Internet Security and Christmas

Internet security is not the first thing on most peoples minds when it comes to Christmas and New Year. For most people there are many things that are important to them during the festive period and providing for family and Friends comes way above Internet security and I am willing to bet that at least 80% of the public don't even give it a thought.

A few years back I would be one of the 80% I was talking about above but a bad experience with computer security that corrupted my hard drive and in doing so destroyed all my data on our booking details for our Self Catering Gite in Creuse France. (I apologise profusely for that outrageous plug for our self catering Gite ) but it did happen and we lost a lot of details and it took a lot of time and money to fix the the problem and get the web site back up and running.

It has made me realise that no matter what time of the year it is the villains do not stop because of the holidays or festive period. In fact I personally believe that the villains look forward to Christmas time etc because they can make more money because many folks let their defenses down and are concentrating on other matters.

The advent of on-line shopping has created a whole new industry in shopping and year after year more and more people are using their computers to buy on-line. To buy their purchases they are putting their trust and faith in the companies that are selling on-line and the equipment that is used to enable on-line shopping. That means using our computers, the sellers computers, the banking and credit card systems computers and software from a well known operating system along with lesser other smaller operating systems to facilitate the process. This makes for a big operating procedure that is full of security issues and loopholes that the bad boys can easily infiltrate and make big bucks and easy cash.

No system is fool proof and that well known software house I mentioned a few minutes ago has just had to rush out another security patch in their on-line browser. They are constantly having to do this to catch up because P.C. security is all about 'Catch Up'. Don't get me wrong it is not just them that have these problems as all the other software houses are in the same boat. It's because they are the biggest that they the most attacks to their system. As the saying goes " The Bigger You are The Harder You Fall". If the software that runs our computers is constantly under attack then the software that deals with our credit cards and bank debit cards we use to buy on-line also must be under constant attack and easily breached.

As I pointed out above no system is fool proof but you can make your end of the chain as safe as you can. A few simple rules and procedures will go along way to help keeping your on-line security and financial records away from the preying eyes of the villains.

For more free and paid software why not visit my site for information on where to download the software from.

For security on your P.C. the absolute minimum you should be running is :-

A firewall See here for ZoneAlarm. Free and paid versions available. Trial period on the free download version available for the paid version ZoneAlarm pro. This is just one example of a firewall. There are plenty of other firewalls you can choose from that are free and paid for.

1 anti-virus software (do not run more than 1. Can cause conflicts and false reports)

1 anti-spyware programme

Another excellent piece of software and is free to download. A one off fee if you so wish will buy you the rights to automatic updates and some extra functions for life. This was one of the programs I used to remove a very annoying piece of spyware called XP 2008/2009. Basically a fake anti-spyware company that infects your P.C. and forces you to download their software to remove problems they put on your computer in the first place. The spyware all but disables your P.C. and allows you to connect only with their server is one way it attacks you. There are others.

1 spyware blocker that blocks out software and sites from running in the first place.

Try Spywareblaster (free) www.javacoolsoftware.com/index.html

Once again another excellent piece of software and is free. They would like a donation to help pay bills but that's entirly up to you.

A highly recommended piece of software is Malwarebytes' Anti-malware. The link takes you strait to the checkout where you can buy the full version. It is a one time fee for activation. There is also a free version.


Keep your operating software up to date and make sure you are running the latest Java software. Keep your machine free of any excess temp files and unnecessary clutter. CCleaner is an excellent and recommended piece of software and is also free. Like most software that I recommend you can upgrade if you like but you do not have to do so I you do not.





You can add extra layers of defense with other speciality software dedicated to dealing with specific threats. For example an anti-Trojan software for dealing with Trojans only. Having gone to all the trouble of protecting your computer don't forget to keep your software up to date. Out of date software will not deal with the latest threats no matter how good the product is or costs. Any one who tells you other wise is in my opinion is trying to pull a fast one. The latest updates only deal with the latest threats as they materialise and are in a constant game of catch up.

Having made your machine as secure as possible for purchasing on-line don't let your guard down by forgetting the basic rules of on-line shopping. Even by following common sense basic rules when it comes to on-line transactions will not protect you fully but you can reduce the threat to the absolute minimum. It is easy to forget but the villains these days don't wear blue and white horizontal T shirts, wear a black mask and walk round with a bag on their back with SWAG marked on it. They quite often wear designer clothes, flash suites and are rolling in other peoples cash.

Even big high street names that you think you can trust are out to make money and they also make money out of you when and if it goes wrong. So when you buy on-line:-

Choose reputable companies( Yes I know ....how do you know they are reputable...they are all reputable until it goes wrong)

Where possible always pay with a credit card as you do have more rights of comeback than paying with a debit card. Paying with a debit card means the money is paid to the business right away and if a problem develops you can't stop payment. With a credit card you can stop a payment with the credit card issuers say so.

When you make a purchase write down any reference numbers that you might see on the screen.

Make a note of the time, date and any other relevant details that might come in handy later.

Make a note of the costs and the shipping charges to marry up with your credit card or bank debit statements. Write down the full costs that you are shown on the screen-sometimes the final tally is slightly different to the price advertised for tax reasons, credit card handling charges, etc.

If you can try and highlight the order pages and copy the details to a word processor programme/ or if you can and have the right software take a screen snap of the details.

When it comes to buying on-line sometimes pure common sense will prevent you from having any problems and also by buying items that are readily recognizable as a product. What I mean by that is for example is if your buying the latest phone, game, electrical product etc from a recognisable retailer you have an idea what you are getting but if you are buying into something like information or property development clubs/timeshares or investment opportunities you have nothing to go on other than what someone has put in a web site. Handing over your credit card / bank card details over the Internet is fraught with danger at the best of times but handing the details to an unknown proposition is almost asking for trouble.

In the meantime I hope all your on-line purchases are all honky dory and you have a trouble free experience.

Shopping on-line with Amazon.co.uk is a perfect example of being able to shop on-line with the knowledge that you are dealing with a safe, secure and reputable company. Another blatant plug but at least you do have a choice. You either do or you don't buy something from Amazon. Pure and simple.

Bon Chance

Until next time.