Seven ways to secure your computer

A new Trojan, Clampi, could give hackers access to your online bank accounts. Follow these steps to ensure your computer is secure.

Microsoft has warned that online role-playing games, such as World of Warcraft, are being targeted by hackers and cyber criminals Photo: CLARE KENDALL

1. Make sure you are running antivirus software on your computer, and that you have installed the latest virus updates. There are some excellent free antivirus programs available – we recommend Avast! or AVG.
2. Make sure you've got a Firewall installed on your computer to monitor the flow of internet connections in to and out of your machine. We recommend Zone Alarm, which is free.
3. Download and install any critical updates and security patches from your operating system vendor. You can find all the latest bug fixes and patches for the Windows operating system on the Microsoft website.
4. If you're using a Wi-Fi network at home, ensure it is password protected and secure, to prevent other people from being able to piggyback off your connection, or worse, hack into your network and access files and information stored on your computer.
5. When surfing the internet, do not click on any suspicious links, especially in unsolicited emails from unknown senders, or on social networking sites and instant messaging services.
6. Consider using a prepaid credit card when shopping online, to isolate that account from your debit account or those used for online banking. That way, if anyone does make a fraudulent transaction using those card details, they can only spend a restricted amount of money loaded on to the card, and it also operates separately of your current account, meaning not all of your bank details will be compromised. You can find a list of prepaid cards on the Moneysupermarket comparison site.
7. If you do fall prey to Clampi, or other similar viruses, make sure you change password and login details for all banking and finance accounts that may have been compromised by the infection.
   

( telegraph.co.uk )

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