Hints and Tips

• Never ignore the warning pop-up windows which tell you that your anti-virus protection has expired. With a broadband connection, infection by a computer virus is likely within a few minutes!
• Maintain your firewall. If you are using Windows XP, service pack 2 includes a very good one. If you are using another operating system, then either buy one, or look on the internet for a free one. Whilst free programs are not as good as commercial releases in most instances; they still offer reasonable protection against most attacks.
• Keep your computer up to date with Windows Update. Threats and vulnerabilities are fixed regularly and can be automatically installed on your system.
• Defragment your hard drive regularly. This will tidy your files and generally improve system performance.
• Perform a full system scan, using your up to date anti-virus software at least once a week for added security.
• Watch for strange computer behaviour. This is normally a sign of impending component failure or uninvited software doing unwanted things. Getting advice quickly can save both time and money.
• Encrypt all data stored on removable media such as pen-drives and CDs. PGP Free for Win XP can be downloaded from pgpi.org
• It can encrypt hard-drives and DVD's as well, so even if they do get lost your data remains your business.