Security FAQ
Q: I only have one account on my computer because I’m the only
one who uses it, so why should I put a password on it?
A: Hackers don’t care if you have one or one-hundred
accounts on your computer. It only takes one insecure account to compromise
a machine. Therefore, you should have a password on any and all accounts on
your computer, especially administrative accounts. If you don’t protect
your account with a password, then you won’t be the only one using it.
Q: How do I set the password on my accounts?
A: In the Control Panel there is a link for User Accounts.
Clicking on that link will show you all of the accounts on your computer. From
here you will be able to create, set or reset your account passwords.
Q: What sort of administrative accounts do I have on my computer?
A: If you have Windows 2000/XP then you may set up any number
of accounts with administrative privileges that you want. You also have an account
called Administrator. This, along with every other account on your computer,
needs to have a good, secure password.
Q: What is a good, secure password?
A: Your password should contain numbers, letters, both upper
and lower case, and special characters if possible. It is also recommended that
you use an anagram as the basis for your password. You should NOT use an English
word, any derivation of your user ID or direct number for letter substitution
for your password.
Q: When I go to log in to my computer there is no account called Administrator
listed. Where do I find this account?
A: In Windows 2000 you just need to type in the
name Administrator in order to access that account. In Windows XP
it depends on the edition you have. You should be running Professional,
in which case you just need to hold Ctrl-Atl-Del in order to get
to the login screen. Here you type in the name Administrator to
access that account. If you are running XP Home, then you have to
start your computer in Safe mode to access that account.
Q: How to I start up my computer in Safe Mode?
A: After you turn on your computer but before the Windows
loading screen comes up just press F8. This will bring you to a menu where you
can choose how you want to start your computer. One of the choices will be Safe
Mode. You can also use Safe Mode with Networking if that option is available.
If you see the Windows screen loading then that means that you didn’t
press F8 at the right time. Wait for the computer to finish booting, shut it
down properly then try again.
Q: How does spyware like Gator, Webshots, Bonzi, etc. get loaded onto
my computer?
A: Spyware can get onto your computer by visiting a webpage,
clicking on a banner advertisement, opening an e-mail, downloading freeware
or shareware, file sharing or letting someone else use your computer. Some of
the banner advertisements will try to trick you by putting a close button or
an X inside of the window. DO NOT CLICK ON THESE! Use the X in the upper-most
right-hand corner of the window. If there is not one there then hold down Alt
and press F4 to close the window.
Q: How can I get rid of the spyware that has infected my computer?
A: Download either Ad Aware or Spybot: Search and Destroy
from http://www.download.com, install them, update them and run them. They will
find all processes, registry entries and files that are identified as spyware
and remove them. Be sure to use only one of these programs because Ad Aware
will recognize Spybot as spyware. Make sure that before every scan you perform
that you update the program that you are using.
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