Threats to Broadband Connected Computers

We face various threats in all walks of life, and computers used to surf the web over a broadband connection are no different. Just as you're careful walking through a city on your own at night, you should exercise the same care for your personal computer as you surf the internet over your broadband connection. It's an unfortunate fact that your computer is under more threat than you may imagine because attackers can plot for self-gain in the safety of their own home and the relative anonymity that the internet provides. We've discussed how to protect your wireless broadband connection if you have one in a previous article, and now we're going to look at some basic measures you can use to protect your computer.

Hackers, spyware, adware and viruses are the main threats a computer will face whilst connected to the Internet. There are specific measures you can take to safe guard your computer against all these threats. Some of which require simple changes to your operating system whilst others will require new bits of software specifically designed to counter any abnormalities found as a result of scanning your computer.

Hackers

Hackers are probably the first thing that comes into some ones head when they think of threats to their computer. Hackers will try to overcome obstacles to get access to personal, and sometimes valuable, information that may be stored on your computer. Hacking is seen as a hobby to some people, and in many instances the hacker will just enjoy the challenge of gaining access to your computer. However, sometimes it can be much more serious, especially if you have highly personal information stored on your computer like passwords to your online banking for example.

A hacker may also be able to piece together enough information about you from word documents or personal emails to build a complete personal profile. This could then be used as a form of identity theft to gain access to various accounts you may hold. So the first line of protection should be as far as possible not to store any highly personal information on your computer. If you must retain this kind of information, it's a good idea to back it up to a disk or some other form of removable storage before deleting it from your PC.

Unlike dial-up broadband, where your computer is connected to the Internet for the duration of the call, broadband connections are quite often "always on" - a permanent connection. In this case, when your computer is switched on, it is vulnerable to attack from hackers. Worse still, unlike dial-up Internet connections, broadband connections quite often use what is referred to as a "static IP address." This address allows a hacker to identify your computer every time you connect to the Internet. Reduce the opportunity for hacking and other threats by not leaving your PC on longer than it has to be. Hackers have a lot of time to "work on cracking" a PC if it's connected to the Internet 24/7 via a broadband connection.

You should be using a software or hardware firewall. Firewalls act as a barrier between your PC or internal network and the rest of the Internet. Firewalls are so important that we now find that many new operating systems, such as Windows XP and Mac OSX include a basic firewall. If you have a new operating system, make sure your firewall is switched on. However, for added protection there are many more free personal firewalls available for download. We like Zone Alarm and BlackIce Protection. A firewall should be correctly configured to effectively prevent intrusions and so it's important to take the time to read through the software's documentation.

Don't leave hackers an open door to your computer. Make sure you have File Sharing turned off. You can do this by opening the windows control panel, then select network connections, then right click on the network connection you're using and select properties. You will be presented with a list of check boxes, one of which will be "File and Print sharing for Microsoft Networks." Make sure this checkbox is not ticked.

Spyware

Spyware is a form of malicious software that enables a third party to influence how your computer behaves. In mild cases, this may just mean the occasional popup that seems to come from no-where even though you're not browsing any websites. However in more extreme cases, spyware can be very malicious by allowing, for example, the logging of credit card numbers as they're entered via your web browser.

Computers running windows and using Internet Explorer are particularly vulnerable to problems that spyware can cause as the web browser is so heavily intertwined with the operating system. However, it should be noted that other browser / operating system combinations are still at risk. So simply changing your browser to Firefox for example is not enough to effectively counter the spyware risk.

Spyware is usually contracted after deceiving the user into proceeding with something that, for all intents and purposes, looks perfectly harmless but in actual fact could instead be something that exploits a web browser's vulnerability, enabling the spyware to install on the victims computer. It is also quite common for spyware to be included as a hidden part of an innocent looking bit of software. The user will think he or she is just installing said piece of desired software, without realising that malicious spyware is being installed as part of the same process.

The victim may not ever realise that their computer is infected with some very nasty spyware and so go on using their computer unwittingly as if everything is just fine. Meanwhile the spyware may be working away in the background reporting on every move the user is making. That includes reporting password / username entries and credit card details. It is for this reason that every computer connected to the Internet in some way should be running anti-spyware software for their protection.

Anti Spyware software will either run in the background preventing spyware from infecting your computer, or it will scan your computer at regular intervals (or as you decide) looking for any spyware that may be present. If spyware is detected, you will be notified and hopefully offered the opportunity to remove it. Unfortunately however, spyware is not always as easy to remove as simply clicking a "clean" button. Quite often you will need to follow a, sometimes lengthy and complex, step by step removal procedure. It can sometimes get quite tricky - I'm speaking from experience. A quite horrible experience!

Finally you should also be aware that there is the possibility that your "seemingly harmless" anti-spyware software is actually carrying spyware itself! For this reason I recommend sticking to well known and respected spyware detection and removal offerings such as "Ad-Aware SE" and "Spybot Search and Destroy." Spyware is such a significant problem that some of the more recent anti-virus software packages now include anti-spyware tools as standard.

Many people simply do not realise how much of a threat spyware actually poses. Give it the attention it deserves and get some anti-spyware software running to protect your computer as soon as possible.

Adware

Adware and spyware are terms that commonly get mixed up and confused. Whilst this is not surprising, they shouldn't be thought of as the same thing. Adware refers to any software used to display advertisements on a user's computer. However this could be for perfectly legitimate reasons, such as helping to finance a piece of software in order to keep it free from the user having to directly purchase a licence. The software in question is supported by displaying advertisements. This is similar to the way a television channel may show interval ad breaks to support the funding of the station.

However some adware overlaps with spyware by collecting information about the user and then sending this on to a third party - perhaps in order to display more targeted ads in line with a user's interests. This could also be seen as acceptable if the user knowingly consents to this before hand. Sometimes however, the user is not afforded this opportunity and the adware (stroke spyware) will transmit personal information whilst the user remains unaware that it is happening.

So in some cases adware can occasionally push the boundaries of what is acceptable and be considered a threat. For this reason many anti-spyware software products also scan for adware that give the opportunity to remove any threat.

Viruses

Without doubt, viruses are the most highly profiled threat to modern computers. Thanks in part to their high profile over the years, they are also at the forefront of many people's minds when it comes to protecting their personal computer. In fact, many of the threats discussed above are also protected against in up to date anti-virus software, even though they are not technically viruses.

A virus is a self-replicating piece of software that commonly causes problems upon a trigger. For instance, your computer may contract a virus by downloading an infected file. When that file is on your computer some action may cause it to infect every single executable file on your computer. When any of those files are run, they will also look for more files to infect. You may innocently send one of those files to a friend in an email. And so the cycle goes on, which is why viruses often spread across computers connected to the net at an astoundingly fast pace.

It goes without saying that every computer connected to the internet should be running up to date anti-virus software. In particular to broadband connected computers, where it's not uncommon to exchange large files, the software should be set up to scan your email messages before they can infect your computer. The software should also be set up to do a complete system scan at regular intervals. I have mine set up to scan everything once a day in the mornings. If you use your computer less, then scanning once a week may be acceptable. Some anti-virus software allows you to do different levels of scanning, from scanning every file on your computer, including the RAM, to only scanning executable files. The latter obviously being much faster and therefore practical to proceed with on a daily basis. You should however do a full scan at least once a week whatever your situation is, to prevent infected files from happily existing "beneath the radar."

In addition to regular system scans, you also need to keep your anti-virus software up to date. Some software will check for updates regularly for you and notify you if updates are required. If you choose anti-virus software that requires you to take some action before checking for updates, make it a priority at the start of each day. I know it sounds like a lot of trouble, but as previously mentioned, new viruses spread fast. My anti-virus software (AVG Personal) automatically checks for updates every single morning - there are normally 3 or 4 that need installing, which AVG dutifully takes care of.

I can personally recommend AVG anti-virus scanner. It has detected many viruses that other branded anti-virus software has missed. It's also extremely easy to setup and wont break the bank to own.

Take Threat Protection Seriously

There's no hiding from the fact that broadband Internet is now a vitally important part of so many people's lives. Unfortunately as Internet usage increases so does the attention of malicious users. It therefore follows that every net user should increasingly be on their guard and take the above threats seriously. Nobody should put off taking sensible precautions to safe-guard against them.