Computer damage

The dangers Computer programs can get onto your computer and cause damage Junk s (called spam) and junk instant messages (called spim) sent to you and your children can contain dangerous and offensive material such as pornography People known as ‘hackers’ can get into your computer without your knowledge when you are on the Internet to steal or damage the information you have stored on it Without your knowledge, special software may get onto your computer that spies on what you are doing with the aim of stealing personal details about you and your family Your children may unintentionally erase important files of yours stored on the computer

Malicious software Software that designed to infiltrate or damage a computer is called malware It is the general term for a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software – the term includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, rootkits, spyware, and adware

It is on the rise According to the Internet Security software company F-Secure: –"As much malware was produced in 2007 as in the previous 20 years altogether.”

Viruses and worms The best-known types of malware - viruses and worms - are known for the way in which they spread Viruses spread by the user doing something – like opening an infected attachment – whereas worms spread automatically

Virus growth 100s of new viruses are produced every week The main way that they spread is by way of s s that have files attached to them – called attachments – which may contain viruses. You will be able to recognize if an has an attachment because there will be a paper clip symbol next to it in your inbox on your software

Viruses If an attachment does contain a virus and you ‘double click’ on the attachment to open it, the virus will become active When active, some viruses delete important files from your computer, while others send confidential information you may have stored on your PC onto other people

Anti-virus software You can protect your computer from viruses with what is called anti-virus software (AVS) A number of different companies produce such software Sometimes new computers come with anti-virus software pre-installed These days anti-virus software is an absolute must

Trojan horses A Trojan horse is a malicious program which comes disguised as something innocuous or desirable – the trojan can do many undesirable things, such as deleting all the files on the computer, or more commonly, it may install further harmful software to serve the longer-term goals

Spyware Spyware is software that secretly gathers information about a user while they surf the Internet This information is normally used for advertising purposes Spyware can also gather information about addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers One of the most common ways that spyware is distributed is as a Trojan horse

Types of spyware There are different types of spyware, including: –Adware bombards you with adverts as you surf the web based on the websites you look at. It is annoying rather than dangerous, though. –Browser hijackers change your browser’s start page and, for example, send you to search engines that they want you to visit.

Key loggers Some spyware programs install a key logger, which copies down the keystrokes when users enter a password, credit card number, or other information that may be useful to the creator

Spyware and predators Very worryingly, stalkers and paedophiles are increasingly using spyware to monitor their targets

Anti-spyware software For more information about software to combat spyware visit the following websites:

Rootkits A rootkit allows the concealment of malware by modifying the host operating system so that the malware is hidden from the user

There’s money in malware In the early days malware programs were created as a form of vandalism or prank but recently, most malware programs get written with profit in mind Spyware for gathering information about computer users, showing them pop-up ads, or altering browser behaviour being examples of this

Spam Spam is the Internet equivalent of junk mail It is the word used to describe you did not ask for

Opening the floodgates Unintentionally you can open yourself up to receiving spam and once you’ve opened the floodgates it can pour into your inbox at an alarming rate

Spam These days most spam is sent by unscrupulous businesses and people based overseas Some s are sent by companies trying to sell you something whilst other spam contains offensive material While some companies use unsolicited to promote legitimate products, a lot of people use it for scams The Federal Trade Commission in the USA recently conducted a study and found that most spam is fraudulent

Spam Never open and never to reply to spam - this is because spammers often put tiny bits of programming code into s called beacons. Whenever you open an containing this code you end up telling the spammers that your account is live – you will then receive more and more spam from them. Plus they’ll tell their spamming friends and you’ll get junk from them too. Never click on any links contained within spam s You can reduce the amount you receive but - because of the sheer volume of spam you can probably never eliminate it completely

Anti-spam software Anti-spam software examines your s and filters out ones that fit certain patterns They also look at where s are sent from and certain word combinations They are not perfect, however – some legitimate s will be screened out and some spam will inevitably slip through the net

Spim Instant messaging spam is called spim It is a growing problem with 1 in 20 instant messages estimated to be unwanted

Spim 70% of spim messages are pornographic, 12% promote get- rich-quick schemes and 9% market products Almost all spim messages take the form of short one-liners with links to websites – never click on these links

Mobile phone viruses Unfortunately viruses no longer simply affect computers

Cabir The first ever virus capable of spreading between mobile phones, Cabir, was discovered in 2004

Windows Operating System and browser problems is not the only way that viruses can get into your computer They can also get in because of flaws in operating systems such as Windows

Browsers Vulnerabilities can also exist with web browsers such as Internet Explorer Hackers and malware can exploit these defects and get viruses in through these ‘back door’ routes

Security patches You can solve the problem by always making sure that the versions of your operating system and browser are up-to-date The company that produces Windows, Microsoft, creates updates - called patches – every time they discover a defect in Windows or Explorer

Security patches Only ever install Microsoft Windows software updates and security patches from their official website They never distribute these patches by so if you ever get an which mentions that it contains a patch, delete it - it will almost certainly be malware

Hackers Your computer is at risk from attack by hackers any time that you are on the Internet – and this is particularly true if you have a fast, broadband Internet connection This is because when you are online your computer has a number, called an IP address, which can be seen by other people who have the required technical knowledge Using it they can get into your computer without you knowing

Firewalls You can protect yourself against such attacks with what is called a firewall, which in effect stands guard at the entrance to your computer and stops hackers getting in

Firewalls You can have firewalls which are pieces of equipment or, more commonly for home users, there are software firewall programs Once you’ve installed a firewall it's a good idea to test it every so often – ShieldsUp is a service you can use to do that ShieldsUp

Other ways of protecting your computer Other ways of protecting your computer files: –Even if you’ve got a firewall and anti-spyware software it’s still a good idea to ‘password protect’ or encrypt (that is, scramble) files on your computer that contain confidential information, such as private correspondence or credit card details – if by any chance, your children or someone else does get hold of these files then they will not be able to read them –If you have Windows XP Pro you can encrypt files using the Encrypting File System facility –If you do not, then you can buy encrypting software quite cheaply - one very good example of encryption software is PKZip (

Backups You should also do regular back ups of the important files on your computer - this is in case they get deleted by accident or in case your computer gets damaged by a virus and cannot be switched on again There are many ways of doing a back up – such as saving files onto CDs - but one of the best ways is to do it online This means that your files are saved outside your home, which is doubly safe There are many companies that provide this kind of service – is one very good examplewww.carbonite.com