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281.com Top 10 Recommendations

Note:  Most of these are for Windows XP, but many apply to all Operating Systems.

 

  1. Set Windows for Automatic Updates.  Start/Control Panel (set to Classic View)/System - Go to Automatic Updates tab and set them to run, or at least notify you.  If you do not choose to have the run automatically, run them when notified.  Do not wait more than a day or two to apply updates as most of them deal with security issues.  Apply updates to all programs you use such as Anti Virus and Microsoft Office.

  2. Set Windows to show you complete file names.  Right click Start, left click Explore.  Pull down the Tools menu and click Folder Options.  Go to the View tab and uncheck "Hide extensions...."

  3. Activate Windows Firewall which is very effective against most threats when Windows is kept up to date.  Do this in Network Connections from Control Panel (set to Classic view).  Right click on your Internet Connection which will be your "Local Area Connection" or "Wireless LAN Connection" if you have broadband, or your Dialup connection, usually named "281.com" and click Properties.  Go to the Advanced tab and click Settings (see left pic).  Put the dot in front of "On (recommended)". 

  4. Don't install third party Firewall ("Internet Security") programs like Norton Internet Security or McAfee Security Suite unless you are an advanced user or have an IT expert available.  These programs will ask questions about your Internet access that if answered incorrectly, will make parts of the Internet inaccessible from your computer.  A Firewall blocks all traffic except that which is allowed.  The questions these programs ask are about whether you want programs and services running on your computer to be allowed access to (and from) the Internet.  Also, the newest versions of these programs expect to be run on new computers.  Older systems with slower processors and less RAM will become very slow trying to run the latest security products.  If you do install one of these products, DO NOT activate Windows Firewall.

  5. Nothing is for free!  Be wary of installing free software as it is usually "supported by advertisers".  Google (search) for the software name or manufacturer to find out what others say about it.  Spyware commonly comes with/through free giveaways.

  6. Use Mail Washer to delete unwanted E-mail FAST.  The beta version available from 281.COM's web site works well on most computers and is free (does have an advertisement at the top of the program).  While Mail Washer has powerful tools to identify spam, it is much easier to employ those tools instead to identify your good/wanted E-mail.  Then, everything else is unwanted!  See the Home.281.COM web site for configuration instructions and recommendations for use.

  7. Laptops are not for everyone.  You can buy a desktop computer of comparable performance for half the price.  Consider laptops disposable as they become very expensive to repair after your warranty.  Only the manufacturer can repair one in most cases.  Expect your laptop to come back from repair from ANY manufacturer reloaded like the day you bought it.  All of you data and programs will be gone.  Most of today's laptops have a CD-RW drive built in, so backup your important data onto a CD often.  Keep installation CD's safe so you can reload programs when you get a new computer or have to reload your current one.

  8. 281.COM scans incoming mail for viruses, and most are removed from ever reaching your inbox on the server.  It is still recommended that you run Virus protection software too.  281.COM recommends AVG by Grisoft which is free for home use.  Whichever Anti Virus software you use, it is imperative you keep it up to date.  The best virus protection you can employ is to educate yourself on file names.  The 3 letter file extension tells you what kind of file it is.  Learn the extensions of the files you normally receive in E-mail that you want.  These are commonly gif-jpg-bmp-tiff which are pictures, or doc-xls which are Microsoft Word and Excel documents.  Anything else should make you wary.  Close the E-mail without opening the attachment and open a new message to send to the sender of the suspicious attachment to ask what it is.  Virus attachments will have extensions like com, exe, pif, vbs, bat, etc.  Zip files can contain virus files inside them, so be careful opening files within!

  9. Set programs that automatically run you don't use everyday to not run on Startup.  One example is Windows Internet Messenger.  Microsoft in it's infinite wisdom has this program run automatically when you start Windows by default, even if you don't have a Internet Messenger account!  These programs usually show up in your task manager tray (next to time in bottom right hand corner of screen) after loading a new program or installing new things like Camera's and printers.  Try to determine what it does so you can make a good decision on whether you want it running all the time using up some of your computer.  Right click on them and left click Properties, Preferences, or Options.  Look for checkboxes that say "Start when Windows..." or "Allow to run in background".  You can use Microsoft Config to stop many programs from running automatically.  Click Start/Run and type msconfig to start it.  Go to the Startup tab and uncheck boxes of programs you don't want to automatically run.  A more in depth program is "Autoruns" by Sysinternals which is available from http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Autoruns.html.

  10. Don't use Internet Explorer, except when necessary, or upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 if eligible.  Use another browser such as Slimbrowser available from www.flashpeak.com or Firefox available from www.mozilla.com.  Many of the worms and other threats out there on web sites target Internet Explorer.  Besides, you will like the "tabbed" browsing capability in Slimbrowser and Firefox!  Whichever browser you choose, it is very important you keep it up to date with the latest Security updates.

By Tim Moczygemba, Moxie Services Inc.
Copyright © 2006  281 Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
Revised: November 11, 2006 .