Do you want to know which programs are using your internet data?

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Do you want to know which programs are using your internet data?

By Jeandre de Beer / Kim Komando

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Have you ever wondered where your monthly internet bandwidth has gone to? 

Sometimes we are not even halfway through the month and all our data has been depleted.

Do you know what your computer is up to while you’re away, or what it’s doing right under your nose? 

If you have a server or firewall on your network it makes this task much easier – since all internet traffic can be routed through the server / firewall and a detailed report can be generated on who accessed what sites and the amount of data that a specific user consumed during the month.

If you are a home user or if you do not own a server or firewall – internet monitoring and management becomes more difficult.

Home users and small business owners usually do not have the need to spend a large amount of money on internet monitoring, but they still want to have basic controls over what happens with their bandwidth.

 

Is there a way to find out what happened?

 

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3 Ways you could be attacked when using Public Wi-Fi

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3 WAYS YOU COULD BE ATTACKED WHEN USING PUBLIC WIFI

By Jeandre de Beer / Kim Komando

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When you’re out of the office and running out of data on your cellular plan, finding free public Wi-Fi is easier than ever before, but free public Wi-Fi comes with a cost – security risks.

 

You can find free Wi-Fi hotspots everywhere, and you can even search for them before you travel using an app like Free Wi-Fi Finder. Just keep in mind that crooks have several ways to steal your information when you’re using a free Wi-Fi hotspot.

 

Here are three of the most popular methods, and some tips on how to protect yourself.

 

1. Fake Wi-Fi networks

 

Most free Wi-Fi comes courtesy of a coffee shop or hotel, but that free network might actually be a hacker-run router.

 

Hackers have no problem setting up a router in a public area and naming it something like “coffee shop Wi-Fi” or “free hotel Wi-Fi.” It might even use the name of a business in the area. Plenty of people will connect without thinking.

 

A hacker might also set up next to a legitimate Wi-Fi network and give his network the same name. Even if you spot the duplication in the network list, you won’t know which one is safe.

 

Once you connect to the hacker’s network, he can start scanning your gadget for weaknesses and infect your device with viruses or spy on your browsing. He can also redirect your browsing so you end up on malicious websites.

 

How do you stay safe?

 

 

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What is Ransomware? How can you protect yourself?

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What is Ransomware? How can you protect yourself?

By Jeandre de Beer

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Ransomware is a type of malware that tries to extort money from you. Malware gets installed on your pc that prevents you from working by displaying a message that pops up or by encrypting all the files on your computer. 

They then require your credit card details to unlock your pc or to decrypt your files.

Its not the case anymore of some young teenager creating malware just for fun – much of the malware is now created for profit and it is becoming much more sophisticated.

 

How does it work?

 

There are many diffirent types of ransomware, but they all have one thing in common – they want you to make a payment before they give you control back of your pc and files.

If you get infected you will most probably see messages like these : “Your computer is infected, purchase this product to fix the infection” or “Your computer has been used to download illegal files, pay a fine to continue using your computer.”

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How did Spammers Get my Email Address?

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How did Spammers Get my Email Address?

By Jeandre de Beer

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It seems that everybody receives spam emails – no matter how careful you are. How does spammers get our email addresses and is there anything we can do to hide ourselves from them?

The truth is – there is no fool proof way of preventing spam.

We will discuss a few steps to protect your email address the best we can.

 

But how do they get your address?

 

The easiest way for spammers to collect large lists of good, active email addresses is via leaked account databases. These leaks happen on a regular basis – this is even the case for large corporate companies.

Adobe, Yahoo, Sony and LinkedIn is just a few companies that have been attacked by hackers and had their databases stolen.

Spammers then use these leaked databases and add millions of email addresses to their email lists. They know that the majority of these email addresses should be active, so these databases are an excellent resource for them.

There is really not much you can do to protect yourself from a spammer getting your email address in this way.

 

Must you click on links you receive in Spam mails to unsubscribe?

 

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What is a Keylogger? Why is it so Dangerous?

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What is a Keylogger? Why is it so Dangerous?

by Jeandre de Beer

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All of us have heard about viruses and malware – but not many of us knows exactly what a keylogger is and why you should do everything possible to protect yourself from this.

A keylogger is a piece of software — or a hardware device — that logs every key you press on your keyboard. It can capture personal messages, passwords, credit card numbers, and everything else you type.

Keyloggers are usually installed by malware programs and the idea is to get your personal information and credit card details.

 

How a Keylogger Would Get On Your Computer

 

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Why am I receiving so many SPAM emails?

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Why am I receiving so many SPAM emails?

By Jeandre de Beer

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Spam emails is a huge time waster. Spam is unsolicited emails that you receive – basically any email you receive that tries to sell you something that you did not sign up for.

You get to work on a Monday morning – already stressed out about the day’s tasks – you open your email client – and you see a mountain of mails waiting for you.

As you start to read through them you realize that most of the emails you received over the weekend is spam.

It takes forever to sort your email – deleting spam mails and moving legitimate emails to another folder. Before you realize it – you wasted an hour of your morning.

 

 

Is there any way to prevent spam? Read more

I have an Anti-Virus program – Why do I still get infected then?

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I have an Anti-Virus program – Why do I still get infected then?

By Jeandre de Beer

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Many times a client asks us this question : I have an Anti-Virus program installed and I keep it updated on a regular basis. I update my Windows with the latest security patches, but I still seem to get virus infections from time to time – WHY?

This is a very good question, since so many believe that having an anti-virus program installed protects them fully from getting infected – sadly it doesn’t.

Staying protected is not easy.

 

In simple terms there are three components when it comes to virus infections : Read more

How do I protect my computer from Viruses?

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How do I protect my computer from Viruses?

By Jeandre de Beer

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Viruses are common place today – and each day new viruses are released. Most of the times they make our computers slow and displays annoying pop up ads, but sometimes they can destroy data.

It is best to make sure that we are adequately protected against infection.

 

 

Here are four steps to keep in mind : Read more