Woah Backup!

Burglary so we’re told is at its lowest rate for 15 years! The reason given is the cheap price for most of our favourite gadgets. Would you risk a ‘stretch’ for a DVD player that was given away free with a weekly shop?

This is obviously good news for everyone, so we can stop watching the windows and doors but maybe we need to start watching the other “Windows” in the house, the one that runs on your computer! Criminals may have stopped trying to get into your house for the time being but they are jolly well trying to get into your computer!

Fear not this is not some piece of scaremongering designed to make you never want to use your computer ever again or a way for me to drum up business, there are ways for us to stick two cyber fingers up at those criminals without costing the earth;

Anti Virus and Firewalls:
Please make sure that you have an Anti Virus running on your computer, it doesn’t have to be expensive, there are some very good free ones available. Whatever one you choose make sure that it is up to date. Most AV products will tell you when they need updating, and often its a simple case of ‘click’ and update.

Windows comes will a built in firewall which will stop most malicious intrusions, but again there are free ones available. A firewall is a software package that records normal activity both to and from the internet on your computer, when it detects something unusual happening it will block it and ask you whether you want to allow it. If its something you don’t recognise just allow the firewall to do its job.

Also most modern ‘Routers’ (the device you got from your phone company to connect you to the internet) from BT, Talk Talk etc. will have a built in Firewall so you can be reassured that you are being protected from most intruders.

Email Viruses and Malicious software:
So you’ve ‘locked your door’ and ‘bolted the windows’ so uninvited guests can’t get in, but what can you do when you’ve unwittingly invited something in to your computer?

Most malicious software is installed from web pages and emails, I’m sure you’ve seen the emails I’m talking about, sometimes it even looks like a friend hassent it, usually they advertise ‘men’s products’ errmm.

The simple rule is, if it looks weird, then it probably is, would Margerie from Beeding really be selling you well known male products??

I hope everyone is also aware that banks do not send out emails to their customers asking them to click on this link.

Rich’s Tip: Make sure Anti Virus and Firewall software is up to date.
- If the email looks suspicious delete it and definitely don’t click on any links within it.

If you follow these tips you would be very unlucky to have any problems.
However, these cyber criminals are an amazingly clever bunch (why can’t they spend their time doing something useful?) and sooner or later you may be unlucky enough to catch a cyber virus, and that brings me to the title above;
Backup, Backup, Backup...if criminals get your bank details most of the time you’ll be covered by insurance, but what if a virus gets in and makes all of your photo’s/documents unreadable and un-viewable. No insurance in the world can get those photo’s back so please make sure you have a backup in place. You can backup to a CD/DVD or even better an external device such as a USB data stick or an external hard drive (prices range from £2 to £100 depending on disc size)

Make it part of your weekly/monthly routine to copy those precious files onto these devices and store them safely, then if the worst happens those photos and documents are safe. So before you turn your computer off tonight, have you got a backup?

Happy New Year

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