Tips For Smart Internet Browsing

The internet is a great resource for useful information, free entertainment, online social activities, etc. Unfortunately, the internet is also used by those with unscrupulous intentions to lure unsuspecting victims to buy into scams. So it pays off to be informed about these scams and to know how to prevent yourself from being an unsuspecting victim of such scams. That way, you can enjoy browsing the internet without headaches and without risking putting your most valuable information in the wrong hands.

When it comes to internet security it’s good to be proactive. It’s not enough to just have an anti-virus. Some viruses are designed to trick the user into downloading them. Trojans are an example of such viruses, once you click “download,” they can disable the anti-virus, take over and damage your computer. This can result in some expensive repairs sometimes, so the best way to avoid such infections is by educating the user. So, what can you do to reduce the risk of infections? Here are some things that I have found to be useful over the years:

•   First and foremost, have an anti-virus

•   Make sure your internet security settings, privacy settings and firewall are set to the recommended settings. If you are not sure how to do that, we can help.

•   Some anti-viruses like AVG, Norton and McAfee have enhanced online security features. These usually show a green circle or star with a white check mark next to the search results or something like that to rank a website as safe; based on user feedback. They show a yellow circle or star with exclamation marks to warn you of sites that you need to be cautious about. When you see a red circle with a star, that generally means stay away from that website! If you proceed to enter you may get something you did not want on your computer. If your anti-virus does not have online security features as listed above, McAfee has a free stand alone SiteAdvisor you can download. This will help you decide which sites to visit or stay away from.

•   Another thing to keep in mind is only get downloads from sites that you trust. If you are not sure, it’s better to do a little research on the site and read some reviews from other people who have used the site.

•   Only use your credit card on sites that use an accredited payment method and have a strict privacy policy. Make sure the website has a verified address and a customer service department to handle customer requests and inquiries. Most real businesses care about customer relations and usually have a phone number for customers to talk to a real person. If you can’t contact customer service, then you are better off not trusting that website with your personal information.

Parental control can be a stress saver for parents. You can access the parental control panel through the control panel. Only the person with administrative rights can set parental controls for the different users. If you only have one computer that is being used by all family members, I highly recommend creating accounts for each user. If you are not sure how to do that we can help. With parental control you can increase online safety for your kids by restricting the websites they can or cannot visit. You can also regulate the changes they can make on the computer which prevents them from downloading anything that can be potentially harmful to the computer without your permission.