Desktop Self-Defense Instructor: Eileen O’Shea [email protected] An Infopeople Workshop Fall/Winter 2005 This Workshop Is Brought to You By the Infopeople Project Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project supported.
Download ReportTranscript Desktop Self-Defense Instructor: Eileen O’Shea [email protected] An Infopeople Workshop Fall/Winter 2005 This Workshop Is Brought to You By the Infopeople Project Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project supported.
Desktop Self-Defense Instructor: Eileen O’Shea [email protected] An Infopeople Workshop Fall/Winter 2005 This Workshop Is Brought to You By the Infopeople Project Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project supported by the California State Library. It provides a wide variety of training to California libraries. Infopeople workshops are offered around the state and are open registration on a first-come, first-served basis. For a complete list of workshops, and for other information about the project, go to the Infopeople website at infopeople.org. Introductions Name Library Position Desktop Self-Defense Overview Spam, scams & viruses & what you can do to protect yourself Why webmail is useful - and what to look for in a webmail account Firewalls & Internet Explorer security options How to protect your computer from spyware & adware Desktop Self-Defense: A Few Important Tips Make sure automatic updates are turned ON & you install the updates Make sure you have file extension viewing turned ON Make sure you have antivirus software on your computer & you update it AT LEAST once a month (weekly is better!) Be smart about your passwords! first up… Getting a Grip on Email! What Is Spam? Spamming is the use of any electronic communications medium to send unsolicited messages in bulk. While its definition is usually limited to indiscriminate bulk mailing and not any targeted marketing, the term "spam" can refer to any commercially oriented, unsolicited bulk mailing perceived as being excessive and undesired. How Much Spam? Spam accounted for 77% of all email traffic in 2004 Telephone-based survey of adults who use the Internet found that more than 75% receive spam daily The average spam messages per day is 18.5 and the average time spent per day deleting them is 2.8 minutes More than two in five spam emails are medically related What Is Phishing? Phishing (also known as carding and spoofing) is an attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business in an apparently official electronic communication, such as an email or an instant message. The term phishing arises from the use of increasingly sophisticated lures to "fish" for users' financial information and passwords. Tips to Avoid Spam & Phishing Scams Don’t open strange attachments Never email personal or financial info Keep virus software up-to-date Never click on links in email that say “click here” or “login here” Don’t buy into any email promising you large sums of money if you email them personal information Email that starts “dear customer” is NOT legitimate! Using Bookmarks in Class 1. Go to: http://bookmarks.infopeople.org/desktopselfdefense_bk.html 2. With the page showing in Internet Explorer, click the Favorites menu, choose Add to Favorites… 3. Notice the name in the Name: box so that you can use the Favorites list to get back to the class bookmarks for the rest of the day. Exercise #1 How to Spot an Email Scam What Is a Computer Virus? A virus is a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. A computer virus behaves in a way similar to a biological virus, which spreads by inserting itself into living cells. basic rule is that computer viruses cannot directly damage hardware, only software is damaged directly. Viruses Enable file extension viewing in Windows so you know what you’re getting! Don’t open email attachments that seem unusual - what you don’t open can’t hurt you! Keep antivirus software current! Set up automatic updates for antivirus software and Windows when possible Exercise #2 Dealing with Viruses & Other Annoyances Why Use Webmail? Harder to get viruses All you need is an Internet connection & a web browser Allows you to have multiple accounts for various activities office, personal, Ebay, hobbies No hard drive crash woes! What You Want in a Webmail Account Ability to send & receive attachments Address book can be imported & exported Calendar Virus & spam protection Ability to create folders & filters Using Webmail - Minuses Often less space than email programs Yahoo! Mail gives you one gigabyte for free ISP determines email storage limit Limits on attachment sizes Slower than email programs like outlook Less “user-friendly” interfaces than outlook or other email programs Some sites don’t accept email from webmail addresses like yahoo.com or hotmail.com Why Use Yahoo! for Webmail? Address book can be exported & imported One gigabyte of free space Offers virus/spam protection Calendar can be public/shared handy for libraries! Spam Protection in Yahoo! Mail On by default Save or delete immediately? Mark Spam + Not Spam default settings are good Image Blocking safest is to let SpamGuard block as needed Email Tips CC vs BCC: know the difference! Plain text vs. HTML Choose plain text! Use folders to organize email Use filters to put email into folders Use a spam filter! Exercise #3 Getting Familiar with Yahoo! Mail Okay, enough about SPAM— What about SPYWARE and other web browser evils? Web Browser Woes Spyware Anti-spyware software Adware Anti-adware software Intruders/hackers IE security options firewalls Spyware What Is It? “a broad category of malicious software intended to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the user's informed consent. While the term taken literally suggests software that surreptitiously monitors the user, it has come to refer more broadly to software that subverts the computer's operation for the benefit of a third party.” --Wikipedia How Pervasive Is Spyware? 49% of Internet users see spyware as a serious threat to their online security 63% of Internet users have been plagued by spyware in the past year 81% of Internet users say they have stopped opening email attachments unless they are sure these documents are safe 18% of Internet users say they have started using a different web browser to avoid software intrusions. -- Pew Internet & American Life Project How to Combat It Anti-Spyware Software free/shareware - SpyBot commercial - Norton Alternative Browsers Firefox, Opera, Netscape Check your ActiveX settings Look for https:// in the URL when ordering or entering personal info online! What is ActiveX? A Microsoft technology used on the Internet to make interactive web pages that look and behave like computer programs, rather than static pages. ActiveX controls may be used with Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser to interact with web pages. ActiveX controls provide functions similar to Java Applets. Pros and Cons of ActiveX Controls Good: view sophisticated web content Bad: lack of security Good: interact with anything on the desktop Bad: interact with anything on the desktop - making spyware able to exploit it Anti-Spyware Software: Some Good Options Spybot freeware, no requirements Microsoft Anti-spyware freeware Must have a registered version of Windows to install Adware - What Is It? “Adware or advertising-supported software is any computer program or software package in which advertisements or other marketing material are included with or automatically loaded by the software and displayed or played back after installation or in which information about the computer or its users activities is uploaded automatically when the user has not requested it.” --Wikipedia Adware Is Not Spyware Usually! Often the price you pay for “freeware” -- as with Eudora or Netscape Adware passes Info on to advertisers Doesn’t put malicious software on your computer Has come to be associated with spyware Stopping Adware Anti-adware software freeware: Ad-Aware Commercial: Norton, McAfee Turn on popup blocking can block good popups can be customized Exercise #4 Spotting the Symptoms of Spyware or Adware Increasing Security in Internet Explorer Deleting cookies & cache settings Adjusting Security zone settings for greater privacy what it does & doesn’t do Turn on pop-up blocking how much is too much? Pop-ups Not all are created equal! Good pop-ups: part of a program (as with videoconferencing part of a sign-up or sign-in system Bad pop-ups ads spyware or malware What to Do About Pop-ups Built-in browser pop-up blocking most new browsers offer this, including IE Pop-up blocking software many freeware, shareware options commercial Internet security packages also offer pop-up blocking Toolbars - free from Google, Yahoo you only need one Firewalls Block attempts to hack your computer (zombie computers) Can block good content as well as bad You only need one firewall - if your local network is running one, you don’t need another on your computer Firewall-Related Problems May not be able to connect to sites like the Infopeople webcasts Videoconferencing software often won’t work File and printer sharing may not work Is Windows Firewall Enough? It won’t prevent viruses or spam from reaching your inbox It won’t stop you from opening bad attachments It will let you know when bad stuff attempts to get out & will block it It will provide you with a log of suspicious activity Exercise #5 Dealing with Pop-ups & Browser Security Review of the Day’s Big Points Turn on file extension viewing Turn on Windows Automatic Updates Don’t open strange attachments Use spam filters Use anti-virus software Install and use anti-spyware software Exercise #6 On the Reference Desk