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Computer security
Safety online starts with keeping your computer secure, and protecting it from viruses and other Internet threats.
By taking a few preventive measures, you can help keep your computer safe.
We recommend you apply all these steps to provide the best protection when connecting your computer to the Internet.

1 Keep your operating systems and other software up-to-date
  • Set your computer to do automatic software updates. This will make the task of keeping software up-to-date as easy as possible.
  • Updates should also be made to your email applications, browser applications (such as Internet Explorer) and other software used often (such as Microsoft Word and Excel).
2 Perform day-to-day tasks under a limited privileges user account
  • By using a limited/reduced privileges user account rather than one with administrator-level privileges when accessing email or browsing the web, you can reduce the ability of malware infecting your computer.
  • Use an administrator account only when you need to configure the security features of your computer and install new software from sources you trust.
3 Install anti-virus and anti-spyware software
  • Once installed, set your anti-virus software to update itself at least daily.
  • Spyware scanners complement anti-virus software. They detect and protect against a variety of programs that can be secretly installed on your PC.
4 Install spam filter software
  • Spam filters examine incoming email to determine whether it is spam.
  • Filters do not successfully block spam all the time. Do not assume all emails delivered to your inbox are legitimate even if they appear to be from known sources.
5 Install a personal firewall
  • Every home computer that connects to the Internet should have a personal (software) firewall. Configure it to allow only essential Internet connections.
6 Turn off insecure features in your browser
  • You may prefer to configure your browser to prompt you before allowing programs or scripts to run (eg Java, Javascript, ActiveX, IFrame).
  • Although anti-virus software can help protect your computer from the most harmful web-based programs, you should still activate as many security features on your browser as possible.
  • By switching your computer off when not in use you will reduce the time available for unwanted programs to attack your computer.