Newsletter Archives

In this edition:
Shop Online with Peace of Mind
Monitor Giving you Headaches?
Creating Secure Passwords

It's time for the last edition of 2008's tips and trick which we hope makes your everyday computing tasks just a little bit quicker & easier.

Shop Online with Peace of Mind

There's two things you need to look for when shopping over the internet:

1. Padlock - You should look for a little, closed padlock in your web browser. (Usually beside where you type in the URL and/or in the bottom bar of your web browser.)
2. HTTPS - The URL of who you're shopping with online should ALWAYS begin with HTTPS (vs. the usual HTTP - without the "S") when you're being requested to enter sensitive information like credit card details. If you don't want anyone but the recipient to see the information you're about to send over the internet, make sure the URL begins with"https://". This means your sensitive information (i.e. credit card details) will be encrypted between your computer and their computers.

Monitor Giving you Headaches?
You may spend a lot more time than usual in front of your computer over the holidays sending e-cards to everyone to wish them well or maybe just to play the latest game you've been given as a gift.

But whatever the reason for spending a lot of time in front of your computer, if you find your eyes straining (you have been taking breaks from the computer, right?) you may want to check you monitor's refresh rate.

Right-click on your desktop, click Properties, select the Settings tab, click the Advanced button and then choose the Monitor tab.

Your refresh rate should be set as high as possible for your monitor (check your monitor's documentation to see what maximum refresh rate it can handle). This will avoid screen flicker - something which can lead to eyestrain which may not even be noticeable.

You should also ensure the checkbox below the dropdown is selected so that only those refresh rates that your monitor can handle are available to be selected.

Creating Secure Passwords
Whilst shopping away securely (you read the tip above, right?), you may end up needing to sign-up to a new e-commerce site and creating a password and it's important you select a password that keeps your account secure.

Whether you need to create completely new passwords or replace your old ones, here are some top tips for keeping your account secure with the best passwords possible:

1. Random. The characters should appear random to someone else but make sense to you.
2. Unique. You shouldn't use the same password on every account you create. If someone did figure out one of them, they'd quickly have access to everything.
3. Length. A password should be at least 8 characters long but the longer, the better.
4. Characters. Your passwords should contain a mix of lower and upper case characters along with at least one number and/or symbol, where possible.
5. Change. You should change your passwords frequently and regularly. The longer it's in place, the higher the chance that it's going to be hacked.
6. Manual Entry. You should type in your passwords rather than use the Remember Me option of web sites (and your browser) - what would happen if someone stole your computer?

Changing your password will help protect your computer from unwanted phishing attacks. With the computer and internet world using more cloud servers to store data it is important to have the top cloud security software on your computer.

That's it for this month and this year. We wish you happy holidays in the month ahead with your loved ones and of course, a happy new year.

If you've found these tips useful, please share them!