Get yourself protected – firewalls, anti-virus, and anti-spam made simple.

To the uninitiated, it all sounds very sinister when you hear rumours about viruses, and hackers attacking your computer. However, the truth of the matter is a lot simpler or it at least it will be once you have translated all the jargon associated with it.

I will concentrate on the three main ways of protecting your computer: firewalls, anti-virus software, and spam filters. However, if you are still perplexed please do not ponder too long, just drop us a line and we will be more than happy to answer your questions.

Firewalls What is a firewall?

Probably the best way to describe a firewall is to compare it to the function of a bouncer at a nightclub. Imagine a queue of people waiting to get in, with a large, suited gentleman deciding who should and should not be allowed entry.
This is exactly what the firewall does on your computer. It looks at the traffic coming in and going out of your computer, and decides what is allowed in, and what is allowed out.

How does a firewall work?

Now lets stretch the analogy still further by looking at how a firewall actually works. Just as the bouncer follows a certain set of rules to decide who or should not be allowed into the club, the firewall also has it’s own rules and regulations to make it’s own decision.
So, while your bouncer might be judging the line according to the club’s dresscode, the areas of information concerning the firewall are usually the source address (ie where it has come from), the destination address (where it is going), and the type of programme that was used to send the information (whether it be Explorer or Firefox, Outlook Express or Windows Mail)
The next step is to calculate who is allowed in, and who is not. For the firewall it is on an invitation only basis, in otherwords, if it is not from a known and accepted source, then it is not allowed in - think of it as the guest list to the club, if you’re name ’aint on the list then you don ft get in’.
An example of accepted traffic would be that through Internet Explorer. When you attempt to open a new page on Internet Explorer it will send out a request from your computer to that webpage, the firewall makes note of the following three points: firstly, that it is your computer making the request, secondly where your computer is sending the request to (aka the web address itself), and thirdly, that it is communicated using the Internet Explorer software. This is an accepted communication out of the computer, however, in order to open the website, the website needs to communicate information back to your computer. This information is instantly accepted, as the firewall recognised the same details coming in that were sent out originally – in other words, it was invited into the computer in the first place. The rules that a firewall follows are pre-programmed, however, they are also editable, so there is always scope to increase, or decrease vigilance according to your individual requirements.

How do I get a firewall?

Most broadband modems already have a firewall, for example, Club Internet boxes, Alice boxes, and Liveboxes. If you have another service provider it might be worth double-checking with your service provider. Also, Netgear Routers (which we sell in the shop!) also have them.
However, the firewall does not have to be associated to hardware, you can also get software to do the job. Windows XP and Vista have built in firewalls. However, be careful, as these only protect you from traffic coming into the PC. Therefore, if you have a virus that sends out information then the firewall will not stop it.
And finally, you can buy software for firewall protection, for example, ZoneAlarm. However, these are not the most user friendly, generating very technical protection messages, which can very easily be misinterpreted, resulting in the user clicking a ’yes’ to allow, when they should have said ’no’ to block, and vice versa.
So if you want to use a firewall, we recommend those attached to a modem / router.

Anti-virus What is anti-virus software all about?

Now maybe I am taking the nightclub bouncer analogy a little too far, but I can't resist! A virus on a PC is like having an unwanted guest at your party! It is a rogue programme, sneaking in through the backdoor, with ill-intent towards your computer. So anti-virus software is not a preventative measure. Anti-virus software accepts that an unwanted programme has snuck in, seeks it out, and deals with it.

What sort of anti-virus software is available?

As I explained in the June issue of etcetera1, there are a number of different options available. However, by far our favourite is a free one called AVG. Unlike a lot of its expensive competitors it does not tie up processor speed, so will not interfere with your day-today use of the computer. We have installed it on hundreds of computers, and never had any complaints.
For more information on how to install AVG look at the following website: www.free.grisoft.com.

Spam What is spam?

Spam is the name for all the junk mail that arrives in your mailbox. Unfortunately, neither of the above will protect you from this: the firewall will allow it in, as it classed as standard email traffic which it automatically allows, and the anti-virus will just check for viruses in the attachments, deleting those, but allowing the email into your inbox.

How do I protect myself against spam?

Generally speaking, junk mail is not malicious, and if it is then your anti-virus software should delete any real threat. Therefore, it is really only an annoyance. However even the most mild of annoyances is exactly that. So for protection against spam you have the choice of two solutions. Firstly, you can make use of the spam provided by your internet service provider. This is beneficial, as they have already learnt which sources generate spam, and as such will identify and delete a high percentage of junk mail sources and stop them getting into your inbox. However, they do also get it wrong, and with no visibility of the trash can, you will not be able to double check that important emails aren’t being mistakenly binned too. The second solution is to buy ’off the shelf’ spam filter software – for example Cloud Mark or Spamfighter. These filter all the potential junk mail into a spam folder so you can manually identify which is and is not junk. However, this can be quite a cumbersome task at times, especially if you do not have Broadband access, as it still downloads all the junkmail, tying up your line speed, and time!

And finally

As soon as you start using a computer on-line it will be under threat, so you really need to get firewall and anti-virus protection. However, spam email is really only an inconvenience, so as long as you develop a keen eye to spot them you will have nothing to worry about – think of it as the biggest bore at a party, they’re relatively harmless, just as long as you don’t get stuck talking to them!!