4.)
BIZ*TECH SAVVY SOLUTIONS
_____________________
Keep Windows Updated – Carefully!
As you know, one
of the essential steps in protecting your computer is to keep the
operating system up to date. If you have a Windows XP or Vista
machine, you must keep it current by visiting the Microsoft Windows
Update site once a week or so, or by making the updates automatic.
Operating systems
previous to XP – such as Win 95, 98 & Me – are no longer supported by
Microsoft, and are becoming dangerous to use on today’s Internet. If
you have one of these, try to update to XP or Vista.
On the second
Tuesday of every month, Microsoft releases a bunch of patches, or
fixes for Windows. But emergency fixes can be released at any time,
which is why you should check regularly.
But it is
important to follow the right procedure. First, you must use the
Internet Explorer browser for the update, not another one like Firefox.
Next, never follow a link to the Update page from an email; never try
to update your computer starting in an email you received, even (or
especially) if it seems to have come from Microsoft. Why?
Because from time
to time, the hackers send out floods of spam emails looking almost
exactly like the Windows Update page. If you click these update
buttons, you will get a virus or Trojan infection, which can take over
your computer and put it at the complete control of the hacker. In
other words, your PC has become part of a botnet. And remember that
Microsoft never sends out such update notices.
So what is a
conscientious surfer to do? Simple. Click Start, Windows Update, or
Start, All Programs, Windows Update, and update your machine.
Download and install all critical updates. The rest, such as drivers
or additional features, are optional.
While we are on
the subject of updates, the word is Microsoft will release Service
Pack 3 for Windows XP in the next little while, possibly this fall.
Watch for it. Service Pack 1 for Vista will probably have to wait
till next year.
-----
Syd Tash is a noted computer security
consultant and author of
How to Protect Your Computer Online. He has been keeping
Internet surfers safe and secure since the last century. Find out
how he does it; protect your own computer with five layers of
protection right here: =>
http://mypcsecuritysite.com
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