The Internet offers a nearly limitless amount of information and resources. However, you must be careful while you are out on the web. Malicious programs such as Viruses or Trojans can damage your computer or let an outside intruder take over. Some web sites contain adult oriented material which are not meant for children. Unfriendly people will try to use your personal information to their gain. Fortunately, there are things you can do to help make time spent on the Internet safer and more enjoyable for you and your family.

Protecting your Computer

Viruses and Trojans

A computer virus is a program that invades your computer system, hides there, and makes copies of (replicates) itself. Viruses spread when you launch an infected application or start up your computer from a disk that has infected system files.

Viruses behave in different ways. Some viruses stay active in memory until you turn off your computer. Other viruses stay active only as long as the infected applications are running. Turning off your computer or exiting the application removes the virus from memory, but does not remove the virus from the infected file or disk.

Some viruses are programmed specifically to damage the data on your computer by corrupting programs, deleting files, or erasing your entire hard disk.

All computer viruses are manmade. A simple virus that can make a copy of itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce. Even such a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and bring the system to a halt.

Trojan horses are not viruses; however, they are often thought of as viruses. A trojan horse is a program that appears to serve some useful purpose or provide entertainment, which encourages you to run it. But, like the Trojan horse of old, it also serves a covert purpose which may be to damage files, or let someone take control of your computer.

Anti-Virus and Anti-Trojan software are relatively inexpensive and when used properly can keep your computer safe from these threats as well as remove any in case you do become infected. Keep in mind though, new viruses and trojans are found every day so you will need to keep your software up-to-date. Fortunately many Anti-Virus and Anti-Trojan packages allow you to check for updates while you are online.

Norton Anti-Virus and McAfee Anti-Virus are 2 of the more popular choices to detect and remove viruses from your system.

The Cleaner is an excellent Anti-Trojan program to help detect and remove trojans from your machine.

Patches and Updates

Your computer can do wonderful things. However, sometimes the program you install on it may have a "bug" or programming error where it doesn't function the way it should. Most companies make patches available online. A patch is often a small snippet of code that fixes or removes the error in the application. Keeping up-to-date on the latest patches available for your computer (including the Operating System itself) will help prevent someone from taking advantage of these errors.

Sometimes the company decides to release a small revision to their product. While it may contain patches, sometimes new features are released to make using the product easier or to take advantage of a new standard. Most times, these updates are also free provided that you own the original product.

Windows Update is where you can go for most of Microsoft's Internet related products, such as Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Windows Media Player, and Windows 9x/ME/XP operating systems. By checking this site you can find the latest fixes for your computer along with the newest updates to make web surfing better.

For more information about keeping your computer secure, we suggest checking out the highly informative web site that software designer Steve Gibson has created. http://www.grc.com. While some of the information may be a little technical, much is written for people who are not computer experts. It's a great place to go when you want to learn about what else you can do to keep your computer safe.

Protecting Yourself

The Internet is an extension of the real world. As such, the common sense you use for most day to day things will help keep you safe online as well. Some had been mentioned already, such as not giving out personal information to people you meet in Chat Rooms and to shop online through secure servers only. Intrex also offers an inexpensive filtering service that will protect you and your family from accessing web sites that may contain graphic or explicit (adult) information.

Just always keep in mind, if you are uncomfortable with something, be it going to a web page, or "Click here to win $1,000,000", or talking with someone, then don't do it. Let how you do things in the "real world" be your guide to how to act in the Internet world. If you are a parent, educate your children about the dangers that are online. Doing so should help keep you and your family safe, and make being online much more enjoyable.