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Make no mistakes, if your on-line then
your PC is at risk. The dangers are elevated even more in the GPT
world. I have seen many Trojans and Viruses come and go. They are an
ever present danger. There are people that take issue with certain
sites, forums and programs and then try and in many cases - succeed,
infecting them with Trojans, Viruses and Spyware. Another threat is key
loggers, these are programs that monitor your PC in order to obtain
user names and passwords. I am not an expert in PC security but you
need to have protection.
There are two plug ins for FireFox that
will help, the first is Noscript, this stops hidden scripts running on
your PC. These will at best, slow your PC down and at worst, threaten
your PC security. The second is KeyScrambler, this alters the keys you
use when entering a password and other sensitive log in data. It also
randomizes the pattern as well. So for example you type a word in that
has two letters the same next to each other- password, the first s will
be scrambled to a random key on your keyboard, for example; #, the
second s will be scrambled into a different character, for example, k.
This means that patterns in the scrambling process can not be detected
either.
You also need a firewall and an
anti-spyware program. There are many available and I use a total of 6,
three purchased subscription packages and 3 free programs that I choose
to make a donation to. The products I list, both free and subscription
packages, are just some of those available, aiming to give those that
haven't got any protection the means to find out about the different
types of products available. You should also, always use extreme care
when logging into your Banks and payment processors. Never click any
link in any mail that they send. It doesn't matter if it says "You have
received a new payment, click here to see details of this transaction"
or even "There is an issue with you account, click here to go to the
resolution department to see details of this matter or your account and
funds will be suspended". Always open a new window or tab and login
manually. No matter how genuine that mail looks, even with all the
logo's, it could still be fraudulent and that link will monitor your
login and then they have access to your account and will be able to
withdraw your funds. It takes a few seconds longer but could save you a
lot money and heartache. Please do what you can to protect your PC and
you when you are on line. |
