Updates & Patches » Read more
A bug in computer code is much like a spelling mistake in a book, however it is most often far more serious. Bugs in computer code can cause crashes, performance lags, data loss, and even worse, accidental backdoors and information disclosure. Updating your system is vital to keeping it stable and secure.

Hackers / Firewalls » Read more
A firewall controls everything going in and out of your computer. It's your main line of defence against malicious hackers.
A personal firewall will block unwanted access to your system from the outside, and prevent malicious software from leaking data, and trojans from providing backdoor access.

Viruses & Worms » Read more
Viruses and Worms are small programs designed to cause damage to the software and data on your computer.
Hundreds of new viruses are created every month, fortunately they are pretty easy to protect against.

Trojans » Read more
Named after the mythical trojan horse, these malicious programs, often disguised as something harmless or desirable, compromise your systems security, deploy payloads of viruses, and/or provide remote control to a hacker.

Spyware » Read more
Some spyware can be relatively harmless, just spying on your internet activity (usually for marketing/spamming purposes), however much can be extremely damaging, far more than a virus.
A virus may destroy files on your hard drive, but some spyware has the potential to steal passwords (especially ones for internet banking), and from there a hacker can gain entry to your computer or even drain your bank account of all your money, ruining your life!

Passwords » Read more
Weak passwords can be cracked in minutes or even seconds. Learn how to create a strong password. If you think you know already, skim through it anyway to make sure! This topic also covers other user account related info.

Regular Backups
Prepair for the worst case scenario. What happens is a nasty virus wipes out all your data? If you've got a fresh backup you can easily restore it, but if not...

Misc » tips / tweaks
Miscellaneous tips not requiring there own page, and tweaks to lock down some of the default Windows configurations.

Phishing » Read more
Phishing (pronounced 'fishing') is an attempt at identity theft, where fake (but legitimate looking) emails and websites are used to gain private information, such as usernames, passwords and billing information. Don't become a victim of fraud!

Child Safety
coming soon

Public Networks
Never use a public computer to access personal information online. There is absolutely no garantee the computer is secure and safe to use. A keylogger could have been installed to capture everything you do. Your passwords, documents, and activities could be recorded or stolen. If you want to use public internet access, you should use your own computer; personal emails, IM conversations and documents to be transfered should be encrypted; passwords and personal info should only be entered into secure pages; and you should definately look into VPN technology.

Safe Banking
Beware of phising attacks (see above), and only ever submit personal details on a secure page (address uses 'https'; a padlock symbol appears in the address bar or the frame of the browser; note that its the recieving page that matters not the one you type in, so try entering false data and see if the following page is secure, then go back).

Safe Buying
Stick to well know sites like www.amazon.com. Check privacy and return policies. The same rules apply reguarding secure pages as with banking.