Computer Safety

Family Safety – Parental Controls

In Windows 7 you can set limits on your children’s computer use – and help them be much safer online. This prevents you from constantly having to peek over there shoulders.

Time limits

You can set time limits to control when children are allowed to log on to the computer. Time limits prevent children from logging on during the certain hours that you specify. You can set different logon hours for every day of the week. If they’re logged on when their allotted time ends, they will be automatically logged off

Playing Games

You can control access to games, choose an age-rating level, choose the types of content you want to block, and decide whether you want to allow or block unrated or specific games

Allow or block specific programs

You can prevent children from running programs that you don’t want them to run.

Monitor where your kids go online

It might not be possible to be present whenever your child is online. But it is possible to check later to see where your children have been online.

By reviewing the History list in Internet Explorer, you can see all the places your child visited online. To view your Internet History, click the History button on the browser toolbar.

Windows Updates

How can you tell wether you have the latest windows updates installed?

1. Open Windows updates from control panel or by clicking the start button and in the serach box type “Windows Update”

2. Select “Check for Updates”

3. If there are any updates found install them by clicking “Install Updates”

Protect yourself from scams

Email and Web Scams

When you read email or surfing the internet you should be wary of scams that try to steal your passwords or personal information, banking details etc. These are known as “Phishing Scams” as they are fishing for your info.

Fake Microsoft Lottery Scam

There are an increasing amount of cybercriminals using techniques such as pretending to be from Microsoft and trying to convince you to give them information and money. Some of our customers have actually had phone calls similar to this and it’s becoming more common.

Creating strong passwords

Strong passwords are very important to protect your online accounts, files and any other personal information. A strong password should be at least 14 characters and contain letters, symbols and numbers.

Security protection software

Ensure you have an upto date Virus Scanner which has firewall built and can deal with spyware and malicious software.

We recommend Eset Smart Security – they have a free scan tool which can be found here, but would highly recommend there full package Smart Security -  we can supply and install for you at a very reasonable price.(Contact Us for this service)

Backing Up

Backup & Restore – improved for Windows 7 – creates safety copies of your most important files, so you’re always prpeared for the worst. You can let Windows choose what to backup or you can manually select individual files and folders yourself. Create a schedule when to backup and then sit back in the comfort that all your data is being backed up.