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Friday, July 04, 2008 |
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Security
HELPFUL COMPUTER SAFETY TIPS
While American Bank has taken many steps to enhance the security and privacy of your online banking experience, we felt it important to share with you several precautions you can take to ensure that your home computers are protected when you access the Internet. Please note that we are NOT recommending any specific software company or program and we do NOT offer technical support for any software that you might install on your computer as a result of this web page.
There are several areas that we feel are important in protecting your computer. The first of these is ensuring that the software you are running on your computer has the most current release. This can be done by going to the web site of the operating system vendor (Microsoft for Windows 98, Millennium, Windows 2000 or Windows XP, Red Hat, Mandrake, Caldera, etc. for Linux) and downloading and installing all new system updates and patches. Also, make sure that you have newer versions of your preferred Web browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) and, after installing any new software, be sure to go to the vendor’s web site and download and install any updates and patches. Also, check back at the vendor’s web site for new updates or patches as they are being added continuously. The following link will take you to a page detailing the latest Internet Explorer and Windows patches for whatever Windows operating system you are running:
Microsoft Windows Update
Another very important area to address is "File Sharing". When this is set to "on", your files can be accessed by anyone. By default, when you purchased your computer, Microsoft has this set to "on". To turn File Sharing "off", go to the Control Panel, select Network and then "File and Print Sharing". You should turn all of the choices to "off". These instructions are for Windows 98 so the procedure may vary depending on your operating system.
Firewalls are the third area to address when protecting your personal computer. A firewall is a layer of protection between the Internet and your computer and filters information coming into your computer as well as packets sent out. A personal firewall is particularly important for those who connect to the Internet through an "always on" broadband connection (either by DSL or cable modem). The following links offer information about firewalls, including being able to download firewalls for free:
Zone Labs-Internet Security Products
ZDNet Downloads
Another important area is anti-virus software. Anti-virus software protects your computer against viruses, Trojan horses and worms that can damage the data and operating system on your computer, or can be configured to send data stored on your computer to someone else or use your computer to do harm to other computers. The most popular vendors of anti-virus programs are Symantec (Norton Anti-Virus), McAfee (McAfee Virus Scan, Dr. Solomon) and Trend Micro (PC-cillin 2005). These programs are easy to install and offer virus definition updates that usually involve clicking on the "Update" button, connecting to the Internet, and waiting for the definitions to download and install. Keeping your virus definitions updated is extremely important, as new viruses are being written and released all the time. Updating your system should be done at the very minimum once a month, but once a week or every two weeks would not be too often. The following links offer information about several popular anti-virus programs:
Symantec-Norton AntiVirus
McAfee.com
Trend Micro
ZDNet - AntiVirus Reviews
The final important area is anti-spyware software. Anti-spyware software protects your computer by preventing other web sites from placing malicious programs on your personal computer. The most popular vendors of anti-spyware programs are Ad-Aware and SpyBot. The following links also offer information about downloading these popular anti-spyware programs, many times free of charge:
Ad-AWare
SpyBot - Search & Destroy
ZDNet Downloads - Anti-Spyware
While we have provided this information as a convenience to you, there are other products and services available that can assist you in protecting your computer. American Bank does not endorse a particular software or company although it may have been mentioned on this page. We encourage you to research the information provided and contact the appropriate companies for any questions you may have about their products or services.
We appreciate your help as we work together to ensure the safety and privacy of your information on the Internet.
Check our Security FAQ for more information regarding online security.
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| This page was retrieved at 3:27:46 PM on July 4, 2008 |
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