Internet Safety Tips (Part II)

From the Employment and Learning Computer Lab:

Internet Safety Tips, Part II:

Sometimes you may find yourself using  a public computer in the library, a computer café, or even the Employment and Learning Centre computer lab. If you are checking on your email or even a social media such as Facebook, where you have to log in, before you leave the computer you must remember to log yourself out. You do not know who is going to be sitting at that computer going forward, and leaving that information open is just asking for trouble.

When you first open one of these log-in pages, there is usually a check-box to keep yourself signed in at that computer. Make sure the box is not checked, because that means anyone sitting there after you will not need to put in the password to access your account.

On your own computer, it is advised to have an anti-virus program installed. Some of the better known ones are Sophros, Norton Antivirus Protection, and AVG. The first two are purchased, and update almost daily for the extent of your contract (usually one year). AVG, however, is free online.

One annoying virus is pop-up windows that block your screen. A way to avoid this is to turn on the pop-up blocker on your computer. If you use Internet Explorer, click on Tools, which is on the top scrollbar on the screen, and then click on “Turn On Pop-Up Blocker.” If a “Turn Off Pop-Up Blocker” notice appears, that means the blocker is already activated.

For Mozilla Firefox, click on Tools, which is on the top scrollbar on the screen, and then click on “Delete Recent History.”