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Security and Keeping a Healthy Computer

The threat of computer viruses and email worms is on the rise these days, and, yet, we become more dependent on the Internet to conduct everyday business. The Internet is our gateway to the new global economy. Our reaching to do business across oceans to other countries feels almost as if we’re doing business with the corner store down the street. Money changes hand on the Internet more and more because doing so online is convenient and fast. People just like the idea of not having to leave home or saving time out of their already busy schedules.

We can buy, sell, trade, pay bills, bank online -- things we thought we would never do -- but, we do so, out of convenience. With lots and lots of transactions happening on the Internet, you need to keep all that vital, private information, well, private. This is more important, now than ever, with the need to access the Internet, from anywhere, using wireless connections.

eSignal and our suite of services depend on an Internet connection that’s always on. The idea of an open Internet connection causes some uncomfortable feelings with many users. The question of security is always a concern.

Many solutions are available on the market that keep your computer safe from hackers and viruses. Firewall and anti-virus programs are what you need to keep your computer safe and healthy. These are relatively inexpensive tools for what they do. Investing in these tools can prevent you from losing a lot more than the cost of these programs.

Many of these programs are available as a package, known as Internet security software, with the firewall and antivirus included, as well as a few extra levels of protection. When you are buying a new computer, some of these tools are already installed and ready to use out of the box. McAfee and Norton are the more well-known packages available.

Here is a brief description of some of these tools:

The name "firewall" was used to describe the wall in a car that separates the engine from the passenger compartment. It only allows what is needed to get into the passenger area, and it keeps the unwanted heat, from the engine, from coming into the passenger area. Just as with the car's firewall, a firewall for your computer allows the Internet traffic that you need to come in, and it keeps out what you don’t need. The holes you open in a firewall program are known as ports. These ports can be configured by the end user.

An anti-virus program scans and prevents viruses and worms from infecting and attacking your computer. Viruses and worms are usually downloaded via email attachments or when you are downloading certain items off of the Internet. An anti-virus program will continuously scan your PC for any viruses. If it comes across one, it will notify you and take care of the problem. When a file is downloading, it will scan it. If the file turns out to be a virus or a worm, the anti-virus software will intercept the file and let you know that it’s a danger to your system, and delete it.

When you install eSignal and open it for the first time on a computer with Internet security, or when you've just installed Norton or McAfee, you will be prompted by your firewall to allow eSignal to access the Internet. All you need to do is allow eSignal to access the Internet, and the Internet Security software will take care of the rest -- no need to do major programming.

Taking these needed steps will to protect your computer. Keep in mind, however, that there is always someone out there who can bypass these protective measures. To make sure that nothing can be bypassed, make sure all of your software updates are done. When new threats are introduced, you want to make sure that your computer and your security software is include the latest software updates.

In most cases, the updates are completely free or done automatically. If you purchased any of these packages, make sure you refer to the instruction manual and that you know how to update your security software.