Study reveals more than half of computer users who think they are protected against online threats are dead wrong

Back in December, Verizon published a study they'd had done, surveying how protected people thought they were on the Internet, versus how well protected they actually were.

The results were disturbing -- it seems 92% of people thought they were safe, but in fact, 59% were actually vulnerable to a variety of threats!

Now understand something -- a lot of people have a very narrow view of "safe" and "not safe" and tend to think that if they don't order stuff online, that they're OK no matter what.

This is not the case.

First off, ordering from a reputable website is not really very risky in itself -- in fact, there's a very valid argument for the idea that it's actually a lot *safer* than ordering from an 800 number, or handing your credit card over to a server at a restaurant!

Why is that? Well, in the examples of a restaurant or an 800 number, you're usually giving your credit card number over to someone you don't know, who could easily write the number down and use it for themselves.

I've also heard of more than one case where someone working at a restaurant used their cell phone camera to take a quick picture of the front of a card to steal the number!

But of course, when you're ordering from a website, in most cases no person ever even *sees* your credit card number, and I've never heard of a greedy or dishonest machine.

So the risks they were talking about in the study really have very little to do with ordering stuff off the Web.

One of the biggest problems reported in the study is that a *lot* of people either have no antivirus software on their computer, or it's there, but no longer working.

You see, many computers come with a "trial version" of a program that works for 3 months, then if you don't pay to activate it, it stops protecting you. Or people buy the protection once, then it runs out after a year, and again they're not protected.

If you've listened to my special report audio CD "5 Common & Costly Computer Mistakes and How To Avoid Making Them Yourself" then you know all about this.

If you don't have this CD, it comes for free as one of the *eight free bonus easy computer lesson CDs* you can get for just the price of a single visit from a consultant (but only if you take advantage of my special offer before the end of January 5th).

What you also know if you've listened to my "5 Mistakes" special report, which they didn't even mention in this study, is that the antivirus programs most people are using have an up to 80% *failure rate* at detecting and removing the latest viruses and worms!

So even if you *do* have current antivirus software (such as McAfee, Trend Micro, or Norton) then you're *not* really that well protected from viruses and worms!

Again, if you've listened to my "5 Mistakes" special report, you know this, and know I recommend a very good program called Kaspersky to use instead.

Now Mac users have a lot less to worry about, at least at this point, when it comes to threats like viruses and worms, but there are still a lot of potential threats out there that can affect your computer, your privacy, and your security if you don't know about them no matter whether you use one of Apple's Macs, or a Windows PC.

A few of the ways your computer might not be as secure as it should be include:
- not having your computer (Apple Mac or Windows PC) firewall program turned on (not to mention using the *right* firewall program),
- not getting your security updates done
- not backing up your computer correctly
- having your account settings wrong
- and a lot more than I can cover in this email, or in a dozen more like it

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, well if that's true, then a video (movie) is worth a million. That's why I created my easy video lesson CDs -- with the video lessons, I can *show* you the steps and make it easy to follow in a way that's just not possible by email or in a book!

As you might know, I'm running a special for the next few days to celebrate the New Year (not to mention the anniversary of my computer lesson CDs, which I started a second business and began developing 2 years ago this month)

If you want to easily make your computer safer and easier to use, then you really should stop by my website and at least see what I'm offering here.

And remember, like all of my CDs, they come with a full 1-year, 12 month, 365 day no-hassle money back guarantee: return them any time in that year for a full refund. You sure won't get that if you hire a consultant!

All you have to do is go to one of the following addresses, depending on whether you use a Apple Mac or a Windows PC.

Windows PC users (Dell, HP, Sony, etc.) click this link to get easy Windows computer lessons

and Apple Mac users (owners of an iMac, iBook, MacBook, etc.) click this link to get easy Apple Mac computer lessons

before the price goes back up!

You'll be glad you did.

Worth Godwin

P.S. Remember, this special price and special package of CDs are only available to get so much for so little for a couple more days!

P.P.S. Those addresses again are:

Windows PC users (Dell, HP, Sony, etc.) click this link to get easy Windows computer lessons

and Apple Mac users (owners of an iMac, iBook, MacBook, etc.) click this link to get easy Apple Mac computer lessons

What A Firewall is and Why You Must Use One

As you may know, a firewall is a protective barrier for your computer, which acts to shield it from threats on your local network and the internet. It's kind of like a security system for your house. Where I live in Hawaii, many of us leave our doors unlocked all the time, and never have a problem.

Unfortunately this is a really bad idea on the internet – when your computer is online (which if you have high speed internet like DSL or cable, is all the time) it's as if the entire world is next door to your "house," so unfortunately you have to act as if your neighbors are all criminals, since someone in Nigeria can get to your computer just as easily as someone in Captain Cook, Hawaii.

Your network or internet connection (an internet connection is also a type of network connection, it just connects you to the world instead of one or more computers in your home or office) is actually split up into what are called "ports" -- imagine a house with many many windows, some open, some closed -- many ports have a specific purpose, like port 25 which is usually used for sending email.

What a firewall does is seal off all the ports that aren't needed, just leaving open the ports you need to send and receive email, browse the web, and so on.

If the other ports are left open, that increases the ways a person or a program (such as a worm) can just stroll right in, just like if you leave the doors or windows open in your house.

If you have a router (which is a device used to share a DSL or cable connection with more than one computer, or to make your internet connection wireless) then there should be a firewall in the router. This is what's known as a hardware firewall (since it's part of a piece of equipment), as opposed to a software firewall, which is a program on your computer.

Some people assume that having a router with a firewall is enough to protect your computer, but while it will help, you really need to have a software firewall too.

Windows XP & Vista, as well as Mac OS 10.2 and higher both have a software firewall built into them. Earlier versions of Windows and the Mac OS do not. If you have Windows XP with service pack 2 installed, or Windows Vista, then the firewall is almost definitely on.


Different kinds of software firewalls.

There are two general types of software firewall: you can think of them as "active" and "passive" firewalls.

In other words, a passive firewall just sort of sits there, and blocks the needed ports to keep things out and that's about it. An active firewall on the other hand, does the same thing, but also sort of sits up and pays attention to what's going on inside your computer, and gives you control over what programs can get out.

So if you have a piece of spyware on your computer that's trying to "phone home" to report in on what information it's collected about you, the active firewall can block it to protect you. And the byproduct of this is you're safer.

Both the Windows XP and Mac OS X firewalls are passive.

This is a lot less of a risk for the Mac, since there are no malicious programs infecting those systems (at time I'm recording this, there are a small number of programs like this written for Mac, but they're not circulating or infecting computers). You definitely need a firewall on a Mac to protect from outside attacks, but a passive one, at least for now, is enough.

On a Windows machine, a passive firewall is not enough, since there are thousands of malicious programs including worms, trojans, and spyware which, if they're on your computer, will try to sneak information out of your computer.

So if you're just using a passive firewall like the Windows firewall, you can fall victim of so-called malware without even realizing it.

You see, what happens is this; a piece of malware will get onto your system and usually does one of three things: either it invites more malware in, opens a "back door" for someone to come in and snoop around, or it collects information about you and sends it out to persons unknown.

An active firewall will let you control what programs can get out to the internet, not just what can get in, which is very important.

To go back to our security system metaphor, if you have a passive firewall it's kind of like locking your doors and windows -- it does make it much harder for someone to break into your house or office from outside.

Unfortunately, the thieves are really smart, so they sneak someone inside when you're not paying attention and that person hides himself somewhere and then opens a door or window to let his buddies in, or rifles through your belongings and hands them through the window to someone outside.

If you have an active firewall, it's like a security guard is constantly patrolling inside the building, and only allows you or people you trust to use the doors and windows. If a stranger has gotten in, he's held until you can decide if he's OK or not, or his hands are tied so he can't steal anything.

Does that make sense?

So what do you need to do?

Well, if you're running any computer, you absolutely must have a firewall or you run the risk of someone hacking into your computer, or allowing a malicious program in. Macs are safe enough with a passive firewall, but because of the thousands of worms, viruses, spyware, etc. a Windows machine is still very vulnerable without an active firewall.

Windows users have a lot of options, like buying Norton Internet Security, (which includes not just Norton Antivirus but also Norton Personal Firewall), or using Zone Lab's ZoneAlarm.

One option I recommend is ZoneAlarm – even the free version is a really great product, and can protect your computer very well.

A better option is Kaspersky Internet Security, which aside from being arguably the very best antivirus programs around, also has a good firewall program built in.

Do not rely on the Windows firewall as it does not give you enough protection. Keep in mind active firewall programs do need some configuration to block and allow the right programs.

The firewall program usually asks you if you want to allow or block a program (and you can usually allow it or block it once or always) the first time a program tries to connect to the internet.

If it's something like Outlook, Firefox, or any other legit program that needs to connect to the internet, you want to allow it. If you're not sure if a program is legit, the firewall usually tells you the name of the program it's asking you about, so you can type it into Google and look it up.

Chances are, if you see a lot of search results talking about viruses or adware, then you should probably block it and try to get it cleaned up.

Setting the firewall program up the right way can be a little tricky, especially for a lot of more basic computer users, which is why I make it easy in my video course on easy and safe internet. I show you how to install the free version of Zonealarm, and exactly how to use it, step by step.

Mac users who want a little more security than the built-in
OS X firewall program provides, can check out a program called Little Snitch. This is an active firewall program, like Zonealarm. The demo version of Little Snitch is a free download, which works on a trial basis.

Using a firewall is a vital part of keeping your computer, and all the files on it, secure. Don't make the mistake of running your computer without one.