Internet safety

By Lydia Snowden

Intro internet safety

• Staying safe on the internet. • It involves protecting• Your computer:

• Viruses • Spyware• Phishing• Spam

• and you:• from harassment threats• identity theft.

Protecting your Computer

Protection from Viruses

Potential issue What they are Internet safety rule

Viruses • A computer viruses is a small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another

• This interfere with computer operation.

To stop getting viruses you can:• Install an aunty

virus software• Don’t open up

attachments you are not expecting

• Keep computer updated

Potential issue What they are Internet safety rule

Spyware • Spyware is a program that secretly records what you do on your computer.

• They can be used for some appropriate purposes, but the majority of spyware is malicious. Its aim is usually to capture passwords, banking credentials and credit card details - and send them over the internet to fraudsters.

• Ways to prevent spyware are:

• Installing a firewall, this provides a defence against hackers.

• Update your software, make sure you have up to date security updates.

• Adjust your Internet Explorer web browser's security settings to control how much-or how little-information you want to accept from a website.

Spyware

Phishing

Potential issue What it is Internet safety rule

Phishing • Phising is a type of online identity theft.

• It uses email and fraudulent websites that are designed to steal your personal data or information such as credit card numbers, passwords, account data, or other information.

How to protect yourself from phishing:• Don’t reply to

email about your information if you don’t know what it is

• Make sure you familiarise yourself with a website's privacy policy.

Potential issue What it is Internet safety rule

Spam • Some spam is annoying but harmless.

• However, some spam is part of an identity theft scam or other kind of fraud. Identity theft spam is often called a phishing scam.

How to protect your computer from spam:• Use email software

with built-in spam filtering

• Keep your filters current

• Be careful about sharing your email or instant message address

Spam

Potential issue What it is Internet safety rule

Pop up blockers • Most advertising on the internet use pop up to display their message in a way that is hard not to miss.

• Pop up blockers lets you prevent most pop ups from appearing over web pages when your browsing the internet.

How to use pop up blocking:• Access the pop up

blocker settings to turn of pop ups on your computer

Pop up blockers

Firewalls

Potential issue What it is

Firewall • Firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network.

• Firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software, or a combination of both. 

• Firewalls are typically found in broadband routers

•  firewalls should be considered an important part of your system and network set-up

Potential issue What it is

Software • Software is a collection of instructions that enable the user to interact with a computers

• Without software, computers would be useless. For example, without your Internet browser software you would be unable to surf the Internet. 

• Software can be purchased at a local retail computer store or online, usually in a box that contains all the disks 

• Software can also be downloaded to a computer over the Internet. Once downloaded, setup files are run to start the installation of the program on your computer.

Software

Anti-virus Software

Potential issue What it is

Anti-virus software

• Antivirus software is a computer program that detects, prevents, and takes action to remove malicious software programs, such as viruses and worms.

• You can help protect your computer against viruses by using antivirus software.

• You can prevent viruses by updating your antivirus software regularly. 

Do people feel safe on Internet?

Additional Information

You can find out more about IT Security by watching this Open University video clip:

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/introduction-to-cyber-security