition of Spyware is: a category of programs that attach themselves to your individual operating system by opening or clicking on certain offers or pop up ads. They track your computing habits, where you go on the Internet and will trouble you with unwanted ads to generate visits to their Web site. Spyware is not a computer virus. A virus is a code designed to multiply itself as many times as possible and spread to computers that are connected to it. Viruses can be passed on through e-mail and attachments that are sent with e-mail.

Spyware does not usually damage your computer. It does get into your computer without your consent and hides in the background. It often makes unwanted changes and gives you targeted advertisements or leads your browser to special sites or search results. Some of the worst Spyware companies are Gator, Bonzi Buddy, and CoolWebSearch. Most Spyware only targets Windows operating systems. It can hog RAM and processor power causing your computer to run slow.

Spyware gets onto your computer by something you have done. You may have clicked on a pop-up window, adding a software package often called freeware or shareware, and agreeing to add a software package that is supposed to add new functions to your Web browser.

Piggybacked software installation, especially shareware or freeware often have Spyware included in their standard install. If you’re in the habit of downloading free software or shareware, you may download Spyware to your computer.

Another way of getting Spyware is a pop-up window, which automatically tries to download and install a program on your computer. You may only get a warning from your browser letting you know the name of the software and asking you if it’s ok to install it. Be careful what buttons you are pushing when items pop up on your screen.

Another method of picking up Spyware is through Browser add-ons. These are cute little animated pals or additional search boxes that may include elements of Spyware as part of the deal. Some add-ons are browser hijackers. These are hard to get rid of as they embed themselves deep in your computer.

One of the worst Spyware tricks is to masquerade as an anti-Spyware. It will try to convince you it is a tool to detect and remove Spyware from your system. We have all seen the little pop up box that looks like it comes from Microsoft Internet Explorer. It invites you to scan your computer free and get a free spam blocker. When you run the file, it will tell you that your computer is clean, but it installs additional Spyware of its own.

When Spyware runs an application in the background, it can generate many pop-up ads, which in turn will slow down your program. It can reset your home page every time you open your computer, or redirect your Web searches. It can control the results that you see and make your search engine almost useless.

Some types of Spyware can change Internet settings so when you connect through your dial-up service, it will default to pay telephone numbers. These can be expensive and you might not know it is happening until you are hit with a high phone bill. It can also change your fire wall settings to allow more unwanted software to be attached to your computer.

Some Spyware programs are used to make web traffic statistics look better then they are. They can force tons of pop-up ads and create fake search results. In this way, they can claim credit for displaying the ad to you repeatedly, and if you click the ad by accident, it counts as someone expressing interest in the advertised product.

Stealing affiliate credits is another use of Spyware. Shopping sites like Amazon.com and Ebay offer credits to a Web site that successfully directs traffic to their item pages. All affiliates want the credit for sending someone to their websites.

You can protect yourself from Spyware, by running a trusted Spyware detector and removal program. Three programs that are free and trustworthy are, Adaware, Spybot, and Microsoft AntiSpyware.

The Basics of Internet Website Encryption

Encryption is the process of hiding data or the contents of a message in a way that can only be recovered by using a corresponding decryption procedure. In cryptography, both encryption and decryption are very common techniques used to secure communications over the internet. There are a variety of encryption and decryption processes often called algorithms that are used. In cryptography, it’s become very hard to keep the logic of algorithms confidential. Particularly, when online, it’s usually easier to use a more popular public algorithm and to rely on an alternative form of security.

Cryptography uses a “key” which is a form of numbers in a long sequence of bits. The sequence of numbers is used by the encryption and decryption algorithms. As an example, the following sequence of numbers will act as a hypothetical 40 bit key: 000101 1101000001010 111001010 000001010101

An encrypted algorithm will take the original message with a key and alter the message numerically based on the bits in the key to create an entirely new encrypted message. Similarly, the decryption algorithm will take the encrypted message and reinstate it to the original form by using one or more keys. Sometimes there is one single private key that is used for both encryption and decryption. More often other algorithms use two keys, one for encryption and the other for decryption. In a case where there are two keys being used, one will be allowed to remain public, such as the encryption key, whereas the other remains private. Messages can not be read if the decryption key is not known. Basically, these keys provide the protection necessary when encrypting and decrypting communications online.

The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is used with current web browsers to secure online transactions, such as online banking, investing and e-commerce. The SSL encryption depends greatly on the keys by using a public key for the encryption process and a private key for the decryption process. Normally the strength or effectiveness of SSL encryption is measured by the key length and how many numbers of bits are in the key.

The 40 bit encryption became too easy to decode, by the use of brute force, which is basically calculating every possible key one by one. In order to increase the strength and effectiveness of SSL encryption, the creators of web browsers increased the strength of encryption to 128 bit. This increase is for your added protection because the 128 bit is much harder and almost impossible to decode. Internet security professionals expect the 128 bit encryption to work effectively for at least another ten years.

Internet security is not all hype, it’s very important to the online communities who use their computers for more than just playing games. Even if you only use your computer to send and receive email, it would be a good security measure to encrypt your email. If you encrypt your email so that only the intended recipients can read it, then that would prevent even the most dedicated hackers from intercepting your email and violating your privacy. There is also software available to enable you to digitally sign the email you send so that the recipients can verify who it’s actually coming from.

When you encrypt your email, you will have two keys, a public key and a private key. This kind of encryption is called Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). With PKI, you are the only one who has use of your private key, while your public key is given to anyone of your choosing or you can also make it available to the public. If your friend wants to send you an email that is only meant for your eyes to see, your friend would encrypt it by using your public key. When you receive the message, you will have to use your private key to decrypt the message in order to read it. Without decrypting the message, it would only appear to be a series of numbers.

It’s an important security measure to encrypt all of your email messages, not just the confidential ones or the one’s containing your credit card information. Although encrypting every single email message that is sent through internet space may seem like a hassle, it really is the best thing to do for your own security.

Key Logging Capers – Three Reasons Why You Need It

Spyware is a malicious problem on the internet. No matter the type of spyware, in order for it to work correctly, it must be able to run without the user shutting the computer down. Being hidden also helps the program to get installed in the first place. Because of this, spyware is usually disguised as a Trojan horse. This is a program that quietly runs in the background, inviting the user to run it, while spreading its malicious code. This code can do any number of things. There are a number of ways spyware is delivered, and as a Trojan horse is the most common. It usually comes with other pieces of software that a user might find interesting. This software is usually shared through a file-sharing network or downloadable off of the internet. Once the user installs the software, the spyware also gets installed. The most common reason spyware is infecting computers is for the profit of the malware creator. One type of spyware is a key logger. This allows the creator to sort of eavesdrop on your computer activities. Once infected with a key logger, the creator can profit from it by stealing important information like bank account information, credit card numbers, or contact information. It can steal the password information for your software licensing. This can mean some serious problems for you.

There are three good reasons to protect your self from key logging software. First, it can lead to identity theft. Identity theft accounts for twenty-five percent of all credit card losses in the United States. All a thief needs is your social security number; you birth date, and your contact information. Once he or she has any of this, they can get a fake ID, which will help them apply for credit posing as you. Because so many lending institutions are eager to issue credit these days, information is not properly verified, and the first account leads to more accounts. This ruins your credit. Even if they do not apply for new credit in your name, they can make full use of your current lines of credit just through the information they have captured with their key logging software.

The second good reason to protect your self is to keep from serving as the host machine for a computer virus. Key loggers have complete access to your system, and without your knowledge, you could be serving as a virus host in no time. You could be infecting other computers at random, destroying companies without a second thought. Protection is the key to avoiding this hassle.

The final good reason to protect yourself is to protect your privacy. You don’t want people spying on you in your own home, and that is exactly what key logging software is capable of. Shielding yourself, your kids, and your privacy is why protecting yourself is important.

You can start self protection by following the same kinds of rules you follow for protecting yourself from viruses. Do not download anything that you are not familiar with. Do not download programs from a website without a good reputation. Do not open e-mail attachments unless you are familiar with the sender. Keep your anti-virus program up to date. Keep your system up to date through Windows updates. You might also consider completely reloading your Windows operating system on a regular basis to completely protect your computer from any serious problems.

You can also protect yourself through a software program. There are a number of programs designed specifically to prevent key loggers from gaining access to your system. Anti-Keylogger can provide both your home computer and every computer on your business network with the protection you need from key logging software. It can even adapt itself to protect against unknown key logging software programs. It works silently in the background, meaning you will not have to activate anything for it to do its job. Moreover, it will not disrupt your system processes, so you will not experience any system slow downs with this software. There are a number of other good software programs available over the internet both at user cost and as freeware. Whatever you download, though, be sure to be careful or you might infect your computer with the very thing you were attempting to prevent. Protecting yourself from key loggers is essential for the privacy of you and your family.

Internet Anonymizers – Why and When You Should Use Them

Anonymizers are nifty pieces of software that let an Internet surfer visit web sites without having information gathered on them, such as which sites they visited. Anonymizers disable pop ups and cookies, and serve to conceal the IP address of the surfer. Most of them use a proxy server to process each HTTP request. When the user clicks a link or types a URL into a browser, the anonymizer retrieves and displays the information from its own server. The requesting server will receive information from the service and not the surfer, who remains anonymous.

Reasons for using anonymizers are to protect the user’s privacy and to bypass the blocking applications that would prevent access to various web sites or parts of web sites that the user wishes to visit. The U.S. Naval Research Labs and Lucent’s Bell Labs have pioneered the anonymous web surfing, and several commercial services are available.

Some of the services available pass the requests made through a series of encrypting loops, others use personal encryption software, and some run without encryption of any kind, but a variety are available depending on a web surfer’s needs. The popularity of anonymous web surfing services and software are similar to the way caller ID developed with telephone systems, followed immediately by call blockers that made anonymous telephone calls popular. Many of the anonymous sites work even better than caller ID and call blocker because they allow an individual to take on a totally different identity. The persona chosen is interfaced with and covers over the persona of the web surfer, providing total information anonymity. The web site you visit will never know you were there.

One of the popular uses for this type of thing is for competing businesses to check up on each other without the competition knowing they were there. Another use would be to check on web sites that are political in nature. Some political web sites can be extreme in their views. Many people are interested in what they have to say, but don’t want to take the chance of getting on someone’s mailing list and receiving Spam, especially from someone they may think is a nut. Using an anonymizer gives them that option.

The first anonymizer on the Internet was called Anonymizer.com, and it was developed in 1997 by Lance Cottrell while engaged in Ph.D. studies in astrophysics at the University of California, San Diego. He was a well known privacy advocate who also developed a widely used remailer called Mixmaster. Cottrell also established the Kosovo Privacy Project to let people use anonymizer services to report from the war zone in Kosovo in the late 1990’s without fear of retaliation. Many other anonymizers have followed him, many of them very popular, and many free.

A web surfer can visit every site anonymously by making an anonymizer the computer’s home page, and visiting all web sites from there. Bookmarks and favorites can be anonymized by prefixing the URL’s with the anonymizer site’s address. If you visit a web page through your anonymizer and bookmark it then it will be anonymized when you visit it in the future. A person can also visit web sites that require passwords without revealing any other information.

While anonymizers protect your identity during normal web surfing, they do have a few limitations. Anonymizers cannot usually process secure protocols, such as https: Also plug-ins may get around them. If you access a site that invokes a plug-in it may or may not establish direct connections with your computer that are, or are not anonymized. Also, while all anonymizer sites claim that they don’t keep logs of your surfing, some sites keep a log of all addresses accessed. However, they don’t keep a log of your connection with the site. Also Java is not totally compatible with anonymizer applications. Active X is able to access your computer after you initially sign up for it, so anonymizers will not necessarily stop Active X applications. However, for most standard uses anonymizers will provide the privacy protection that the average web surfer needs and desires, and will work well for most people.

Malicious Instant Messages—Three Ways Instant Messaging Compromises Internet Security

Instant messaging has grown in popularity in this fast paced world. If you are corresponding with someone via emails, there are certain steps you need to take. You will click on the e-mail, read it, reply to it, and send it back. Then you wait for the e-mail you just sent to be opened and you have no way of knowing if the person you are emailing is still on line or at their computer. Instant messaging cuts out many steps and provides instant communication with any of your contacts that are on-line.

Instant messaging programs allow you to have a list of key people that you want to interact with. Called a buddy or contact list, you will know when your buddy is on-line and can type messages back and forth as in real time. There is also the added benefit now of being connected to your buddy by web cam. This is a wonderful invention when it comes to children and grandchildren far from home. I love to see my granddaughters who live on the West Coast. It allows them to see my face and keep me fresh in their memory.

Instant messaging offers many advantages including chatting between friends on line, and creating your own chat room with family and friends. You can share web links to your favorite sites, play sounds to your friends and share files and photos. Many IM users use the computer instead of long-distance phone calls to talk to family and friends. One advantage to Instant Messaging that I like is that I can chat with more than one friend or family member at a time. The trick is to make sure you don’t post a message in the wrong window!

Instant messaging, with many other innovations on the Internet can sometimes carry a security risk. Without security measures, some users could potentially expose sensitive data and information to outsiders. Virus protection programs don’t scan these instant messaging files and that causes a real threat.

There are three basic ways that Instant Messaging can compromise your Internet security. One concern is that because you are unable to verify whom you are talking to, you could be giving out information to a competitor or someone intent on harming your or your computer. The second is, worms and viruses can be sent through Instant Messages, and Stealth programs can gain access to your computer and all your information. Third, it is easy to eavesdrop on IM conversations. If you have the computer knowledge, and many do, they can listen in on your chat conversations and learn important information that you would prefer to be kept private.

There are security choices when it comes to protecting your instant messages from being pirated. Some large and small companies are banning all Instant Messaging from company computers. They can install closed IM programs that will allow instant messaging as a useful tool within the company but keep out the threats from outside. Some companies are storing all instant messages sent and are able to pull them up and view them. If an employee is using an open IM to chat with their wife then the company is at risk for viruses and hacking. Software developers have created special software programs to make IM possible between company computers but no outside messages can be sent or received.

Monitoring of all company instant messages is widely used to combat the use of Instant Messaging for personal use and wasting company time. This allows small companies as well as the large ones to monitor what their employees are doing with their time. Companies are using archived instant messages to discourage sexual harassment and other workplace behavior, which is unacceptable.

Instant messaging is a wonderful tool but can expose your computer to viruses or worms. If you receive an instant message from someone you aren’t familiar with, it’s a good idea to not click on any links that are provided. The message may look like it comes from a friend but could harbor a virus or worm by downloading an applet that can install Trojan programs and install Spyware and adware. One popular link allows you to play a game, which pretends to catch Bin Laden. Computer operators who clicked on the game downloaded a program that snatched all of their IM contacts and sent them the same e-mail.

Protect your chats by being aware of the dangers. Don’t’ click on hyperlinks that you don’t recognize. Check your antiviral news page for current threats to instant messaging programs. As with all computer programs and innovations, common sense will help to protect your computer’s security.

Toolbar Traps - What You Should Know BEFORE Downloading that “Helpful” Toolbar

It seems like everyone on the internet is trying to push some helpful toolbar or another on you. They tell you need this one and that this other one is better than the one you already have. Those narrow rows of buttons that are used to access commands and give you all the options you need to navigate online can be quite pesky, especially when merchants are trying to convince you that you need more than one. Although most toolbars can be turned on and off, is it really necessary to have more than one?

Some toolbars can be very convenient when you need to gain access to a commonly used routine. Most toolbars contain graphics on the buttons while others offers drop down lists. They can be useful, if and when they are needed. If a toolbar design is consistent and made carefully, then it should speed up the users’ task by directly accessing important functions that are normally hidden on the menu. Too many toolbars can reduce their effectiveness by making the toolbars hard to find. Also, too many rows of toolbars will reduce your screen space.

Toolbars effectiveness is only increased by maintaining a certain level of consistency between other applications. Normally the main toolbar will always have a New, Open and Save button appearing in the first three buttons. However, in a browser application the first three buttons should be Back, Forward, Stop and Reload, exactly in that order.

Your toolbar should only have the most commonly used functions and not a bunch of buttons for every other menu item. You should have your toolbars appear below the main menu, as a default. Additional toolbars should be set up to be able to turn on and off as you wish. You don’t want a screen full of toolbars that you are not using. You should make sure that all of your functions remain accessible through the main menu bar, either directly or indirectly, you should be able to have access to them. Be sure to save the toolbars application position and contents as a part of the application configuration so you can easily restore it when the application resumes.

Never use vertical toolbars. The human eye scan’s horizontally, not vertically, and drop down lists can not be used vertically. The only time you should consider using a vertical toolbar is if the application window you are using requires more than three toolbars to appear below the main menu bar by default. Although, it would be better just to close the unused toolbars by default. Another reason would be if the configuration of the application window would contain a great deal of wasted space if a horizontal toolbar is used instead. If for some reason you feel you simply must use a vertical toolbar, then you can at least ensure another user the option to make the toolbar appear horizontally if they choose.

For every toolbar you choose, you should be able to select whether or not you want that toolbar to show at that time, and if you want to see graphics, text only or both. The user should also be allowed to override the control center toolbar defaults for that application in the Preferences dialog.

Most toolbars have controls that appear in a text label, preferably a single word, which would appear beside or below the control. For every control that appears on the toolbar, when you place your cursor over the selection, you should see a short and concise description of the control, but provide more information than the one word text label.

Be certain that whatever toolbar you choose to download will have some benefit to it and that you’re not just downloading it because it’s offered. You want to be careful with anything you download over the internet, because some downloads can carry certain risks. A simple toolbar can carry a devastating virus along with it or can download other items that you don’t want on your computer. Remember that everything you download takes up space on your hard drive. It’s up to the user to decide how much space they can afford to use and if adding the extra toolbars are really all that necessary.

Three Ways to Identify a Virus Hoax

One way to check on a virus to see if it might be a hoax is to check the following list. Popular virus hoaxes include: Iraq war hoax, internet flower hoax, intel special offer hoax, ICE virus mobile phone hoax, happy new year hoax, guts to say Jesus hoax, great gas out hoax, got you hoax, good times hoax, girls of Playboy Hoax, girl thing hoax, ghost exe hoax, fun prog hoax, good times hoax, ghost exe hoax, Zlatko, your friend D@fit, Y2Kgame, WTC survivor hoax, wobbler hoax, work hoax, win a holiday hoax, Windows 98 warning hoax, welcome to the matrix hoax, valentine greeting hoax, W32 torch hoax, WASUP hoax, unable to deliver hoax, tax return hoax, Phantom Menace hoax, pool party hoax, unable to deliver hoax, Irina hoax, join the crew hoax, joke flipped hoax, and many others

There are many viruses out there on the Internet, but many of them are not viruses, but are simply hoaxes. However, there have been cases in the past of a hoax starting out harmless, and then having a Trojan horse added to it, making many people susceptible because what they thought was harmless is suddenly quite harmful indeed. Never ever open an email attachment unless you are sure of it and know who it came from. If an attachment is suspicious, don’t open it.

There are many computer virus hoaxes out there, some spread by well meaning people. For instance, an automotive writer responded to a letter about a supposed but non existent virus in the onboard computer of Lexus automobiles with how frightening the thought of one was to him, which spread across the Internet and may have damaged sales of Lexus cars without good reason. Another well known virus hoax that occurred recently and was started by well meaning people was the sheep.exe hoax. Well meaning people were warning others about the commercial program, creating undue fear and a virus alert. Another false story circulated that Blue Mountain greeting cards contained a virus, and many people ceased to do business with this company based on a hoax.

If worried about being deceived by a computer virus hoax, here are a few tips to help you spot the hoaxes in the future. First, did a real computer expert send you the alert; was it your mother in law or your Brother Fred’s best friend? If it looks like a hoax chain letter it probably is one. Next, does it urge you to forward the chain letter to everyone you know? If it does then chances are it is a hoax. Legitimate virus alerts will not ask you to participate in mass chaos. Finally does the email offer a details page link? If it is a real warning it will summarize the information and link to a well respected site for more details. Remember though that some hoaxsters will include links to real websites trying to make you think they are real. Check out the website by typing it into your browser and if it seems to be a hoax, it probably is.

Many people get duped by computer hoaxes, telling all of their friends about these modern urban legends with great, but false and misguided authority. Most duped users don’t want to admit they were fooled. Remember, it takes a strong ego to admit a mistake, so encourage your friends who were fooled to own up to it. Their intentions were good. Give them a chance to fess up and you’ll be amazed at how quickly many people will try to make amends. So that you too don’t get caught in the trap, don’t automatically assume that any email you receive is accurate. Most people on the Internet receive chain letter emails, and oddly enough many people send them on for fear of harming a relationship with the person who sent it. Stopping the chain and stopping the insanity is necessary. Hoaxes and myths will continue if people continue to play the game and send the chain letters along. Don’t be a link in the chain.

Finally, knowledge is the key to stopping hoaxes and myths. Stay information. Don’t believe everything you read or hear until you check it out with another source. Be a shepherd, not a sheep.

Exterminate those Bugs on your PC

Even with all of the advancements in service and programming from software companies, it likely seems like there are more bugs than ever in the software on your PC. The truth is that most experts agree that there are fewer bugs per line of code than at any other time in the computer era. However, there are also more lines of code in existence than ever before, so even with a small percentage of bugs, there are actually a larger number of total bugs than ever before.

With the large overall number of bugs that are out there, you likely want to know how to get rid of them. Actually there are ways you can cut down on bugs in your system. It basically comes down to some simple maintenance and a little foresight.

The first thing you can do to rid your system of bugs is to make sure you always back up and restore before you install. By backing up you can restore the information that you may lose as a result of bugs. In case you have to later on, practice restoring your hard drive and any specific programs you may have on it. If you backup and you know how to restore, you will have nothing to fear in terms of bugs.

The second thing you can do to eliminate bugs from your system is to make sure you study up on any hardware or software you plan to buy. You can usually find information on them online where users have posted the problems that specific programs are causing. Consult your local ISP or computer security expert for the best sites where you can find the information about the bugs associated with certain types of hardware and software.

Thirdly, listen to what the companies say about their own products. Many companies will actually put information on their websites about bugs in their products. Research these postings so that you can either avoid the bad products or download the drivers and fixes the company offers.

Another way to eliminate bugs from your system is to, quite simply, be prepared. In other words, assume that a new resource will or can cause problems. Ask if there are any guarantees or offers of any sort of warranty. At the very least, make sure that the seller of the hardware or software you are installing offers some sort of tech support at least on a temporary basis.

Another way to avoid bugs is an idea that may not have occurred to you: don’t over upgrade. In most cases, when you have to upgrade either hardware or software, it leads to the need to upgrade another piece, and another. Each upgrade presents the potential for more bugs in the resource that leads to more bugs in your system. To avoid the problem, check to see what the upgrade entails. If you are doing fine with the “old” version and do not need or want any of the upgraded features, leave your resource as-is. In other words, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

Lastly, be sure you uninstall carefully after any install. Don’t just drag programs into your recycle bin, or just delete it. Doing so just leaves junk behind and also does not update your registry files. The program should have its own uninstall function, so use that instead. If, for some reason, the program does not have an uninstall program, then you should go to the add/remove function in windows. Your last resort should be to consider purchasing an uninstaller utility.

With an increase in hardware and software and new versions coming out every day, it only makes sense that there should be more bugs. Bugs in new utilities for your system can not only be annoying, but in some cases they can even be damaging to your computer. Do not fret, however, there are some simple things you can do to eliminate the presence of bugs on your computer. Make sure you educate yourself, pay attention to the type of software you are installing, avoid over upgrading, and be careful when doing uninstalls. As simple and obvious as those things may seem, they are key. By using those simple pieces of advice, you will soon have a bug free computer that will stay that way through your acquisitions and upgrades.