My Computer is Running Slow - What Can I Do?

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We have all experienced it. New computers run well at the time of purchase, but after a few months they seem to grind to a snails pace.

Computers in the home are often used by many people, who use the internet in many different ways. What some of us don’t realize is that the way we use the internet may be harmful to our computer.

Anti-virus products are designed to prevent viruses from infecting computers. BUT, they are only as good as the update file they use, to identify viruses. In most products, the update file is updated automatically. By scheduling regular scans on your computer will ensure viruses are kept at bay.

Malware (malicious software) and spyware are similar to viruses but operate in a slightly different way. They are generally designed to sit on your computer, and gather information.

Machines are often infected with malware to record details on the computer and send them back to the infector. The infector uses the information for financial gain and criminal activity.

Computers infected by malware are often slowed down due to the methods used in collecting information.

Free software downloaded from the internet such as Adaware and SpyBot Search & Destroy are great products to run and remove malware and spyware from your computer.

Such infections do however, come from the internet. To get a better understanding of the types of sites that are being visited, will help identify the possible risks these sites pose to your computer. Many sites containing free games or software have the potential to infect your machine unknowingly.

Criminals often infect free software with malware, as this is an easy way to infect a machine.

By installing monitoring software such as PC Pandora, you will not only be able to see what sites are visited, but also block certain types of sites you deem inappropriate.

How To Spot a Scam

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Scam artists have been around a long time, and as new technology evolve, so do the methods scam artists utilise, to prey on their target.

Many email scams have been doing the rounds over the years, and while most of us realise offers of huge sums of money are too good to be true, the criminals have come up with new ways to look for vulnerable suspects.

Phishing emails are those designed to ‘trick’ a suspect into clicking on a link. The link will usually take the person to a page that looks very similar to a business they transact with. It may be their bank, internet service provider, or another institution.

The common thread with phishing emails is this:

• The link site ALWAYS has a site address DIFFERENT to the legitimate one. An example of this for the ASB Bank may be: http://www.asbbank.com Where the correct internet address for this bank is: http://www.asb.co.nz

By taking extra time and hovering the mouse over the link, the internet address or URL will display for about 10 seconds. This is the key in identifying these scams.

However, it must also be stressed that there are other times whereby the legitimate site may be infected. In this case, the scammer may place a file on the site which could be hard to detect. An example of this could be: http://www.asb.co.nz/files/temp/banking/trick_file (where ‘trick_file’ is the file that may look like your banking logon page. Again, placing your cursor over the link will identify the location of the site you are about to be redirected to.

Remember, no legitimate business will EVER ask for a user name, password or account number using email.

Phone scams are the latest to hit our shores. We have seen several that may direct us to a site that will help clean viruses on our machine, or similar.

Remember, NO legitimate business will EVER ask you to on the telephone to click on links on the internet, unless you have made prior arrangements with them, such as a legitimate computer support company.

Cold calling requests to access your computer may infect your machine with spyware that has the potential to record passwords. These scam artists are looking for banking account details for financial gain.

Many Parents Turn a Blind Eye on Cyber Safety

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WebSafety NZ is concerned that many parents are turning a blind eye when it comes to the subject of cyber safety.

Over a 12 month period we ran several Internet Safety seminars presenting to parents on the subject of cyber safety. Although the seminars were well marketed by the schools, attendance remained poor.

We offer a service whereby we install cyber safety software on home computers and teach parents how to use the software. However, the service remains under utilized.

Our concern is that a lot of what children are exposed to on the internet is either not known or understood by many parents.

WebSafety NZ recommend that while educating parents and their children on the dangers of the internet is the first step, installing monitoring software remains an essential tool for a parent to understand how their children use the internet.

Children are engaging in social networking and creating profiles on sites such as Facebook as young as 6 years old. Facebook require an individual to be at least 13 to create an account. However, children often lie about their age.

Younger children are more likely to give away personal information freely when asked, and are not mature enough to understand the consequences of their actions. Monitoring children’s internet surfing is recommended by WebSafety NZ from the age of 5, or as soon as they start using the computer.