Most people, when they get on the Internet, do the same thing that everyone else does on it, and that is surf.

People may have a couple of sites that they go to on a regular basis but for the most part they surf around the net.

This, of course, is the best part about the Internet – the ability to travel around the different web sites and see places and things that you may have never known before.

There is a dark side to all of this wonderful discovery that you can do on the Internet though.

The dark side is that when going to sites that you don’t know you can always pick up a virus or some other type of malware.

Of course this can happen on any type of website but is more likely on some types than others.

Whilst many of the following can be perfectly safe, the risk of picking up a virus may be higher from these types of sites -

Beware Of Adult Sites

The first type of site that can cause you damage whilst you are surfing the Internet are adult sites.

Maybe 99% of adult sites are safe but there are a minority that can cause your computer to have serious troubles.

Adult sites are known to attract very high amounts of traffic so they are a favorite of Hackers trying to target innocent victims.

Another attack vector that has been used lately is planting viruses in the adult tube sites that have popped up in increasing amounts lately.

The technology that runs the site and shows the video is known as Flash.

This technology is known to have serious exploit problems if the right safeguards are not in place.

Make sure that you are extra vigilante when surfing adult sites.

Beware Of Warez Sites

The second type of site that is known to cause a lot of trouble to a person’s computer are sites that are known as warez sites.

Warez sites are web sites that people go to to get pirated software, serial numbers, etc.

These types of sites are breeding grounds for malicious hackers trying to inject very nasty software into your computer.

When you are visiting a warez site you are generally asking for trouble, not only in terms of copyright violations, but from malware too.

Not only can the site itself  pose a security risk but any software you download may well do so too.

Beware Of Credit Card Offer Sites

The third type of site that can be a potential problem for your computer when you visit are credit card offer sites.

These sites set up a sweet attractive low interest offer and then in the background can download a Trojan onto your computer.

A relatively new attack phenomenon, these sites are increasingly becoming more dangerous.

These sites are being used more and more by Hackers for phishing schemes and planting Trojans onto your computer.

These types of site attacks are increasing all over the Internet.

This is a fairly new attack vector but with credit cards now a little bit harder to get people are falling for these traps more readily.

Stay Safe

I’ve showed you several different types of sites that you must be aware of when surfing the Internet.

For the most part these types of site are safe to visit.

But…

When a Hacker decides to strike, these types of site are usually on the top of the list.

I’m Scared Of Getting A Virus – What Sort Of Sites Should I Be Wary Of? is a post from: Scam Types dot Com Check out The Best Internet Security Programs Of 2009

Having your computer data backed up is vital these days.

A lot of us store up really important information on our computers and would be at a total loss if that data were to become corrupt or otherwise inaccessible.

Some people think that you can only backup your data with CD’s or Floppy discs but they are wrong.

Online Backups

Not only can you back up your data with CD’s but you can also backup all of your files online without ever using a CD.

You will find that there are many websites that you can join that will allow you to log in whenever you want to store and retrieve your data.

There are some sites that are free and other sites that you have to pay for.

A lot of businesses are backing up their info online just because it’s more convenient.

When you decide to back up your computer data online, make sure that you trust the website.

Review the policies and see what people say about them.

Email the company online before you make your decision as to whether you would like to go with them or not.

Another reason why this might work for someone is when they don’t know how to back up the data themselves and need help.

A lot of the websites online love helping and will answer any of the questions that you have.

Don’t Forget Basic Security Procedures Though

Never place data onto a third party website that is really personal or critical though because people do occasionally hack into websites online and could then get all of that information.

This doesn’t happen a lot but you should still remember that there is a chance of that happening.

The other downfall is if you don’t have another computer in the house, and if you don’t have anyway of getting online, you won’t be able to access your data.

If you feel uncomfortable with backing up your data online, you can still back it up yourself with a USB drive or with CDs.

With so many options available to the public right now, there isn’t really any excuse for people not to backup their data.

No-one wants to think about their computer crashing but the thing is it can happen regardless of how protected your computer is.

Backing Up Your Computer Data Online is a post from: Scam Types dot Com Check out The Best Internet Security Programs Of 2009

The most important and challenging thing for computer users is protect their computers against all threats like viruses, worms, and other malware.

There is an old saying that ‘prevention is better than cure’ so protect your computer with the best antivirus you can get now.

Many viruses, worms, and other types of malware are released every day and most target machines that run Microsoft Windows operating systems.

As you are probably aware, Microsoft has just released the newest version of their operating system – Windows 7.

As ever, it promises to be more secure than previous versions but which are the best antivirus programs you can use with Windows 7?

AVAST! Windows 7 Anti Virus:

Avast! antivirus is one of the top antivirus programs that is known to be compatible with Windows 7.

Avast! is offering full desktop security including a resident shield.

Besides good performance it also offers the following -

• It is very easy to use and doesn’t take up too much system resource.
• Comes with changeable skins so you can customise a look you feel happy with.
• Anti-spyware protection is included.
• All Avast! products are available to download for a free 60-day trial period.

Trend Micro Antivirus for Windows 7:

Trend Micro Antivirus is one of the top 5 antivirus programs which is compatible with windows 7.

Trend Micro is an antivirus company based in Japan ant they offer some exciting features -

• Trend Micro provides security for your computer against computer viruses, worms, Trojan horse programs, and related security threats.
• It blocks virus infections that arrive via emails.
• It provides excellent protection for your PC.
• This groovy antivirus program protects your files from being sent without authorization.
• Trend Micro Antivirus does not interrupt playing games or watching videos while scanning.

Take 10% Off Trend Micro AntiVirus plus AntiSpyware 2010. Coupon Code: trendtav

AVG Antivirus for Windows 7:

The most familiar antivirus program for many computer users is AVG, a product from AVG technologies.

AVG is compatible with Windows 7.

Many people use AVG because of its excellent features such as -

• Having a good user interface that is simple to understand.
• Having a quick installation time that doesn’t require your system to be rebooted.
• AVG has come up with three new components called Web Shield, Link Scanner and AVG Toolbar.
• Link checker is from Exploit Prevention Labs – the main advantage of this technology is to block dubious content in websites.

Kaspersky Antivirus:

Kaspersky, the Russian security specialist, offer an antivirus program with the following benefits -

• The new Kaspersky is attuned for Windows 7.
• Kaspersky provides real time scanning of files, web pages and e-messages.
• It scans and protects your PC against all viruses, spyware, phishing attacks and identity theft.
• Has an excellent look, very ease to use and has a good user-friendly interface.

The newest feature is Kaspersky Toolbar for Internet browsers to warn you about infected or unsafe websites.

Check out the Kaspersky Lab Online Store for more information.

AVIRA Antivirus Software:

Another windows 7 compatible antivirus is Avira antivirus.

This program offers the following features -

• Avira is provided with a free version option.
• Good user-friendly interface..
• Virus database is automatically updated.
• Automatically blocks websites which may harm your PC.

Overall the new Avira is compatible with windows 7 without any problems.

Which is your favourite antivirus program for Windows 7?

The Top 5 Antivirus Programs For Windows 7 is a post from: Scam Types dot Com Check out The Best Internet Security Programs Of 2009

Hopefully you strive to keep your family safe and protected in every possible way.

Sometimes there are risks on the Internet that are greater than those you may come across in the real world.

For that reason you need to be vigilant and cautious at all times and that means becoming wise in the ways of cyber security.

Cyber security not only allows your family to protect itself from the dangers involved on the Internet but also ensures that your computer is safe from your family.

Just by altering the ways in which you use your computer you will enable yourself to stay safe and secure from online dangers.

Kids are usually inquisitive and curious about all the things that they find new and interesting.

So, as a parent, it is your responsibility to ensure that your kids are able to learn about new technology but at the same time you also need to take care of their safety.

You need to balance things out for them by trying to keep your kids away from the things that you think might be misused whilst not blocking them from the Internet or computer completely.

Your kids could be using the Internet to work on their homework or project or for playing online games which are all valuable pursuits in their own ways.

However their lack of knowledge, or other peoples’ devious ways, could cause them to find themselves on malicious sites that could install malware on your computer, or porn sites which you simply wouldn’t want your children to view.

Of course if that were to happen then your children might not tell you about the incident, fearing punishment and so you would have a hard job ensuring that it didn’t happen again.

Malware and porn aren’t the only threats though – the Internet has become a huge platform for people who look to cheat and swindle others.

There is a certain level of anonymity on the Internet still and this fact encourages cyber criminals to deceive people on the Internet in order to take as much money as possible from them.

Even well educated adults fall prey to such online predators.

Below are some of the ways which will help you to protect your family from cyber dangers -

Stay With Your Kids While They Spend Time On The Internet

Make sure that you stay with your children while they are using Internet.

It might not be possible for all parents to get involved with their kids while they are on Internet because we all have busy lifestyles nowadays but you can certainly keep a casual eye on what they are doing at the very least.

You can view their browsing history to check the web sites they have visited.

You can also ensure that your kids do not get involved in activities such as sending emails to, and chatting with, strangers.

Educate Your Children About Online Dangers

It is necessary to educate your kids about all the risks and dangers involved with the Internet.

Once they get to know such facts, they will be more vigilant and careful.

Make them clear of the sites they should visit and the types of sites which are not meant for them.

Do not frighten them but set limits to their Internet usage so that you can keep things under control.

Create Separate User Accounts To Keep Your Data Safe

Recent operating systems, such as Windows 7, allow you to create individual accounts for all the users of the computer onto which they are installed.

You can opt to create separate accounts for your kids.

This is one of the ways to keep your files and data protected from the mischievous activities of your children!

If you do not prefer to create separate accounts then it is advisable not to use add-ons which are meant to remember passwords and other important information (which can be accidentally used) leading to serious loss.

There is a wise saying that “Prevention is always better than cure.”

So make sure that you use updated antivirus programs featuring utilities such as firewalls to ensure the safety of the data stored in your computer.

You can use kid browsers which ensure the safety of your files while your kids are accessing Internet or you can edit the options of your default browser to ban the web sites which you feel would be harmful to your child.

Here is how -

Tools>Internet Options>Content>Click on ENABLE under Content Advisor.

The powers that be have understood the need for cyber security and so they have come forward to offer their services to ensure your kids’ protection whilst they are using the Internet by blocking the sites that are not meant or suited for them.

Open Communication Is Key

If possible, set up your computer in a place where you can easily keep an eye on who is using it and what they are doing with it.

This will surely make your children think before they do anything wrong on the computer.

Having a flexible relationship with your family members is beneficial in all aspects of life – such a relationship will make your children come to you and tell about the things they have seen and done on the Internet.

This kind of relationship not only enhances the cyber security of your family but also develops a strong bond amongst yourselves, helping you grow and stay safe and happy as a family.

Cyber Security For Families is a post from: Scam Types dot Com Check out The Best Internet Security Programs Of 2009

The Internet in many ways is still like the wild wild west.

Overall it is safe but there are bad guys lurking around every corner that will try to infect your computer and steal your information.

Luckily most attacks can be easily thwarted by the right technology and common sense.

To use common sense though, it helps to know the different ways that your computer can be attacked.

One of these ways is through a technique known as a Trojan.

I will explain what it is and how to avoid getting your computer infected by one -

If you know your Greek mythology then you would know that the Greeks used a giant wooden horse to enter the gates of Troy to finally conquer them.

Trojan Infection

A Trojan infection on your computer uses a similar methodology.

A Trojan on your computer masquerades around as a simple little innocent program that will not hurt a flea.

It may look like the latest coldplay mp3 or might look like a word document that someone has sent to you.

Trojans have also known to pretended to be real upgrades to different programs on your system, such as a Microsoft upgrade.

That is why it pays to go directly to the vendors site and download the upgrades from there.

The Trojan will look innocent until you double click it to try to run the program.

It will then make its intentions know on your system.

After the Trojan is run on your system, most of the time you will not even know that it is running.

It will hum along in the background, very quietly, performing a function that you will not know anything about.

Password Stealing

Some of these functions maybe stealing your passwords, becoming a botnet that someone else is using, viewing your screen as you are working, and all kind of other nefarious stuff that you do not want to think about.

Trojans are very bad news on your system, so you must be prepared to stop them from getting on your system.

There are several ways that you can avoid getting a Trojan on your system.

Most of the ways that you can avoid such a fate involves common sense on the user part.

Also a little technology to go along with that common sense will go a long way to helping to achieve these goals.

The first that you will want to do, as we discussed before, is to avoid downloading software updates from any web site other than the vendors own web site.

Also when you download software make sure that it is from a trusted web site.

If you have never been to the web site before do not download software from it or at the very least keep your guard up.

Another step is to avoid accepting email attachments from unknown senders.

This is one of the most prevalent ways of spreading Trojans to people.

Always Back up!

After you have used your common sense to avoid getting a Trojan on your system it will help to have a little back up.

Back up usually includes having a good antivirus program running on your system.

A good anti virus program will detect contamination as soon as it introduced onto your system.

There are numerous different vendors that are out there for you to choose from so read up a little about them to see which one suits your needs.

The prices and the packages will vary.

Also once you have picked a good antivirus be sure to confirm that it is updated daily.

An anti virus is no good if the person doe not keep it regularly updated.

As you can see, a Trojan can be a very nasty to thing to have unleashed on your computer.

Prevention through common sense and anti virus is the best way to avoid any trouble from them.

What Is A Trojan Horse And Why Should You Worry About It? is a post from: Scam Types dot Com Check out The Best Internet Security Programs Of 2009

Recovering a file that you deleted from your flash drive can be really difficult if you don’t know how to do it nor have it saved anywhere else.

This is another reason why it’s vital for you to back up all of your information and you should do it on a regular basis.

There is a simple way that you can track your deleted files that a lot of people don’t know about.

There are a lot of free programs that can restore any file on your computer.

These programs don’t take up much space either.

A recommended program is called REST2514.

Its very easy to install on your computer.

This program is designed to recover any file that was deleted on your computer.

It guides you step by step on how to find that file and even lets you pick the drive that you want to search.

This program allows you to restore any of the files by simply clicking on one and highlighting it when it comes up.

You can find it on any search engine or you can look up restoration freeware programs.

Whilst it’s very easy getting a file restored on your computer, it’s still recommended that you backup your information on a USB flash drive.

You should update your flash drive once a week if you do a lot of work on your computer but if you forget, you now know how to restore a file so you won’t need to panic if it happens.

How Do I Restore A File That I Accidentally Deleted? is a post from: Scam Types dot Com Check out The Best Internet Security Programs Of 2009

The first step toward safe wireless networking is assessing the situation and determining just how vulnerable you are.

I’m not just talking about your Wi-Fi hardware.

You have to consider and examine all the elements of your network.

That includes client computers, software, network hardware, and even users.

Risk analysis is always a good place to start.

After all, you can’t defend yourself against something if you don’t even know that it’s threatened.

WLAN Risk Analysis

A simplified risk analysis for a small network consists of the following steps -

1. Identify hardware and software assets.

2. Determine the value of each asset and cost of replacement.

3. Identify the threats to each asset.

4. Determine the vulnerability to threats.

Note : Remember to keep this analysis simple. The goal is simply to get a handle on where you actually stand with regards to WLAN security.

For your first task, you need to identify all the assets on the WLAN.

Make a list of your hardware, operating systems, and software.

The hardware should include computers, access points, routers, wireless NICs, and anything else that connects to your WLAN.

Note the manufacturer and model for your entire hardware and firmware version (if known) along with a rough cost estimate for each asset.

Next, make a list of software.

This might include operating systems, personal firewalls, and antivirus software.

For your purposes, you don’t need to check every application on all your computers even though it is good to keep your software patched and up-to-date.

You just need to know the operating system and any network software you might be running, along with the approximate cost of each piece.

You will learn about the threats that are particular to a WLAN.

With this information, you will be able to determine your vulnerability to those threats.

Once you have a realistic picture of how vulnerable you are, I’ll show you how to take the information you have compiled about your hardware and software and use it to secure your network.

Assessing The Security Risks To Your WLAN is a post from: Scam Types dot Com Check out The Best Internet Security Programs Of 2009

I think we all know by now what the most popular social networking site on the Internet is.

Twitter is quickly making it’s way to the top of the heap but for now Facebook is still king of the mountain.

One of the more popular features that Facebook has added in the past couple of years is the ability to create an application for the people logged into Facebook to use.

There have been many companies that made a lot of money off of this feature.

Unfortunately there has also been a lot of nefarious characters that have exploited this feature as well.

They too are making lots of money from it.

I will go over some of the risks of Facebook applications and how to keep yourself safe -

Keep Private Information Private

One thing that Facebook pulls out of people is their private information.

On any other site people would never give the amount of information that they seem give on the Facebook platform.

Through most people’s profiles you can find out their first, last and maiden names.

You can also find out where they live, where they went to school, and even worse most people will offer up the information of where they lived in the past.

A lot of these answers are the answers to questions that you will fill out any kind of credit check online.

This is perfect for anybody looking to exploit your credit history or steal your identity.

Facebook applications, if you allow them, have access to this information as well.

Once you give them permission they can get all of the information that is about you from your Facebook profile.

If a person that has evil intentions makes a Facebook app, they can now target all of the people who have allowed the application in their Facebook ecosystem and target them for identity theft.

Make sure that before you give an application access to all of your information that you check on the company who has made the app.

It is best to Google them to see if they are legitimate or not.

Facebook Hackers

Facebook applications, for the most part, run in a sandbox that is provided by Facebook themselves.

A sandbox is when you have the ability to use a language but certain features of the language that might cause security problems are stripped away.

The sandbox that Facebook gives developers to make applications is pretty secure but there have been holes found.

So not only can the hackers use an application that was built for malicious use intentionally, they can also find holes in pre-existing applications and exploit them too.

If you install an application and it is doing anything weird be very suspicious and uninstall it.

In the world of the Internet being paranoid is a good thing!

So I have gone over a couple of ways that Facebook applications can be used to exploit the average user.

I do not want you to get the wrong idea, Facebook applications for the most part are safe.

Just like anything else on the internet they can be exploited so it pays to be careful.

The Security Risks Of Facebook Applications is a post from: Scam Types dot Com Check out The Best Internet Security Programs Of 2009

Microsoft used to have a stranglehold in the Internet Browser market place.

Just as much, or maybe even more, than they did the personal computer market.

Now this is not as true anymore.

They still have a dominance in the browser market place but the competition has quickly caught up.

With newer offerings such as Firefox, Opera, and the new Google Chrome browser stepping up as quality alternatives, Microsoft has seen their browser percentage fall off dramatically.

(There have also been issues in Europe that have led to Microsoft no longer bundling IE with new versions of Windows 7).

This has arguably led to Microsoft increasing the quality of their internet browser offerings.

One of the things that has greatly improved are the privacy features that the browser offers.

Now I will take you through the enhancements of these features and why you should use them -

Added Privacy Features

The first thing that Microsoft has done to protect your privacy is to add a feature in Internet explorer 8 that will block out advertisements that are directed towards you.

Ads are not necessarily a bad thing but sometimes they can become overwhelming and start to decrease your Internet surfing experience.

On some sites, ad blocking technology can be just what the doctor ordered if the owner of the site has made the user experience miserable.

Ad blocking counts as a privacy feature because a lot of these ads now have tracking technology behind them that can monitor your surfing habits.

The ad blocking feature can reduce their functionality.

To turn on the ad blocking feature, all you have to do is click the ‘Safety’ button that is on your browser.

Once you do that, click on ‘InPrivate browsing’, and your ad blocker is now turned on.

You also have a feature that is included in Internet explorer 8 that is called ‘InPrivate Filter’.

This feature will do explicitly what I talked about earlier; stopping your private information from going to other sites.

This feature goes a little bit further than just stopping the advertiser from sharing your information with other sites though.

It will also stop web applications, analysis tools, and other such features that you may find on a web page from collecting information about you.

If you do not want any web site to be able to gather information about you without first visiting that site, then this the feature is the one that you will want to go with.

To turn it on just do the same as I mentioned above -

Hit the ‘Safety’ button but instead of clicking ‘InPrivate Browsing’, click on ‘InPrivate Filter’.

I have gone over the two main options that Internet Explorer has on keeping your web sessions private.

If you are worried about all of the monitoring that goes on through web pages these days then these are great features to use.

Internet Explorer 8 Privacy Features is a post from: Scam Types dot Com Check out The Best Internet Security Programs Of 2009

One of the great things about computers and the Internet is how easy it is to create document files and then share them between machines and users.

There are several formats that you can use to create files, the two most popular being word documents and PDF files.

Hacker Manipulation

Over the past couple of years, however, hackers have found that they can manipulate these types of files.

They are now able to hide exploits within these files that can compromise your computer.

They also use the knowledge that since these files are so popular, they can disguise a harmful .exe file as a pdf file and people will not question whether it is safe or not.

We will hopefully show you that for the most part PDF’s are safe but you still need to be careful with them.

These types of files have turned into another attack vector for hackers.

In the last 12 months Adobe has released patch after patch trying to protect new vulnerabilities found in pdf files.

Buffer Overflow

There was the vulnerability that was found that let hackers send an attack to your computer through the use of a buffer overflow created when the PDF file was opened.

There was also an attack found a month after that that if you were looking at a PDF file in windows explorer, that was all that was needed for it to attack your computer.

You didn’t even have to click on it to activate the attack.

This is why you have to be careful with opening all types of files on your computer.

Most people, even tech savvy people, have never heard that a PDF can be exploited.

So people will download them from strange sites and never ever bother to run an antivirus check on them to see if they are secured.

Hackers are using your trustful nature against you in this case.

Exploited .exe Files

Since people are more trustful with opening a strange PDF file more than .exe file there is an older attack that will exploit the trust factor that I talked about above.

This is an old trick of hiding your exploited .exe files as PDF files.

They shape the name of the file so that it shows up with an PDF icon on the file.

This is an easy attack to spot if you have “show file extensions” turned on in your operating system.

Just go into your control panel and then go into the file manager.

You will then see the option to turn this feature on.

Also you can avoid being trapped by this attack by running a virus scan on the file.

Any file that you get over the Internet you should run an antivirus scan on anyway, just to be on the safe side.

So I have gone over how a PDF file can be dangerous to your system.

Now that you know that there is a risk, hopefully you will not take any file lightly.

Just How Secure Are PDF Files? is a post from: Scam Types dot Com Check out The Best Internet Security Programs Of 2009