Table of contents for Issue 4 in Internet Security The Complete Manual

Here Be Dragons This isn’t a definitive list of the possible threats available for the Windows user but here are ten modern risks that you face every time you power up your PC. 01 Viruses Viruses have been around for as long as computers. They’ve moved on from simply displaying the name of the coder on the monitor, a kind of virtual vandalism, and now can disable and wipe the data off a hard drive in mere seconds. 02 Ransomware Earlier in the year the UK was gripped in the clutches of the WannaCry ransomware infection. This particular infection exploited a vulnerability in Windows, and quickly spread throughout the NHS and other organisations, locking and encrypting the data on a computer until money was sent to those who unleashed it…

Ransomware is a particularly nasty form of malware and digital threat. There’s usually some kind of ransomware headlining in the news around the world and those who are the victims are often at a loss as to what to do next. Essentially, ransomware will infect an individual computer and one of two things can happen: first, it locks the computer, stopping all access to it from the keyboard, then it starts to search for data and encrypt the contents of the hard drive. Lastly it infects the boot sector of the computer and displays a message detailing the type of ransomware and how the individual will pay for the release of the data; the message can even have fake FBI warnings included with it. Alternatively, and the second thing that…

So what exactly is pharming? In short, this is the criminal act of producing a fake website and redirecting the victims to it. The website could be anything from a reasonably popular online shopping store, to one of the well-known high street banks. The victim, unaware that the web site is fake, as the front end apes the real thing, even down to the small print at the bottom of the page, will login with their details. After the user has logged in several options are available to the ‘pharmer’. They can collect the username and login details and simply leave the victim with a blank web page; this is usually a method used by an amateur pharmer or those who want a quick username and password grab before disappearing…

Weakest Links In terms of digital security, you’re only as strong as the weakest link in your security chain. You can tick all the security boxes but if you don’t know what to look for in the first place you’re still vulnerable. PASSWORD CHANGE A good sign of a breach in your digital security is the sudden changing of a password. It can be for a random site, webmail or just something small to begin with. Sometimes a hacker with a keylogger in place will test the water before accessing your bank, in which case you need to virus scan your PC immediately. PERSONAL SPAM We all receive spam emails of some form or another. However, if you suddenly start getting emails of a more personal nature, then you need…

Update, reboot, update, reboot Updates may well be the bane of the modern computer user but they are there for a reason. It’s not the 8-bit era anymore, we need those updates to help protect our security. Here are 10 reasons why they’re important. PATCH VULNERABILITIES Windows updates patch recognised security holes in the core system. Many of the viruses around today exploit a vulnerability in the Windows code that hasn’t been fixed yet. So when an update comes along, that potential flaw will be ironed out. EXTRA SECURITY In addition to potential security glitches in the code, often an update can contain an extra level of security that’s been programmed in by the developers. For example, the code that handles remote desktop requests has had a security patch but…

Network Protection Without being too paranoid, it’s remarkably easy to get into a neighbour’s home network. If you live in a block of flats or you use powerline adapters, you may need to consider these ten steps for better network protection. ROUTER PASSWORD The most common entry point to gain access to your network is via the router. The router from your ISP may well be offering the latest forms of encryption but it doesn’t take a genius to trawl the less reputable sections of the Internet to obtain a list of passwords. Therefore, change the default username and password to access it. MAC ADDRESSING Most routers these days come with a form of authentication called MAC (Media Access Code) address filtering. Every networkable device, computers, tablets, games consoles, come…

Kryptos Communications To better understand encryption it’s worth taking a moment to learn about its origins, how it’s been developed over the years and how it applies to our modern communications. The word encryption comes from the ancient Greek word Kryptos, which means hidden or secret. Interestingly, the use of hiding messages from others can be traced back to early Egyptian scribes who inserted non-standard hieroglyphs within other communications in order to hide the message from casual viewers. According to historians the Spartans used strips of leather with messages engraved. When the strips were read they were meaningless but when wrapped around a staff of a certain diameter the characters would be decipherable. Of course, the modern forms of encryption are far more advanced but the overall core concept has…

Virtual Private Network Using a VPN can help hide your online presence. Whilst this may seem like an ideal way to get to illegal content, it’s actually designed to help fight for your basic right to Internet and digital privacy. Essentially, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a server or group of servers in a remote location that you can connect to through a client. The VPN servers then hide your Internet-bound IP address with their own, so if you connected to a VPN that’s located in Australia then your IP address would be as if you were actually sat at a desktop down under. The benefits of this are many but mainly a VPN will allow you to access region restricted websites, protect you from tracking and shield your…

CyberGhost We’re going to use CyberGhost as the example VPN for this tutorial. You’ll need to purchase one of the available packages to begin with, Premium is £3.74 per month, while Premium Plus is £5.83. STEP 1 We won’t use the free option in this instance, as the paid for services offer a better set of features with which to display the VPN in action. Start by navigating to www.cyberghostvpn.com and clicking on the Pricing link in the upper portion of the main CyberGhost site for your regional and latest pricing. STEP 2 Assuming you’ve purchased one of the options, click the yellow Free Download button located in the top right of the main page. This will, after a few seconds, automatically initialise the download of the latest CyberGhost client…

The data packets that make up a message, or a string containing a username and password, are sent to and from yours and other computers without most of us ever really knowing what’s going on in the background. It’s this lack of knowledge that’s the hacker’s greatest tool. Well, that and some clever software that’s freely downloadable from the Internet. Let’s look at how data can be intercepted by a hacker. Let’s use the scenario that you’re on a business trip, or just out and about, and you’re using a café’s free, public Wi-Fi. There are numerous, and quite ingenious, ways in which data can be intercepted by a hacker. Normally you need to be using an unsecure network, such as a public Wi-Fi but there are other ways and…

PA55W0RD1234 To help you create the perfect password, and secure it further, here are ten tips for happier password management. There’s always password pitfalls but stick to these general tips and you should be okay. OBVIOUS DATES Never use your date of birth, partner’s date of birth, children’s date of birth, pet’s names, family names or even the town where you grew up in. This is all information that can easily be collected from social media sites or even a clever Internet search. SAME PASSWORDS Never use the same password for multiple sites. It’s tempting and easy to have a single password for everything but should that password ever become compromised you will lose access to every site you visit, including any banking sites. VISIBLE PASSWORD Never write your password…

The length of breadth of online shopping is far too vast to cover every conceivable angle here. So rather than focus on particular elements, here are ten online shopping security tips to apply across the board. “10 Online Shopping Security Tips” FAKE SITES Ensure that you’re buying from a real website. Fake sites are remarkably easy to create by the clever hacker and are designed to steal your transactions. Be wary of sites other than the big names. While smaller online shops are fine, just look into the type of security it’s using and do some research before purchasing. RUSH BUYING Don’t be fooled into rush buying something that’s at a ridiculously low price. If a site is selling an iPhone for £20, then it’s more than likely to be…

Windows is said to be the last true Windows desktop release, with the Redmond company now opting for a rolling release cycle, that will add or remove features over time through regular updates. “Going Private” There are many advantages to this particular setup. A Windows user will always be up to date with regards to security, options and support. Any new hardware that’s released will be added to the vast driver database that Windows already uses and it will operate at its maximum potential. Microsoft can gradually roll out features that would require a brand new operating system, thus maximising the capabilities of the OS. Of course, the company can charge for certain additional features that would ordinarily be a part of the OS, such as a media centre for…

Getting to Know Your Firewall Generally, there’s little need to ever configure the Windows firewall. However, getting to know how it works and improving it is part of being more security-conscious. Here’s some tips on how to manage it better. STEP 1 You can open the main Windows firewall console window by clicking on the Windows Start button and entering firewall into the search box. Click the returned link, Windows Firewall Control Panel, to launch it. STEP 2 The Windows firewall console window starts by detailing the basic status of the firewall. It should be On by default, unless you’ve installed a third-party security suite which contains its own firewall. There are two kinds of network listed, Private and Public. Private is for home or work, whereas Public is for…

Playing in the Sand Everyone from software developers and security experts to the hackers themselves will use a sandbox environment to help build and test their products; so what exactly is a sandbox? Just as the name suggests, a sandbox is a place where you can do something without it affecting the surrounding area: visualise a sandbox in the middle of a garden. In digital security terms, this means a sandbox is a tightly controlled environment that’s isolated from the main operating system where a person can test or analyse software and its impact on a virtual system. The sandbox can be one of a number of implementations: web based, operating system based, program based, network based or even emulating interaction with the Internet. There are countless more examples, each…

Window Installations Naturally you might own a spare Windows license to use for the VM but for this tutorial we’re going for the 90 day Windows Enterprise Evaluation model. To begin with, browse to https://microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-10-enterprise. STEP 1 You need to register with Microsoft prior to being able to download the Windows image; simply click the Register button and fill in the required fields. When done, click Continue and choose the ISO Enterprise option, then your language choice and 64-bit, followed by the Continue button once more to begin the download. STEP 2 The ISO you’re downloading is around 4GB in size, so it may take some time, depending on the speed of your connection. Open VirtualBox and click on the New icon located in the top right of the main…

Backing Up Computers are unpredictable beasts, so you need to make sure that all your files and important data are securely backed up and more importantly, you’re able to restore them easily. Thankfully, it’s a straightforward process. STEP 1 Windows has, since its early days, featured some form of backup tool. Windows was launched with the File History backup tool, which is a simple to use tool to ensure stable and regular backups of important files are made. Start by clicking on the Windows Start button and selecting Settings from the menu. STEP 2 Once in the Settings console, click on the Update & Security icon, followed by the Backup option from the menu on the left. You can see a number of possible options before you: Add a Drive,…

Answer Then, These Questions Ten Ten questions on cyber security and Windows security. They’re not too difficult but enough to make you think and consider the whole aspect of digital security and privacy. Question: 01 “Who is it okay to share your passwords with?” Question: 02 “True or False: when on public Wi-Fi is it safe to send confidential or personal information data?” Question: 03 “What does the ‘S’ stand for in HTTPS?” Question: 04 “What is two-factor (or two-step) authentication?” Question: 05 “Which of these is a Phishing attack?” ▶ Sending someone an email that contains a malicious link disguised as a valid email. ▶ Creating a fake website that looks identical to a real one, in order to trick users into logging in. ▶ Sending someone a text…

While the Google search portal isn’t dangerous in itself, it’s what potentially lies behind the search entered that makes it such a dangerous place for young people to venture into. Many young people are somewhat more tech-savvy than most adults but the younger children are at risk from a seemingly innocent search resulting in inappropriate content being displayed. “Safer Searching” It doesn’t take much imagination to consider how a particular scenario may be played out. A child is left in front of a search engine, they enter something to do with a school project on World War 2 and start to follow the links. Although part of history, some of the images that may be displayed could be deemed inappropriate to a primary school child, or those as young. To…

In reality it doesn’t take too much of a technical genius to enter into a search engine, “fake email accounts” or something similar. The returned results, such as Fake Email Generator, Mailinator, ThrowAwayMail and FakeInbox are all designed to help you create a fake account that can either be single use or used regularly. This of course means that a person is able to create a false persona and sign up for Facebook and the like using a browser’s private function, and have access to accounts without someone else knowing. This works both ways, from the point of view of the young person gaining access to a site they shouldn’t and for someone who’s creating accounts ready for grooming, or something similar. With access to a fake email, a young…

Coping with face-to-face bullying can usually stop when the victim is home or at a place where they feel safe. On the other hand it often feels like there’s no escape from cyberbullying as the online world is always present, and even when you cut yourself off from any online activities, the bullying still continues. “Coping with Cyberbullying” The level of how upset a victim of cyberbullying feels depends greatly on the person. Some can easily shake it off or deal with it by immersing themselves in a sport, book, family or something else. Others though, take any form of abusive message, comment and such to heart and its affects can range from crying to feeling suicidal. There’s a lot that goes on in between and it’s difficult even for…

Game On Here are ten tips to help the young gamer get the best from their game of choice, whilst still remaining safe; also how to avoid any conflicts that may arise from the gaming community. INVOLVED PARENTS Parents, take an interest in the online games that your child plays. See what type of game it is and especially see what the online community is like. View the in-game chat, and read the game’s forum if it has one to gauge the type of gamers who play it. AGE APPROPRIATE Make sure that game you’re playing is age appropriate. Whilst it’s fun being nine and playing an 18-rated game, there’s bound to be content within that may upset or offend you. There’s a reason certain types of game have an…

Ten Steps for Tech Minded Guardians As a technically minded parent or guardian, you can monitor traffic, set up batch files to send daily connection reports and fiddle with the inner workings of your router. Here are ten tips to help you out. ROUTER LOGS Depending on the router you own, either one you’ve bought or the ISP-provided one, there’s often a way to log web traffic. The logging can sometimes be a single entry detailing the entire house’s activity or you can specify individual devices connected to the router. You need to consult your router guide for more information, or contact your ISP. RESOLVE ADDRESSES If when consulting router logs you have countless IP addresses instead of domain names, you can run the addresses through a reverse IP lookup…

Happy Families The Microsoft Family portal is where you’re able to set the various features. First, you need to browse to https://account.microsoft.com to login with your MS account. STEP 1 When you’ve logged in to the Microsoft account online, click on the Family link found along the top set of menu options. This will display the current members of your Microsoft account, adults and any children you’ve added, as per the previous tutorial. STEP 2 Under the child account you can see four options: Check recent activity, Web browsing, Screen time and More options. All the options can be accessed by clicking on any of the links, so to begin with, click the Check recent activity option. STEP 3 Being a parent or guardian, you can set Activity Reporting for…

Over the next year there is 69% CHANCE you could be HACKED! Information regarding cyber security doesn’t always have to be technically heavy. In fact, to make it easier to digest, and to just show you how virulent and bitterly hostile computer-borne security threats are, here’s a collection of statistics to give you the heebie-jeebies; all the more reason then to keep this manual close to hand. 80% of all cyber crime attacks originate from Russia, China and North Korea 77% of small businesses don’t regularly back up important data 75% of the health care industry has been infected with malware.* 73% of US citizens have fallen victim to some form of cyber crime 64% of companies have experienced web-based attacks 61% of malicious websites are genuine sites that have…

Being on the end of a successful hack has been likened to having your house robbed. There’s a feeling of invasion, that someone has rifled through your personal belongings and stolen what’s yours. “You’ve been hacked!” WARNING Monetary Motivation As with most hacks the world over, money is the driving force behind an attack. A hacker will want to enter your system through various means and obtain your bank or credit card details in order to get access to your money. It’s plain and simple theft. Personal Information Personal information can be extremely valuable to a hacker. Those who manage to obtain information about you, from date of birth, address, social security number and countless other trivial details, can then use your identity to open bank accounts, start a loan…

Just to give you an idea of what the future could hold for the computing world, here are the top ten most destructive viruses unleashed over the last decade into the digital domain. “Digital Destruction” 1 Storm Worm Storm Worm was released in 2007 and was rumoured to have hailed from Russia. It came in the form of an email link, usually with an important headline to grab the victim’s attention. When the victim clicks the link the code is inserted and payload with a backdoor into the system is opened. It infected over 10 million computers worldwide. 2 Conficker Conficker was a 2008 worm that infected an estimated 15 million Windows computers worldwide. The French Navy, UK Ministry of Defence, hospitals and local police forces were affected. It was…

Security leaks, holes and flaws in development code appear all the time, for every operating system. Windows has the bad luck of being at the top of the security flaw news pile. However, here are ten reasons why it’s actually a secure OS to use. “Windows Security Improvements” Virtualisation-based Security VBS is an improvement to the core Windows security, it stands for Virtualisation-based Security and uses a mixture of hardware and software enforced developments to create an isolated, hypervisor restricted subsystem for securing the OS core data. Nothing unsigned by Microsoft is allowed to be injected into the kernel or executed. Secure Booting Secure Booting utilises the new UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), the replacement for the older and more vulnerable BIOS, along with Windows Trusted Boot code integrity and…

Better Protection A third-party security suite offers much than virus scanning. With one of these, you’re covered against most, if not all, digital threats. Here are ten security suites worth considering if you’re serious about your digital protection. BITDEFENDER Bitdefender Total Security security suite from one of the world’s leading security specialists. This version offers unrivalled levels of protection and performance for Windows, macOS and Android platforms. There’s even an advanced ransomware protection element to help protect your folders. MCAFEE McAfee Total Protection offers a 100% guarantee of virus removal, or you get your money back. There are three main versions available: Antivirus Plus, Total Protection and Livesafe, each has its own particular twist, but all offer excellent security features and benefits. SYMANTEC Norton Security Premium is Symantec’s top choice…

Keeping Up To Date Whilst it’s easy to update Windows, there are elements that can be missed. We’ve already mentioned that it’s not only Windows that needs updating but also software and drivers. STEP 1 The first port of call is undoubtedly Windows Update. Click on the Windows Start button followed by Settings, the cog icon just above the power icon on the strip to the side. This will open the Windows Settings interface, locate the last entry, Update & Security and click it. STEP 2 By default Windows Update will automatically check for, download and install updates for the core Windows files. You can check for any on the spot by clicking the Check for updates button; and you can see what’s already been updated by clicking the Update…

WEP, WPA, WPA2, IEEE… Amid the confusing acronyms lies a logical progression of wireless encryption and security protocols. Whilst at first they seem bewildering, it’s quite interesting to learn of their history. The technology behind delivering a wireless network has evolved over the last couple of decades and so has the ways and means in which to secure it all. It’s not just simply down to choosing a password that no one is likely to guess, you need to make sure that data and connection to a wireless network is encrypted to the highest possible standard. These standards are always moving forward and like most elements of the technology industry they come with a bewildering cocktail of acronyms and meanings. Encryption and all things security can be a confusing topic,…

Windows, Under Lock and Key We’re going to encrypt a 2GB USB flash in this example, purely for ease of use and to demonstrate how you can encrypt your entire laptop hard drive(s). STEP 1 Encryption doesn’t affect the core data, other than making it impossible to read without the decryption key but it’s always worth making sure you have a backup of all your data prior to any system related changes. If you store your work or data in the Documents folder, then start by opening it in Windows Explorer. STEP 2 Press Ctrl+A to highlight all the files, then press Ctrl+C to copy them to the clipboard. Next, choose a suitable backup location such as an external or network drive and when ready, press Ctrl+V to paste the…

Security Beyond Anonymity It’s a good question: how can a VPN improve Windows security? Whilst the privacy side is well catered for, there are some good security enhancements and features a VPN brings to the table. BROWSING ACTIVITY This doesn’t happen often but an ISP can become compromised and details of user activities leaked or stolen. Using a VPN can hide your browsing activity from trackers and even your ISP, enabling you to browse with freedom of fear of having your details leaked or accessed by others. ANTIMALWARE Many VPN providers utilise a level of antimalware into their security layers. This enhances your security by filtering any downloads through the VPN first. Should there be a virus present, then it can be removed or stopped at the VPN before it…

While you can successfully protect yourself and your own computer, as soon as you make a connection to the outside world you’re under the influence of many external factors. We look at how data is transmitted from your computer to the Internet and how a canny hacker can intercept that data for their own means. Over the coming pages you’ll discover how best to protect yourself and what strategies you can use to become more secure when online; even when you’re out and about with your Windows laptop and other devices.…

Public Safety Despite the different and varied ways a hacker can gain access to your inbound and outbound data, there are means in which you can defend yourself. Here are ten tips to help you protect your data from being intercepted. TIP 1 Not all public Wi-Fi access points are havens for nefarious hackers but that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down. Every security software and firewall in the world can’t help you if you’re not savvy when it comes to information security. If you’re going to use public Wi-Fi, don’t use it for banking or other highly personal detail transactions. TIP 2 It may not always be possible to spot an Evil Twin fake Wi-Fi access point. It’s often best to double-check with members of staff, if…

Top Ten Password Generators We live in an age where you don’t have to sit with a dictionary and cryptic decoder to come up with an excellent password. There are many generators freely available to help you out. Here’s our top ten. NORTON IDENTITY SAFE PASSWORD GENERATOR Norton by Symantec, offers a handy free password online generator. You can set the password length, include letters, mixed case, numbers, punctuation and no identical characters. You can find it at: https://identitysafe.norton.com/password-generator/. STRONG PASSWORD GENERATOR Another great online resource that will create an incredibly strong password based on the options you choose. You can choose the length, punctuation and avoid similar characters but also display phonetic words to make it easier to remember. Try it out at: https://strongpasswordgenerator.com/. WIGHT HAT PASSWORD GENERATOR This…

Malware Busters For this tutorial let’s use a preconfigured rescue disk from Bitdefender. You need to transfer, or burn, the disk contents to a CD or a USB stick and boot into the safe environment through one of those mediums. STEP 1 Make sure you have a blank CD or a USB stick that’s at least 1GB in size. The Bitdefender Rescue Disk is downloaded as an ISO (which is an image file containing all the disk information) and can be downloaded from www.download.bitdefender.com/rescue_cd/latest/bitdefender-rescue-cd.iso. STEP 2 To transfer the ISO to USB download Stickifier, which is an executable that doesn’t require any installation. Insert your USB stick and double-click Stickifier. Click the Select an Existing ISO Image option followed by the three full-stops and using Windows Explorer, locate the downloaded…

Look Who’s Talking There are a number of ways in which you’re able to view which programs and apps are sending data to Internet and external sources. Some methods are better than others, so it’s worth trying them all to see which works best for you. STEP 1 The first port of call to help monitor what apps are accessing the Internet is Task Manager. Click the Windows Start button and type task, then click the Task Manager result in the search box. You can also right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager from the available option in the menu. STEP 2 With Task Manager displayed, click the More Details arrow (if it’s available). This will expand the Task Manager options. From here, click the App History tab and then…

Plan for the Worst, Hope for the Best There’s a lot to consider when coming up with a good security plan. It’s not just a case of occasionally checking for an OS update on your own computer, you have to take into account other computers and the entire network. An effective security plan should encompass the whole of your network, which includes Windows computers, Android and iOS devices, your router, any powerline adapters, Wi-Fi coverage, access passwords and even where the Ethernet cable runs through. It may sound a little extreme but like most checklist-type scenarios it can be as in-depth as you like. However, it’s worth at least considering some aspects of the home network and overall security before starting a plan. Users More than likely the ‘user’ is…

Sand Between Your Toes If you’re still convinced that a sandbox environment can help you out, then read on. We’ve compiled a list of ten reasons why creating your own Windows sandbox is beneficial to the average user. OLD PROGRAMS Within the Windows virtual sandbox environment you may be able to run older programs that would normally fail, even in compatibility mode, under more modern hardware drivers. Often an older program will look for a specific driver set, if it’s too modern then it can fail. Virtual environments use older type drivers by default. HOST PROTECTION If you think that a download link or email attachment may contain a virus, then opening it in a safe, virtual environment is the safest bet. Of course, you shouldn’t open any unknown email…

Take a Snapshot Setting up Windows, installing the drivers, updates and programs takes a fair amount of time. If you take a VirtualBox snapshot, you can return to where you left off in an instant. STEP 1 To begin with open VirtualBox. If it’s already open, shutdown the Windows VirtualBox image you created. It’s not necessary but it’s often easier, to ensure the VM is closed prior to creating a snapshot. STEP 2 A Snapshot in VirtualBox is simply an image of what the virtual machine ‘looked’ like at the time the Snapshot was taken. You can make multiple Snapshots and revert to any whenever you wish. Snapshots taken are labelled next to the name of the VM. STEP 3 You can see that the state of all the virtual…

System Imaging A system image works in much the same way as the VirtualBox Snapshots. You’re essentially taking a snapshot of your entire system, which can then be restored quickly. Saving you having to reinstall Windows, all your programs and data. STEP 1 To begin, click on the Windows Start button and once more navigate to Settings > Update & Security > Backup. From within the Backup console window, where you were in the previous tutorial, click on the Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7) link under the Looking for an older backup section. STEP 2 This will launch a new window, the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) console. Microsoft has kept this feature intact through Windows 8.1 and 10 purely due to compatibility support for backups done under…

The risks a child faces when online are tremendous and it’s not just the usual collection of malware that focuses on luring young people into executing it. It’s also the individuals, sites, language used, videos and a whole host of other forms of information and infiltration. These have quickly become the wolf in sheep’s clothing, disguising themselves with the single purpose of catching hold of a child’s online activities. Grooming One of the more prominent modes of luring children into saying or doing something they shouldn’t is online grooming. The grooming itself could be for many different purposes, either to satisfy the perversions of an individual or group or to gain information on the family as a whole, and everything else in between. Online grooming has evolved drastically in recent…

The online part obviously involves the groomer building this emotional connection via chat rooms, online gaming, social media, blogs and even comments sections on popular websites, such as YouTube. The act itself is surprisingly subtle. The groomer first establishes a rapport of some kind, perhaps agreeing with a child on a comment he or she has made regarding something online; let’s use a game as an example. The young person has written in the game’s blog that something doesn’t work, the groomer agrees with them and starts a very basic conversation building a form of trust between the young person and themselves. This can go on for as long as the groomer feels they’re getting an advantage, according to leading child experts. The grooming can then move up a level…

Ten Child Safe Email Accounts It’s not always easy to police and monitor an email account, so here are ten child friendly email accounts and related services that will help make the job of keeping children safer when communicating via email. ZILLAMAIL ZillaMail is run under the ZillaDog.com brand, created by parents for children. It’s an easy to use, friendly service that also combines child safe online games and links to child safe websites, such as Cartoon Network and the like. ZillaMail has some interesting aspects and features, which makes it an excellent choice for parents and guardians. KIDSEMAIL KidsEmail is a paid for service, offering a 30 day free trial period. For your money you get mail monitoring for all incoming and outgoing emails from the child’s account, time…

Internet Safety for Everyone Together with the excellent advice from the NSPCC, Childline and Safety Net Kids, we’ve collated ten practical and realistic tips to help you and your child remain safe when using the Internet and its connected services. PERSONAL INFORMATION Never post any personal information online. Keep your postal address, email address, phone numbers and, if possible, names away from public viewing. Especially never tell anyone you’ve just met online, in a game or chat room any details about yourself. PHOTOGRAPHS Consider carefully before posting any pictures of yourself online. Once an image is available on the Internet, it’s extremely difficult to get rid of any trace of it; and should someone have already downloaded it on to their computer, it’s impossible to locate and trace. STRANGER DANGER…

The tech-savvy youngsters of today will already have a better idea of how to circumvent technological restrictions that we’ve put in place. We’re not saying they’re hacking or do anything particularly bad, it’s just that sometimes we need to see what all the fuss is about ourselves, rather than take someone else’s word for it. Here then, are some of the tricks that the modern, digitally capable young person can do to hide what they look at on the Internet. Private Browsing Private browsing, privacy mode or incognito mode is a feature built into every browser, regardless of the computer or device’s operating system. It is, as the title suggests, a privacy feature that will disable the browsing history and web cache; it stops any data from the browsing activities…

Parental Controls We’ve collated ten of the better parental control and monitoring tools and software, in no particular order. Some offer their software for free, others you need to pay for. QUSTODIO We’ve mentioned Qustodio in the previous page, so it’s a good example to kick of this top ten tools section with. Qustodio is a complete package that monitors, blocks, filters and controls times, games and apps across many different platforms. Pricing for up to five devices starts at £32.95 per year. OPENDNS OpenDNS from Cisco offers both free and paid-for services to help block inappropriate content across virtually any Internet connected device. You need to set up DNS entries in your router to take advantage of it but full instructions are given via a helpful setup guide. KIDLOGGER…

In-app spending is a modern scourge for parents, guardians and even the children and young people themselves. From the point of view of the parent or guardian, we have a child who enjoys playing a game, regardless of whether it’s a mobile game, console game or triple-A rated PC game and we’re more than happy to allow them to play the game without any restrictions, after all it’s just a game, right? However, when those parents then receive the bill from their credit card company, or a call from the bank, that their account is now several hundred or even thousands of pounds lighter, that game has suddenly become the bane of their existence. From the point of view of the child, they have an incredible and addictive game in…

Help is at Hand For more information, expert advice from child care professionals and more tips on how to protect your child when online, here are ten sites to bookmark and consider. TIP 1 If you’d rather contact a professional child care expert, person to person, then consider contacting your local doctor’s surgery and asking for a list of contact details of the child counsellors in the area. Most surgeries will have all the relevant information to hand for you. TIP 2 Your child’s teachers and school welfare officers will have an excellent understanding of how to help keep your child safe when online. They can answer your questions or at least help point you in the right direction. TIP 3 Regardless of where you are in the world, the…

Head over to your web browser and follow these simple instructions… 1/ Enter the following URL: www.pclpublications.com/exclusives 2/ Sign up/in and from the listings of our exclusive customer downloads, highlight the The Complete Online Security Manual option. 3/ Enter your unique download code (Listed below) in the “Enter password to download” bar. 4/ Click the Download Now! Button and your digital manual will automatically download. 5/ Your file is a high resolution PDF file, which is compatible with the majority of customer devices/platforms. Exclusive Download Code: PCL59317MB NOTE: This is a limited reader offer running from 1st June 2024 to 1st September 2024. Terms and conditions apply and can be found at www.pclpublications.com…

The start of the digital age brought with it many advances in the way we work and interact with each other. It’s estimated there’s 1.2 Zettabytes (1.3 trillion gigabytes) of data available to someone with access to the Internet and whilst most of it may be irrelevant, what’s important to you is somewhere within that mass of raw information. Sadly, the cold hard light of day reveals that with the growth of this voluminous data comes the nefarious acts of those who wish to cause mayhem, panic, theft and other such negative elements. Therefore, as a user you need to make sure that you’re protected against the ever increasing digital world of threats, viruses and everything else the Internet has to offer. This chapter will help you to recognise some…

Social engineering is the new modern way of manipulating people to give up their personal and confidential information. It comes in many guises and under different sub-headings, such as Phishing and the like, but it’s essentially all a form of social engineering. Essentially, the scammer will take your human nature and responses and turn it against you for their own gain. The kind of information the scammer is after does vary, depending on the type of scam being used, but for the most part they’re usually after your passwords, bank and credit card details, or login information in order to gain any sort of financial data. You’re probably more familiar with social engineering that you suspect, even if you’re new to the term. Recall the emails from someone, usually based…

Understanding Security Trying to understand the digital security world can be hard work. There’s so much to take in, that it’s easy to become lost in the quagmire of acronyms and homophones. Hopefully we can help you out with these ten FAQs. “Do I need an antivirus program?” Without a doubt, yes. Windows uses the built-in Windows Defender program to help protect you online. It’s more than ample for most users but often better security is required. “Viruses and malware are only on dodgy sites, right?” No, sorry. Even legitimate websites can be infected with a virus or some other form of malware. Remember too, a computer virus can enter your system in other ways, not just online. “Is online banking safe?” Online banking is remarkably safe and utilises the…

Are You Secure? Remarkably, despite having an antivirus client installed, some users aren’t even aware of the default Windows security features. Here’s a quick ten step process to check everything is working as it should. STEP 1 Start by clicking on the Windows Start Button or pressing the Windows key on your keyboard. Enter security into the search bar and click the first option that appears in the results, Security and Maintenance. STEP 2 This will open the Security and Maintenance section of the Control Panel. There are two main sections within this page, click on the Security section to expand it. Ideally all the options within the Security section should be displaying On, with the exception of Internet Security Settings which will display OK. STEP 3 Should any of…

Safer Surfing Securing your web browser isn’t too difficult. There are plenty of options available, including some third-party add-ons you can use to improve security. For this tutorial, we’re using Chrome. STEP 1 Start by opening Chrome and clicking on the three vertical dots in the top right of the browser window. This is the link to the available options; from the list choose Settings. STEP 2 It’s generally recommended that you sign into Chrome using a Google account, as this can greatly improve the overall security of the browser. For example, when you sign in, under the Sign In section in Settings, click on the Advanced Sync Settings button, the first option available. STEP 3 With the Advanced Sync Settings box open, select the option for Encrypt all synced…

Wi-Fi, Lock and Key A lot of the standard tips on protecting your Wi-Fi merge with those of protecting your wired network. It’s common sense mostly and keeping an eye on what’s going on in your own network. ADMIN PASSWORD All routers come with a generic username and password. Depending on the model and manufacturer of the router, it’s surprisingly easy to get hold of the username and password. For example, view www.routerpasswords.com and choose your router. With that being the case, change the administrator username and its password. ISP PASSWORD ISP supplied routers tend to have their own set of usernames and passwords. Although these are more secure than that of the default set, they are still obtainable from the more dubious quarter of the Internet. A potential hacker…

Encryption Galore Here are ten different encryption tools for you to consider that work well with Windows, and some previous versions too. Some are free, others cost but they’re all good in their own right. BITLOCKER Available only for users of Windows Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro and Enterprise and Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate versions. If you’re running the Home versions, you’ll need to upgrade via the Microsoft site, or from the Windows Store. In short, BitLocker offers full disk encryption with 128-bit or 256-bit AES standards. VERACRYPT This is a free disk encryption program that’s based on the popular TrueCrypt. It offers enhanced security, lots of levels of encryption and support for UEFI drives. It’s available for Windows version 7 onwards as well as Mac OS X, Linux and…

Encryption Galore Here are ten different encryption tools for you to consider that work well with Windows, and some previous versions too. Some are free, others cost but they’re all good in their own right. CYBERGHOST CyberGhost is our favourite VPN. It offers 256-bit AES military grade encryption, no logging, access to 27 countries and hundreds of servers, protected browsing, ad blocking, access to fast servers, unlimited traffic and bandwidth and an anti-fingerprint system. All for around £5.83 per month for up to five devices. HMA Despite its colourful name, Hide My Ass VPN is considered to be one of the best services available. Along with the usual secure 256-bit encryption connection you get blistering speeds, access to over 300 locations, anonymous email use, a free web proxy access and…

Information Superhighway The Internet is a huge, complex network of computers and is widely credited as humanity’s greatest achievement. It’s estimated that the Internet houses something in the region of 1024 bytes of information, which is quite a lot. That estimated 1024 bytes equates to an exabyte of potential information held by every single connected device that makes up the Internet, some of which is your information. It’s an impossible number to visualise, since we’re only using gigabytes or terabytes of storage in most of our devices. More to the point though, how on earth does all that connect together, and how does it work? To be able to transmit all that information, the data that travels around the Internet is in packets. Each of these packets contains a header…

Ten Tips for Safer Mobiles Your personal information is worth quite a bit to the right group of people. It’s not just Windows security you need to keep in mind, you need to consider your mobile security too. SECURITY LOCK Locking your device is one of the most basic of security tips for mobile devices. Either use a number code, pattern lock or finger print to lock your device when not in use. Should someone steal it, it becomes a little more difficult for them to gain access. That won’t stop a professional digital criminal, but it will deter the rest. REMOTE WIPE If possible set up some form of remote wipe. Should your phone or tablet be stolen or lost, you’ll be able to use another Internet connected computer…

Manage Those Passwords Password managers differ in what they offer, how they work and what optional extras they provide. Therefore it can be tricky to find one that fits the bill. Some are free, others cost a monthly or annual fee; here are ten to consider. LASTPASS LastPass, which also offer a free password generator, is regarded as one of the finest managers available. There’s a free version that offers unlimited password storage, cross-platform access, two-factor authentication and elevated levels of encryption. There’s also a Premium version that offers a lot more, including 1GB of encrypted file storage and higher levels of encryption. ZOHO VAULT Zoho Vault is another excellent password management application. With a free version on offer, moving up to Enterprise levels for just €7 per month, Zoho…

If you want to improve your Windows security further, then this section looks at more advanced ways and means in which you can achieve that goal. We cover firewalls, sandboxing and virtual environments and how to tell which programs are communicating beyond your home network. Our easy to follow tutorials will help you create a reliable backup of Windows and all your data, so should something happen you’ll be able to restore your files with confidence.…

Great Walls of Fire The term firewall comes from fire prevention, where a physical wall is constructed in order to halt the spread of a fire. In digital terms, the physical wall stops malware and other threats from spreading into the system. Some form of digital protection against unwanted entry into a system has existed for many years but the more recent software side of a firewall, one that we’re reasonably familiar with, has only been around since the ‘80s. Prior to the modern firewall, system administrators blocked unwanted access through various stages of hardware layers. Long lists of allowed computer addresses were painstakingly entered into mainframes and routers, where programmable chips filtered the white list and simply stopped all access to addresses that weren’t on the list; think of…

Going Virtual Using a Virtual Machine (VM) will take resources from your computer: memory, hard drive space, processor usage and so on. So make sure you have enough of each before commencing. STEP 1 The first task is getting hold of VirtualBox. If you haven’t already, head over to www.virtualbox.org and click on the large ‘Download VirtualBox 5.1’ box. This will take you to the main download page. Locate the correct host for your system, Windows or Mac, the Host is the current installed, main operating system, and click to begin the download. STEP 2 Next, whilst still at the VirtualBox download page, locate the VirtualBox Extension Pack link. The Extension Pack supports USB devices, as well as numerous other extras that can help make the VM environment a more…

Time to Recover You need an 8GB USB drive minimum, in order to successfully create a recovery drive. It wipes the contents off the drive and you won’t be able to use it for anything else, so make sure it’s labelled and stored in a safe place. STEP 1 Insert the USB drive into your PC and close the Explorer window that opens upon insertion. Click the Windows Start button and type recovery, then click on the Recovery Control Panel. In here you can see several options available; you want the first, Create a recovery drive. STEP 2 Click the Create a recovery drive link and accept the UAC authentication message that pops up. First, there’s the option to backup any important system files to the recovery drive, alongside the…

Windows Security: The Paranoid’s Guide If you’re fanatical about securing Windows and locking it down to the point where the NSA would be impressed, then follow these top ten extreme lockdown tips. TIP 1 Let’s begin with the easiest tip, unplug the computer from the Internet. Naturally there are disadvantages to this and you won’t get updates for Windows or programs. However, you certainly won’t get any Internet-borne malware infecting your machine. TIP 2 Click the Windows Start button and type privacy into the search box. Open the Privacy Settings link and turn off every option within the eighteen available Privacy sub-categories to the left of the console window. TIP 3 When online use a VPN and where possible, also use the Tor browser. Both of these combined will greatly…

Any site or portal where some form of social interaction occurs can be classed as social media, so even if you don’t allow your children access to Facebook et al, there’s still a chance they’re in contact via gaming or an app of some description: YouTube, blogs and so on. Reports from the American Academy of Paediatrics has found that using social media does provide benefits for young people. According to findings, regular use of social media platforms enhances communication, social connections and technical skills. Not only that, it allows young people to connect with extended family members and friends they won’t see for perhaps years at a time, as they live in places they’re not likely to visit. Depending on the content, social media can help a young person…

Net Aware Net Aware is an excellent site, and can be found at https://net-aware.org.uk/. Within you can find an A to Z of Most Popular sites and how safe they actually are according to face icons. Here are ten of the popular choices with their safety information. FACEBOOK AND MESSENGER Facebook has gone to great lengths in recent years to ensure a higher degree of safety. There’s a lot of ground left to cover but from the point of view of Net Aware, it’s about average in terms of safety. Signing up and Safety & Support need looking into however. INSTAGRAM Instagram only manages to gain an upvote (smiley face) in the Privacy Settings section, with more rigid controls being asked for from parents and carers with regards to Signing…

Cyberbullying is when someone uses the Internet, email, online gaming, social media and any other kind of digital platform to threaten, tease, humiliate or upset someone else. Both the bully and the victim of the bullying can be any age, from very young children up to late teens, and beyond in some cases. The source of the bullying can come from others the victim knows at school or college, or from a complete stranger on the other side of the world. Bullying someone online doesn’t always involve threating remarks. What may seem like a playful comment on one side, could be taken as a cutting jibe on the other. It’s not always an easy thing to specify, as we all have moments when we may say or do something to…

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with gaming or online gaming. Despite the many years of people bemoaning that gaming is taking away something from a childhood, recent studies have actually shown that online gaming can increase social skills, help develop hand-to-eye coordination and, depending on the game, have educational benefits and help young people learn. The problem is that not everyone always plays fair; some take great offence when they’ve been beaten by another player, resulting in the person beaten shouting or entering abusive comments. Other players use cheats to gain an advantage, making it near impossible for other players to even have a chance of winning or succeeding. Sometimes, when a player is better than others around them, they can be accused of cheating, even when they’re not. All…

Non-Technical Tips for Monitoring There are numerous ways to monitor a child’s online safety but a lot of them can be quite technical. Instead, here are ten tips for those who aren’t as computer literate but still want to help keep a child safe online. DEFINE RULES First off, set some rules. Don’t use the Internet alone in your room, don’t chat with anyone online, don’t enter your full name or address online, don’t click on any links, don’t open any attachments, and talk if you see something that’s upsetting. Common sense rules will go a long way to ensuring online safety. FAMILY ACCOUNTS Consider using the Microsoft Family Account as your child’s login to Windows. We’ll go into more detail as how to set it up and use it…

The Perfect Host The Hosts file is simply a plain text file for mapping network locations and is checked by Windows to see if there’s an entry whenever the user requests access to a website or network resource. Here’s how to block websites using it. STEP 1 First you need to open the Hosts file with administrative access. To do this, click on the Windows Start button and type notepad. When Notepad appears in the search list, right-click it and choose Run as Administrator from the menu and click Yes for the UAC message authentication. STEP 2 Within Notepad click File > Open and navigate to c:\Windows\ System32\drivers\etc. Click the drop-down menu saying Text Documents and change it to All Files. This will list the files within the etc folder.…

Windows for Children With a Windows child account you’re able to set up age restrictions, time limits and ensure they’re not visiting sites or using apps they shouldn’t. STEP 1 Start off by clicking the Windows Start button and typing ‘account’. The first result that should appear is Manage your account, if anything else appears, maybe you have some work labelled ‘account’, then scroll down until you find the Manage your account option. STEP 2 You now find yourself at the Windows Settings page, in the Accounts section portal. Notice there are links down the left-hand side, look for the Family & Other People link and click it to continue with the process. STEP 3 You need to sign in with a Microsoft account for this to work. If you’ve…

10 Tips to Stop In-app Purchases There’s nothing wrong with spending money on a game, either to buy it in the first place or just to upgrade a part of it. What’s needed though, is a little thought to combat overspending. TIP 1 The main tip, and one that all child experts agree on, is simply don’t leave your child alone with a device, console or computer whilst playing the game. Naturally it depends on the age of the child but essentially it’s recommended never to leave a younger child alone, as that’s when rogue spending can occur. TIP 2 Set up their own account: using a child’s account will dramatically cut down on any in-app overspending. Generally speaking, most children won’t have access to a bank card to enter…

“We’ve gathered together quotes and asked child safety and security experts to have their say on the matter of online safety; as a result, here are ten examples from the professionals”…