Overview

Batten down the hatches! Hackers, spammers and thieves (oh my!) are after you! The mere act of turning on an Internet-connected computer can put you, your family, and your personal finances at risk by exposing you to viruses, scam artists, hackers, identity thieves, and spammers. How do you fight back? Absolute Beginner's Guide to Security, Spam, Spyware and Viruses is your first line of defense.   Clear, easy-to-understand definitions of viruses, spyware, and hackers will help you understand what you're up against everytime you go online. Then, you'll learn about other threats, such as identity theft, phishing, and other potential dangers you'll face in your everyday computing. Find out how to search out and destroy spyware, malware and other viscious programs that could potentially harm your computer. Then find out how to lock out hackers, spammers, and theives for good.   We'll tell you how to immediately cut the risk of being attacked in half — in less than 10 minutes! Protect your bank accounts, digital photos, digital music collection, masters thesis, and everything you hold near and dear on your computer with the help of the Absolute Beginner's Guide to Security, Spam, Spyware and Viruses.

Full Product Details

Author:   Andy Walker
Publisher:   Pearson Education (US)
Imprint:   Que Corporation,U.S.
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 23.00cm
Weight:   0.602kg
ISBN:  

9780789734594

ISBN 10:   0789734591
Pages:   384
Publication Date:   17 November 2005
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Awaiting stock  

Table of Contents

Introduction. How This Book Is Organized. Special Elements Used in this Book. Reader Competition...of Sorts. I. SECURITY BASICS: SOME VERY REAL THREATS. 1. Viruses: Attack of the Malicious Programs. What Is a Computer Virus? What Is It? Who Triggers a Computer Virus? How Does It Spread? What Damage Can It Do? Viruses: As Many Kinds As Sniffles in Kindergarten Macro Viruses Memory-Resident Viruses File Infector Viruses Boot Viruses Multi-Partite Viruses Worms: Network-Savvy Viruses Trojan Horses: Hey Helen, the Achaeans Left Us a Present! Virus Hoaxes: Fake Viruses that Scare the Heck Out of You Who Creates Computer Viruses? What Not to Do! When Viruses Attack! Disconnect As Soon As Possible Virus Infection Found! How to Cleanse Your System My Antivirus Program Won't Update! Now I Have Your Attention... Antivirus Checkup: 10-Minute Tactics Install Windows Security Updates Update Your Virus Signatures Fortify Your Computer: Strong Virus Defense in a Few Hours Install or Upgrade an Antivirus Program Scan Your Computer for Viruses Install Service Pack 2 and Enable Virus Protection No Worm in My Apple? Is That a Virus in Your Pocket? 2. Spyware: Overrun by Advertisers, Hijackers, and Opportunists. What Is Spyware? What Does Spyware Do and Why Is It Bad? How Does Spyware Sneak onto My Computer? Types of Spyware: Snoops, Adware, Cookies, and More Spyware: I Spy with My Little App Adware: Attack of the Pop-ups Snoopware: I Wanna Know What You're Up To! Browser Hijackers: Turn This Browser Around, We're Going to Cuba.com Key Loggers: Snooping on Your Typing Skills Dialers: Dial In, Dial Out, Dial Often Trojan Horses: Pretty Ponies with Deadly Insides Cookies: Does My Oreo Have a Tape Recorder in It? Who Is at Risk? How Do I Know If I Have Spyware? Defend Yourself Against Spyware Spyware Countermeasures: 10-Minute Tactics Ban All Spies: Strong Spyware Defense in an Afternoon Run a Full System Scan Install a Second Anti-spyware Program Inoculate Your System Use Firefox Clean Cookies Spyware Infection Found! How to Scrub Your System How to Fix a Browser Hijack Decimate the Little Suckers with CWShredder Microsoft Mimics HijackThis: System Explorers 3. Hackers: There's a Man in My Machine. What Is a Hacker? Who Are the Hackers? What Damage Can Hackers Do? Targets of a Hack Attack Corporate Networks Web Servers Personal Computers Hacker Motivation: I Think Therefore I Hack Tools of the Trade: Pass Me a Trojan Horse, Would You? Firewall: Shut Out the Hackers Software Firewalls: Programs That Stop Hackers Windows Firewall: Built-in Defense Third-Party Software Firewalls Recommended Firewall Freebies Hardware Firewalls Easy Defense with a NAT Firewall Stateful Inspection: The Meticulous Traffic Cop How to Detect a Hacker Attack How to Fix a Hacker Attack Steps You Can Take Immediately After Being Hacked Batten down the Hatches-10-Minute Tactics Turn on Windows Firewall Activate the Firewall on a Mac OS X System Wall off the World-Install a Better Firewall in an Afternoon Install a Two-way Software Firewall Install a Hardware Firewall 4. Identity Thieves and Phishers: Protect Your Good Name and Bank Account. What Is Identity Theft? Techniques Thieves Use to Steal Your Identity How They Become You: Identity Theft Techniques Preventative Measures: How to Not Become a Victim Signs You're a Victim What to Do If You're an Identity Theft Victim What Is Phishing? How Does Phishing Work? Email Address Spoofing Link Spoofing Web Address Spoofing What Is Pharming? What Damage Can Be Done By Phishing? Who Is at Risk? Everyone! Don't Get Phished: 10-Minute Tactics to Stay Off the Hook They Won't Ask, You Don't Tell Use Caution and Cut and Paste Communicate Securely Install an Anti-spam Filter Block Phishing Sites with NetCraft Carry a Big Spoofstick Keep Your Antivirus and Anti-Spyware Programs Up-to-Date Keep Your Computer Software Up-to-Date Ensure You Are You: Take an Afternoon to Protect Your Identity Check Your Credit Reports Shred It Before You Chuck It Read Your Statements 5. Spam: Unwanted Email from Hell. What Is Spam? Why Does Spam Keep Coming? Why Doesn't Someone Stop the Spammers? How Do Spammers Get My Email Address? Website Harvesting Dictionary Spamming Commercial Email Lists Newsgroups, Discussion Forums, and Interactive Websites Contests and Other Free Offerings Email Forwarding The Damage Spam Can Do Reduce the Flow-10-Minute Tactics to Reduce Spam Don't Respond Don't Post Your Email Address on the Web Webmasters Shouldn't Use mailto Turn Off Image Display in Email Programs Turn On Junk Mail Filtering Kill More Spam-In an Afternoon Install an Anti-spam Program Fight Back! 6. Wireless Network Snoops: Lock Down Your Wi-Fi Network. What Is a Wireless Home Network? What Damage Can a Wireless Network Snoop Dish Out? Who Are the Snoopers? Wardrivers Bandwidth Bandits Wireless Hackers Your Wi-Fi Network Is Full of Holes! How to Access Your Router Set-up First Line of Defense: Secure Your Wi-Fi Network Turn On WEP Turn On WPA MAC Address Filtering: Keep Out the Scottish Detecting a Visit from a Wireless Snoop I'm Under Attack! What to Do If You Discover a Wireless Network Snoop Turn Off Wireless Access Activate Security Measures Assess the Damage Wireless Security Workup: Quick Tactics and Some That Take a Little More Time 10-Minute Tactic: Change the Router's User ID and Password 10-Minute Tactic: Change Your Default SSID 10-Minute Tactic: Turn On the Windows Firewall 10-Minute Tactic: Turn Off UpnP 10-Minute Tactic: Turn Off Your Router When Not in Use Time Intensive Tactic: Be Careful with File Sharing 7. Privacy Snoops: Cover Your Tracks and Your Reputation. Why Your Privacy Is Important What You Leave Behind on Your Computer Web Browser Documents Movies and Audio Players Email Chat Programs Who Are the Privacy Snoops? The Consequences of Being Caught Emergency Tactics-I Am Being Snooped On! Administrator Limited Users Guest Accounts How to Create PC Privacy Obscure Your Trail-In About 10 Minutes Microsoft Internet Explorer Mozilla Firefox Cover Your Tracks-In an Afternoon Clean Multimedia Players Windows Media Player 10 Real Player 10 Protect Your Email Turn Off Saved Sent Items Empty Deleted Items Folder Don't Leave Email on the Server Wash Windows Scrub Microsoft Office Deleted Files Are Not Gone Turn Off Chat Logs Clean Restore Points II. STRATEGIES FOR SAFE AND SECURE COMPUTING. 8. Let's Smash-Proof Windows: Tweak Windows XP Nice and Tight. If Windows XP Is a Dike, You're a Little Dutch Boy Step 1: Trash Unnecessary Programs Step 2: Install Firefox Step 3: Install Antivirus Software and Scan for Viruses Step 4: Install Anti-Spyware Software and Scan for Spyware Step 5: Block Out the Bad Guys and Install a Firewall Step 6: Install and Configure Microsoft Updates and Service Pack 2 Step 7: Install Netcraft's Anti-Phishing Toolbar Step 8: Protect Yourself from Spam Step 9: Managing Your File Sharing Security 9. Starting from the Beginning: Wiping a Hard Drive and Rebuilding from the Ground Up. Light the Fuse and Stand Back Let's Get Started XP Installation CD or System Recovery Disk Windows SP2: The Mother of All Service Packs Collect Your Drivers Installation CDs for Your Programs Internet Service Software and Settings Security Programs Step 1: Download Drivers and Software You Need for the Re-install Got a Recovery CD? That's Good News! Retail Copy of Windows XP? There's Some Work to Do Step 2: Back Up! Outlook Outlook Express My Documents IE Favorites and Cookies Firefox Favorites Saved Games Pictures, Music, and Videos Microsoft Office 2003 Settings Windows Media Player Other Odds and Ends Step 3: Pull the Plug on the Network Step 4: Wipe Away Windows Using a System Recovery CD Using a Windows XP Install CD Step 5: Re-install Windows Step 6: Re-install Your Drivers Step 7: Install Protection Against Malware Install an Antivirus Program Install an Anti-spyware Program Install a Firewall Step 8a: Install Windows XP Service Pack 2 (from CD) Step 8b: Install SP2 from the Internet Step 9: Configure Your Security Settings Step 10: Install Firefox Step 11: Configure Your Networking Home Network Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Cable Internet Dial-up Step 12: Update Windows with All Recent Security Patches Step 13: Update All of Your Security Programs and Security Signatures Step 14: Activate Windows Step 15: Re-install Your Programs Step 16: Other Things You Can Do 10. Ongoing Maintenance: Fend Off Future Threats! Note to Self: Keep Computer Secure Daily Routines: Walk the Dog, Feed the Kids, and Secure the Computer Update Your Antivirus and Anti-Spyware Signatures Update AVG Signatures Update Microsoft AntiSpyware Update Spybot Search & Destroy Weekly Routines: How to Never Be Bored on Saturday Morning Scan for Viruses and Spyware Check for Firefox Updates Monthly Routines: Clean the Garage, Trim the Hedge, and Update Windows Windows Updates Inspect Other Computers Router Firmware Updates Patch Microsoft Office Software Updates Bathe Once a Year Whether You Need It and Reformat and Re-install, Too Wipe Your Hard Drive and Re-install Windows III. TOOLS FOR MAINTENANCE AND PROTECTION. 11. Selecting Software: Steals, Deals, and Software Duds. Security Software: Nothing in Life Is Free, Except Software Payware: Software You Pay Hard-Earned Cash For Freeware: Don't Pay a Cent Software Weirdware: When It's Not Payware or Freeware Gimpware: Free Software, but Not All the Bits Work Trialware: It's Free, Until It's Not Shareware: I Trust You to Pay Me What Should I Pay for My Security Toolbox? Choosing the Right Security Software Antivirus Anti-Spyware Firewall Anti-Spam 12. Tools of the Trade: Security Products You Should Own. Which Security Software Is Right for You? Antivirus Programs Freeware Payware Anti-Spyware Freeware Payware Firewalls Anti-Spam IV. APPENDIXES. A. Glossary. Index.

Reviews

Author Information

Andy Walker is one of North America's top technology journalists. Since 1995, he has written about personal computer technology for dozens of newspapers, magazines, and websites. His personal technology advice column was syndicated across the Southam Newspaper chain and today the body of work is published at Cyberwalker.com where more than 5 million unique visitors read the advice annually. Andy has appeared as a tech expert on hundreds of TV and radio broadcasts and now co-hosts hosted the internationally syndicated TV show Call for Help with Leo Laporte and Amber MacArthur. Andy was born in the United Kingdom, educated and raised in Canada, and now lives in Toronto with a two cats and a really secure personal computer.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions