Safety with online Banking

Threats to online safety

Whenever using the internet it is always important to make sure that you are protected from viruses, worms and other malicious intruders. Below are some brief definitions which will help you understand what threats are posed when using the internet.

These programmes mentioned are designed to extract personal details, such as credit card numbers, or drivers licenses, delete files and slow down or cause complete breakdowns on the computer.To tackle these threats there is a range of computer software available to either buy or download. Leading software for this purpose includes Symantic’s (Norton) AntiVirus Software and McAfee’s Virussscan.
Virus
This is a programme which replicates itself in your computer. It can infiltrate your computer through email attachments or file-sharing services. Viruses can delete files and memory, and lead to computer crashes
Worm
Working in a similar way to viruses worms replicate themselves until they have filled all the storage space in your network. As they are doing this  they can totally disrupt or bring down web-servers.
Spyware
These run on computers for the purpose of monitoring and recording the way in which you browse the web and the internet sites that you visit. They are often loaded onto a PC as part of a free download of another service. Spyware can have its advantages. Many services claim that it will improve the performance of your PC, however some people do not wish their surfing to be monitored.