Musubi Designs

Protect Yourself

The Internet is a safe place as long as you use common sense and are aware of common issues. Why not look at some easily understood books on this subject? You need software to protect against:

• Viruses
• Hackers, malicious intruders and fraudsters
• Spyware & Adware
• Spam

Protect yourself - Purchase software to protect yourself...

---

Remain Vigilant

Once you have protected yourself, you must remain vigilant by keeping your protection up-to-date.

• Keep your operating system up-to-date and safe by regularly visiting the appropriate site to download:
  • operating system upgrades
  • security fixes
• Keep your anti-virus protection up-to-date - new viruses and threats appear every day!
• Keep your anti-spyware protection up-to-date - if you do not, you become vulnerable to new threats.

---

Be safe online

It is safe to purchase online. You should, however, consider the following:

• Use reputable, well-known companies.
• When entering credit card details, ensure that the padlock is present in the bottom, right-hand part of your browser. This shows that your details will be protected.
• Close your browser after a purchase, to remove any private details from the browser memory.
• Check your credit card bills each month. Should any odd transactions occur, your credit card company will usually reimburse you.

You should manage your passwords carefully:

• Don't use obvious passwords e.g. your date of birth or girlfriend's name.
• Choose a password that contains letters and numbers.
• Change your passwords every so often.
• If you must write them down, do not make it obvious what they relate to.
• Activate the password to access your computer.

---

Viruses

A computer virus is a computer program that produces copies of itself and usually hides in other programs or files. They usually perform malicious actions such as destroying data. There are different categories of viruses, such as macro viruses, worms and trojan horses.

You need a virus protection programme to protect yourself and, critically, you need to keep the protection up-to-date, as new viruses and types of viruses are detected every day.

To protect against viruses and remove infections, Musubi Designs use and recommend Norton Internet Security 2006, which provides protection against intruders, viruses and spam.

Protect yourself - Purchase Norton Internet Security 2006

Hackers, malicious intruders and fraudsters

To protect yourself from hackers, malicious intruders and fraudsters, you need a firewall. The name "firewall" derives from the term for a barrier that prevents fires from spreading. A computer firewall is a barrier between your computer and the outside world and is the first line of defence in protecting your private information from hackers, malicious intruders and fraudsters.

Without the proper protection and awareness, you may be liable to intruders taking control of your computer, stealing and misusing personal information, corrupting your software, spying on your activities and installing Spyware & Adware. To protect against intruders, Musubi Designs use and recommend Norton Internet Security 2005, which provides protection against intruders, viruses and spam.

Protect yourself - Purchase Norton Internet Security 2005 now ...

Spyware & Adware

Spyware, also known as adware, is a common term for any data collection program that secretly gathers information about you and relays it to advertisers and other interested parties, such as fraudsters and malicious parties. You can unknowingly install spyware by installing a new piece of software, most commonly a piece of freeware or shareware you may have downloaded from the Internet.

Spyware can:

• track your Internet browsing habits and provide advertising companies with marketing data
• can adversely affect your computer's performance
• start annoying advertising pop-up windows
• expose you and your family to extreme images and sites
• redirect your browser to other sites
• monitor your computer, waiting for recognisable personal information to be used (credit card details for instance) and transmit it to fraudsters
• corrupt your computer

Protect yourself - Purchase Internet Essentials...

Spam

Spam is unsolicited e-mail.

Spam can:

• contain offensive material and links to extreme sites
• can adversely affect your computer's performance
• contain viruses, even by viruses hidden in images
• corrupt your computer
• contain fraudulent advertisements
• appear to be from legitimate sources in order to obtain private details
• fill your e-mail inbox, preventing delivery of genuine mail

Increasingly, many fraudsters are sending e-mails that appear to be from official companies, in particular banks, asking you to confirm your online banking details. They look authentic, with the proper logo and company details, but never respond to such requests. This type of spam is called "phishing", where the fraudsters are attempting to deceive people into revealing personal and financial information, fishing for enough information to commit fraud against you. Legitimate companies will never request your details online.

To protect against spam, Musubi Designs use and recommend Norton Internet Security 2005, which provides protection against intruders, viruses and spam.

Protect yourself - Purchase Norton Internet Security 2005...