Keep Safe Online In Kingston

This week is Safer Internet Week and so as I work with geeks, I thought I would ask around the office for their tips so you can keep safe online.

The first tip I received was move to China (thanks Matt) but then I received more useful advice.

Children should be educated in keeping safe online. This includes not allowing them a computer in their bedroom, openly discussing what they are doing online and if the child still doesn’t seem to understand the dangers then using  a parental control program to limit their surfing activity.

While this last tip may seem like drastic action, after removing 2 Trojans including a Dialer that ran up a £100 phone bill from my brother’s family computer placed on it by one of my nephews’,  I would seriously recommend it.  

In regards to keeping safe online as an adult I was given this tip by Tom - “The guy with £25 million in Africa is not your cousin” or in other words if it looks to good to be true it is. 

While there are more sophisticated email scams going around than the 419 Scams if you are ever in doubt whether an email or an online offer is a scam or not, ask around before acting on it.   

Recently one of my friends’, Clare,  got her HotMail account hijacked and I received an email from her account claiming she was in stranded in Spain  with no money. As I knew she Waun’t in Spain I send her a text to ask if her account had been hijacked - and sure enough it had.

Kingston University Professors Julia Davidson and Antonia Bifulco,  are involved in the European Online Grooming Project  and together with the university have placed recommendations here for keeping Children Safe Online.  While everyone should take a look at  the UK Safer Internet Centre. 

And while I remove viruses and Trojans myself from computers of my family and close friends,  for those who can’t do it themselves I  have been recommended Arcom IT in Guildford and  Abracus Systems UK in Croydon.  

If you know anyone in Kingston who provides a good Virus Removal or Computer Repair Service then please post their details below.

Picture: Crown Copyright