Recent surges in identity theft calls for an increase in online consumer identity protection.

Anti-Virus Integration

If your computer gets a virus; it’s not something a little lie-down and a bowl of chicken soup is going to fix.

Note: Computer viruses are similar to real flu virus in which they are always working around the clock to acclimate to new security updates and patches.

That’s why your computer’s anti-virus should always be renewed immediately after your subscription expires to ensure that you have the latest security updates and patches.
And now, a look at how you can have your own back:

Plugin Check

Plugins like Flash, QuickTime and Java can make your computer vulnerable if not up to date. Check and update them regularly with our Plugin Check for happy computers and safe browsing.

Customized Security Settings

Depending on how comfortable and confident you are with your virus prevention, take a look at what your browser of choice provides for you on security settings. You can change these settings to your preference to accommodate for children that share computers with the household etc.

Secure Passwords

Hopefully none of your online passwords are “password.” And hopefully you didn’t just answer, “why not?” And hopefully you’ve chosen as strong a password as possible.

Choosing more secure passwords will help keep your identity safe on the internet. Here are a few tips to start with:

1. Take a moment to think of a phrase that’s meaningful to you. Use that phrase to create a secure password that you can customize for each website you visit. (Ex: Hihas4ei)
2. Add special characters. (Ex: #Hihas4ei)
3. Associate it with a website. (Ex: fCb#Hihas4ei: for Facebook)

While this technique lets you reuse the phrase-generated part of the password on a number of different websites, it would still be a bad idea to use it on a site like a bank account which contains high-value information. Sites like that deserve their own password selection phrase.

The Tech Team at Orange County Computer, wants to help you protect your confidential financial and personal information from hackers.

We keep ourselves up to date on the latest information on how our customers and keep their information secure. For more tips to keep your information secure, you can visit our site, www.orangecountycomputer.com, call our Tech Repair Center: 949-699-6619, or email us support@orangecountycomputer.com.

The post 3 New Tips on Keeping Your PC Virus Free, & Helpful Tricks to Create Secure Passwords! appeared first on Orange County Computer INC..

Researchers disclosed on a public security e-mail list today three vulnerabilities in the Web site of security firm McAfee, whose site has been found to have bugs several times before.

The YGN Ethical Hacker Group told the Full Disclosure list that it had reported the problems to McAfee on February 10 and two days later the company said it was working to resolve them. The group disclosed them publicly after noticing that they remained open this weekend–a month and a half later.

McAfee says it is aware of the vulnerabilities and is working to fix them. “It is important to note that these vulnerabilities do not expose any of McAfee’s customer, partner or corporate information,” the company said in a statement. “Additionally, we have not seen any malicious exploitation of the vulnerabilities.”

McAfee characterized the vulnerabilities as:

• Cross Site Scripting in download.mcafee.com. “In a worst case scenario this vulnerability could allow attacks that spoof the McAfee brand by presenting a URL that looks like it directs to a McAfee Web site but in fact directs elsewhere.”
• Information disclosure on www.mcafee.com. “This issue gives some detail on an internally used application to measure Web traffic, but doesn’t disclose any proprietary information or any customer information.”
• Information disclosure on download.mcafee.com. “This issue provides access to the source code for some of the interactive pages on our Web site, but this also does not disclose any sensitive information or any customer information.”

“McAfee has strict policies in place for its own Web sites and for services provided by third parties,” the company said. “We are investigating how these particular vulnerabilities were not identified in our screening process and will adjust our processes if necessary.”

McAfee has had problems with holes in its sites before, including in 2009 when certain customer accounts were exposed by cross-site scripting and cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities, in 2008 and last year.

If you are concerned with security of your data, Orange County Computer Inc. can provide you with a robust security solution.

For more information regarding our services:

Contact us via e-mail at support@orangecountycomputer.com

Or contact our Tech Repair Center at 949-699-6619 for further assistance.

The post McAfee’s Anti Viral Program Finds “Holes” appeared first on Orange County Computer INC..