How To Stay Secure While Surfing Online

Have you ever thought that while browsing websites, chatting and staying online all night, you are potentially inviting trouble? Learn the risks of not understanding online security, and how to stay safe from spam and viruses.

1. Be Cautious: Always know the source of website or a link which might be provided to you by a friend, email or another website, etc., whether it came from a trusted source or not. Some of the risks you could encounter when you don't know the source and you click through the links are as follows:
   
   • Risk 1: Your computer can be controlled by a remote computer. This means that all the information stored in your computer will be accessed by another unknown remote user (including credit card numbers, passwords, sensitive information from accounting or tax software, etc.).
   • Risk 2: Your computer can be affected by a virus or worm, which makes your software and hardware act crazily.
   • Risk 3: Unknown software may be installed on your PC, which can transfer data from your computer to another computer and will force you to buy their software so you will be able to uninstall it (spam).
2. Solution: Fighting all these problems is easy. Simply follow these steps:
   
   • Step 1: If you use Microsoft Windows, always make your computer OS updated with the "Windows Update" command (Start menu>Help and Support>Windows Update).
   • Step 2: Activate the Windows default firewall (Start menu>Control panel>Windows Firewall).
   • Step 3: Install any third party antivirus software such as "Norton Antivirus, AVG, and McAfee" (not any unknown antivirus software).
   • Step 4: Always update your antivirus file definition and security patches (which are available on antivirus websites).
   • Step 5: Never access or click a link/website if you are not sure about its source.
   • Step 6: Do not download any software (games, programs) which are available for free on websites if you don't know the website source.
   • Step 7: Don't open email and download any attachments from an unknown sender.
   • Step 8: Always run a virus scan on the files downloaded from the Internet.