Security Centre
Computer security
Safety online starts with keeping your computer secure, and protecting it from viruses and other internet threats.
By taking a few preventive measures, you can help keep your computer safe.
By taking a few preventive measures, you can help keep your computer safe.
The following advice has been provided by AusCERT. We recommend you apply all these steps to provide the best protection when connecting your computer to the internet.
Keep your operating systems and other software up to date- Configure your PC to do automatic software patch updates. This will make the task of keeping software up to date as easy as possible.
- Patches should also be applied to your email applications, browser applications (such as Internet Explorer) and other software used often (such as Word and Excel).
Perform day-to-day tasks under a limited user account- By using a limited/reduced user account rather than one with administrator-level privileges when accessing email or browsing the web, you can reduce the ability of malware infecting your computer.
- Use an administrator account only when you need to configure the security features of your computer and install new software from sources you trust.
Install anti-virus and anti-spyware software- Once installed, configure your anti-virus software so it updates itself at least daily.
- Spyware scanners complement anti-virus software. They detect and protect against a variety of programs that can be secretly installed on your PC.
Install spam filter software- Spam filters examine incoming email to determine whether it is spam.
- Filters do not successfully block spam all the time. Do not assume all emails delivered to your inbox are legitimate even if they appear to be from known sources.
Install a personal firewall- Every home PC that connects to the internet should have a personal (software) firewall. Configure it to allow only essential internet connections.
Turn off insecure features in your browser- You may prefer to configure your browser to prompt you before allowing programs or scripts to run (eg Java, Javascript, ActiveX, IFrame).
- Although anti-virus software can help protect your PC from the most harmful web-based programs, you should still activate as many security features on your browser as possible.
Get a private network address- If you use broadband consider buying a combined broadband modem/router to give your PC a private network address. This provides greater protection than a software-based personal firewall on its own.
- By turning your PC off when not in use you will reduce the time available for malicious programs to attack your computer.
