Useful Information
Here you will find some general useful information as well as a glossary of terms at the bottom of the page. If you have any suggestions for tips on this page please send me an email and I will consider including them.
What is Wi-Fi?
The sight of people sitting around in a café using their laptops to surf the internet is becoming increasingly common. Without wires hooked up, how are they doing this? The answer is through Wi-Fi. The technology (pronounced ‘why-fye’) is also known as Wireless Fidelity. It is a wireless technology used with a number of applications, including Internet, gaming, and home electronics such as TVs and DVD players. Libraries, coffee shops, airports and hotels increasingly boast Wi-Fi networks for customers to connect to the Internet. In essence Wi-Fi works in the same way as radio, television or mobile phones - by using radio waves. If you are sitting in a café next to that guy with the latté surfing the Net with his laptop, you are in the middle of a little radio wave field. The obvious benefit is that it liberates Internet users to connect in all kinds of places. Once the wireless adapter and the relevant drivers are installed, you will be able to surf wherever you find a hotspot. A number of devices with wireless routers can connect to the Internet simultaneously. Too many people logged on at once however could cause slowed or dropped connections. Home Wi-Fi networks are growing in number. It is actually not so difficult for anyone with a little technical knowledge to set up. Although without security settings it could mean that your neighbours are able to use your network and possibly gain access to your files! Known as piggybacking, this is the practice of bringing your PC into the wireless range of another's without their knowledge and is a controversial subject. In the UK, the first conviction of this kind took place in 2005. Securing your network is therefore advisable.
Email Spoofing
Email spoofing may occur in different forms, but all have a similar result: a user receives email that appears to have originated from one source when it actually was sent from another source. Email spoofing is often an attempt to trick the user into making a damaging statement or releasing sensitive information (such as passwords). Examples of spoofed email that could affect your security include: Email claiming to be from a system administrator requesting users to change their passwords to a specified string, and threatening to suspend their account if they do not do this. Email claiming to be from a person in authority requesting users to send them a copy of a password file or other sensitive information. It is easy to spoof email because SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) lacks authentication. If a site has configured the mail server to allow connections to the SMTP port, anyone can connect to the SMTP port of a site and (in accordance with that protocol) issue commands that will send email that appears to be from the address of the individual's choice; this can be a valid email address or a fictitious address that is correctly formatted. In addition to connecting to the SMTP port of a site, a user can send spoofed email via other protocols (for instance, by modifying their web browser interface). You may be alerted to spoofed email attempts by reports from your family members or by investigating bounced email error messages. The header of the email message often contains a complete history of the ‘hops’ the message has taken to reach its destination. Information in the headers (such as the "Received:" and "Message-ID" information), in conjunction with your mail delivery logs, should help you to determine how the email reached your system. If you are unsure about an email you have received and have doubts about its legitimacy then the best advice is to ignore it and delete it.
Safe Shopping Online
This article should clear up some misconceptions and ease your worries about purchasing goods online. Shopping on line can be a pleasurable experience, once you know which security measures to look for. Read on to find out more.
So what stops some people from purchasing goods online ?........
Reason: Not recognising the security features used by sites or not trusting them.
Answer: Finish reading this article.
Reason: The site concerned is not a well known high street name or brand.
Answer: The sites that only exist on the Internet can undercut many of the largest retailers. It therefore pays to shop around on the internet.
Reason: Worries about customer service, such as delivery of the goods or refunds.
Answer: Read their terms & conditions and details of their delivery service. Or better still send them an email asking for further information and see how long they take to reply, this can frequently be a good indicator of their customer service.
Reason: Stories about credit card numbers being used online without the knowledge of their true owners.
Answer: Ironically, in virtually all the cases of online credit card fraud the actual card numbers were obtained offline. Organised gangs recruit shop assistants and waiting staff to write down card numbers or using small machines create electronic copies of credit cards while they have them to process your transaction.
Safe Shopping Tips
1. Do not send your credit card details by ordinary insecure email or using an ordinary un-encrypted/insecure web page form.
2. When entering your credit card details make sure that the page where you enter your details is secure. To check this look for one of the following: Look for a locked padlock symbol at the bottom or top of the browser window. Check that the website address on the credit card payment page contains "https://", the "s" stands for secure.
3. Check to see if the site has a digital certificate. Look for a logo stating that the site has a digital certificate, this can usually be found on the homepage or on a page dedicated to shopping security. If you click on the logo it will take you to the actual digital certificate. Digital certificates verify the identity of the site you are buying from so that you can be confident that they are who they say they are. Sometimes the digital certificate will belong to the company hosting the web site. This tells you that the site is hosted on the hosting company's servers and that the hosting company has all the necessary contact details relating to the site.
One of the main providers of digital certificates is Thawte, they will only issue a digital certificate once the company applying has verified their legal details, such as their date of incorporation & company registration number and registered office address.
4. If you are required to create a password to complete your purchase use, (where possible) a combination of numbers and letters, rather than recognisable names or words that may be guessed by others.
5. Where possible print out a copy of the transaction order so that you have a record of the order for future reference and keep any emails that confirm your purchase.
6. Always look for the site's contact details a link to these is normally placed on the homepage of the site.
7. Never post your credit card details on a bulletin board or in a chat room.
Why Shop Online?
1. Price-
Goods bought online are frequently cheaper, even when allowing for delivery charges and VAT. This is particularly true of goods bought direct from the US, the savings can be up to 50%.
2. Convenience- No sitting in traffic using your fuel, paying for parking or struggling on public transport. Instant service without having to stand in shop queues.
3. Security-If a site uses all the security measures detailed above you should be able to shop in confidence. In fact it is safer to use secure online shopping than give your credit card details over the telephone or send them by fax, simply because secure online shopping is the only method that actually encrypts your details before they are sent.
Glossary
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A-F G-P P-T T-Z
Adware
Advertising program often installed along with other programs.
Attachment
A file attached to an e-mail message for sending between computers.
Blog
Web log. Personal web page where the author can post their views and experiences and receive comments.
BMP
Bitmap. The most common graphics file type for Windows PCs.
Bookmarks
List of your favourite web sites.
Browser
Software that displays web pages such as Internet Explorer and Firefox; what you are using to view this page.
Compression
A method of reducing the storage space a file takes up. Complicated algorithms are used to strip unnecessary data, this is then added back when you open the file, essentially temporarily decompressing it for use.
Cookie
Data that tracks visits to web sites and remembers user preferences.
Crash
Occurs when a program causes your computer to stop responding.
Demo
Free demonstration version of software that allows you to try before you buy.
Directory
An index of web site links arranged in categories.
Disk Space
The size of the area on the hard disk where files can be stored.
Domain Name
URL or Address of a web site on the Internet.
Download
Transfer a file from another computer to your own.
Driver
Software required for Windows to use a piece of hardware such as a graphics card.
E-mail
Electronic mail passed between computers.
Favourites
List of your favourite web sites
Firewall
Program or hardware device that blocks or allows Internet access from or to a network or PC.
Flash
Software to create and play web site animations.
Font
Text of a particular size and style.
Freeware
Software that is free to download and use for as long as you like.
Gigabyte
1 gigabyte is equal to 1024 megabytes. Most hard drives and RAM will now come in sizes relating to gigabytes.
Hardware
Physical parts of a computer system such as the hard disk, keyboard and printer.
HTML
Hyper Text Mark-up Language. The code that your browser reads to display a web page.
Home Page
The main page of a web site, often a welcome page.
Hyperlink
A text or graphic you click on to go to another page or a different web site, usually underlined and in blue.
Internet
A collection of inter-connected computer networks.
Install
To load and copy program files onto a computer.
JPG/JPEG
Compressed graphics file for sending across the Internet
Link
A text or graphic you click on to go to another page or a different web site.
Malware
Malicious software such as virus or spyware programs.
Modem
Device that links a computer to the Internet through a telephone line, beginning to be phased out with the introduction of xDSL technology.
MP3
Compressed audio file to save disk space and for transfer across the Internet
Netiquette
Acceptable behaviour online
Online
Connected to the Internet.
Phishing
Fraudulent e-mails and web sites trying to trick you into giving out personal details.
Plug-In
Extra programs that can be installed into larger programs to handle special tasks, such as playing certain types of movie files in a browser.
Podcast
Internet audio broadcast that can be played back on PCs or MP3 players such as the iPod.
Pop-Up
Small window that appears on a web page, often used for advertisements.
Program
A set of instructions to make a computer carry out a task.
Rootkit
Software that hides system files and can allow attackers to access your computer undetected
Router
Device used in home Internet networks to send data from the web to specific computers.
RSS
Really Simple Syndication - a system to feed you news stories from web sites.
Search Engine
Tool that searches the Web for keywords and provides relevant links.
Server
A computer that holds centralised data, such as web site files, and can send it to another computer when requested. Servers perform many different tasks; Application Servers, Domain Servers, Web Servers, File Servers, etc.
Shareware
Software that is free to download but you pay a fee if you want to continue using it after the trial period.
Shortcut
A link you can click to go straight to a particular program or web page.
Social Networking
Web sites based on communication and relying on users to add content.
Software
A program or a set of instructions to make a computer carry out a task.
Spam
Junk mail messages to e-mail addresses. Spam often invites the recipient to view or purchase products.
Spyware
Software that tracks your movements on the Web for advertising purposes without your knowledge.
Stream
Start playing music or video as soon as it begins downloading
Surfing
Moving from one web page to another
Trial
Software that allows you to try before you buy.
Trojan
Malicious virus program disguised as useful software
Uninstall
Remove program files from a computer
Upload
Send a file from your computer to an online destination.
URL
Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a web site on the World Wide Web
Virus
Destructive program that infects and damages computer files.
Vlog
Video web log.
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol - voice conversations across the Internet, Skype uses the VoIP protocol for communication.
WAV
The standard audio file type for Windows PCs.
Web Page
Individual page on a web site.
Web Site
A collection of connected web pages located at a particular domain name.
Wiki
Web site that can be edited by users to add information.
Windows
Microsoft operating system installed on most PCs
World Wide Web (WWW)
Information space on the Internet stored on servers across the world containing documents connected together through hyperlinks.
Worm
Malicious code that uses an infected PC to spread itself to others.
Zip
Compressed file format to reduce disk space needed by a file and to transfer it between computers more quickly.
[Glossary]
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