Q: Does anti-virus software protect my PC from hackers?
A: Anti-virus software can protect your machine from certain tools that hackers have been known to use, like Trojan horse programs (designed to steal passwords) that you may get in an email attachment. A hacker trying to break directly into your computer over the Internet, however, can thwart an anti-virus program.
Anti-virus software can stop some types of spyware, but not all of it. Spyware is an unwanted program on your computer (installed with or without your knowledge) that can pester you with unwanted advertising or block your access to certain websites.
Adding a dedicated anti-spyware program is nevertheless a good way to strengthen your PC’s security. Using a firewall — software that blocks unauthorized access to your computer from Internet intruders — is another way to further shore up defenses. Firewalls also come built into broadband routers, and both Windows and Mac OS X include integrated system firewalls.
Most programs labeled as “Internet security suites” include anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, as well as a firewall with more configuration options and other features like parental controls. These software packages typically cost $50 or more, but if money is tight, you can find free alternatives from Microsoft at www.microsoft.com/security. Plenty of others are listed on the Gizmo’s Freeware site at bit.ly/DQNn0. Sites like
onguardonline.gov and www.getsafeonline.org offer more information on keeping your computer and personal information secure. Beware of offers of free software that show up on your computer. They are usually sent by hackers.
Q: How can I tell how much of my iPad’s 3G data plan I’ve used up at any given time during the month?
A: To get a look at precisely how much data is left on your monthly meter, log into your cellular data account on the iPad. From the Home screen, tap Settings, then Cellular Data and tap the View Account button. Once you type in the user name and password for the account with your carrier, the Account Overview screen shows you how many megabytes you have used in the billing period and how many are left.
If you remember to reset the statistics every month, you can also get a general idea of your cellular data use without logging into your account. In the iPad’s Settings area, tap General, then Usage and check the numbers under Cellular Network Data.
The App Store also sells a number of inexpensive apps that track data use. Search for “data usage” to find one.
Tip of the week: Hyperlinks are great for whisking through the Web in a hurry, but addresses formatted as regular text still require cutting and pasting into the browser to get you to the page. If you use Mozilla Firefox or Google’s (GOOG) Chrome browser, you can save a step. After copying the Web address from text, right-click on the browser’s address bar and choose the “Paste and Go” option to automatically zip over to that page.
The current versions of both Firefox and Chrome also support entering keywords in the address bar as a shortcut to a Web search. If you have copied a word or phrase to the computer’s clipboard, right-click on the browser’s address bar and choose the “Paste and Search” option to start the search engine.
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 offers its own shortcut variation — just copy the URL or keywords to the clipboard with Ctrl-C, then click on the IE9 window and press Ctrl-Shift-L on the keyboard to open the page or search results in the browser.
Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_19013472?source=rss
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