Digital Resolutions Security Housekeeping - Antivirus

Part 2 in the Digital Resolutions series.

Have you got an Antivirus running on your system?

If you have:

• does it run on a schedule?
• does it update regularly?
• Is it out of Subscription?

There is no reason not to have a working antivirus installed on your PC.  There is a vast array of options when it comes to Anti-Virus and one of the best free versions is Avast.  It is currently the number one downloaded from Downloads.com.  Avast has a "real-time" scanner,  This means that any file you access on your PC gets scanned at time of opening.  Not all of the free ones do this, but they have other features that maybe Avast does not. Some others have parental controls included and some have a firewall.

Avast Website

Other options include : BT offer within their subscription package, an Anti Virus for free, as do Sky, as do Virgin Media.

A google search for top 10 antivirus or top 10 free antivirus, will give you a raft of options and opinions.

Do make sure it is set up to run on schedule, a quick scan once a week and a full scan once a fortnight.  Ensure that it is able to update automatically, as newer threats will be added frequently.

It does not matter whether you pay for it or whether its a free version make sure it updates regularly and can be set to run on a schedule automatically and that the schedule is set to run when the system is running and not at 3.00am on a Wednesday morning when it is switched off.

Antivirus will only run when the PC is switched on!

Digital Resolutions Security Housekeeping - Facebook Privacy Edition 1

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to be posting some New Year’s resolutions to help with the task of keeping your PC under control, keep it running well and to keep the virus and rubbish off your computers.  

Yes, I know most of the Security software companies are doing something or have done something similar.

So I am going to start off today with one that is quite important to me, but nevertheless a reminder for the time of year.

A while back I felt the need to post on Facebook the following:

When you are posting on Facebook, please give a thought to your own privacy settings.
I take my the privacy of my children seriously and I don’t want pictures of my children posted Publicly on Facebook and I know that many parents feels the same.

My own settings are locked to Friends only, because they are MY friends and I know them off Facebook, in the real world, and I trust them.

There are many tutorials on the Web and within Facebook itself that detail the steps needed to put this basic security in place.

Please respect the privacy of my children and that of ALL children – Don’t post pictures of children without the consent of the parent and make sure the post respects that consent and their privacy.

 It is likely that you will be taking photos over Christmas and New Year.  Think about it before you post them on your timeline.  Who is in the photo?  Ask permission to post pictures of other people’s kids on social media and when you do, make them available to friends only.  It is better to ask permission, than to piss people off!