- Getting your security right.

The internet can seem like a dangerous place. You have a nagging worry in your mind, that when you are browsing websites downloading the latest release from your favorite singer, is this safe? Is a virus going to get on to my computer, destroy all my work and steal my personal details? While the Internet can seem be a scary place, with viruses, and other nasties seemingly poised to get you at any moment, the internet is a wonderful resource and should be used to its full potential rather than make you want to pull the phone cable out of the wall and go back to playing mine sweeper.

This is a dilemma that we are very familiar with. Our engineers are very experienced in both preventing attacks on your computer and cleaning up and repairing any damage afterwards. However, we always prefer to be helping you get your computer setup right in the first place rather then cleaning it up for you later on.

While you have to take precautions the internet can be safely enjoyed. There are 4 simple steps you need to take to keep your computer safe,

1. Make sure you have an anti-virus package that also includes protection for your identity.

2. Make sure you have a firewall monitoring the information heading in and out of your computer. This will prevent unwanted bugs sneaking in the back door, or leaving through the front door with your information.

3. Keep your computers up to date, Microsoft releases weekly updates for their Windows software that fix problems and plug the latest holes that viruses and their friends use to get into your computer.

4. If you aren’t sure your computer is protected, call in an expert. It takes about an hour for one of our engineers to get an anti-virus program setup, check that your computer is updating itself, and generally make sure all is well.  If there is something wrong and repair is needed, computers with cleanable infections it will take about 2 hours to sort out. If an infection isn’t cleanable, and we have to recover all your documents, restore the computer and re-setup your programs, it can take as much as 5 hours and leave you with a significant bill.

As they say, prevention is better that cure, and if you are at all unsure about how to secure your computer it is far better to call in one of our engineers for an hour and have peace of mind knowing that your computer is safe.