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Welcome to July's newsletter.
This month I start with an important notice regarding banking online to start this month's newsletter. Please see the first article.
And, to help you comply with the banking code, I have included details of a secure password manager (Roboform) to help keep your information safe.
Finally, I get to talk about my favourite browser again! Firefox 3 is now released.
Banks Insist on Malware Protection
Another subject that guarantees that I will reach for my soap box is PC Protection (Firewalls, anti-virus etc). In fact I have recently had to re-install Windows on a number of PCs because this was the surest and cheapest way to eliminate the problems caused by Malware. I have recently come to find out that the lack of adequate protection can leave you liable to your bank or other financial institution.
If you’re not protected and someone uses your computer to get passwords or access your bank account or other financial products, you could be liable. The Banking Code says banks should provide protection for consumers in cases where their accounts have been misused but also says you must:
“Use up-to-date anti-virus and spyware software and a personal firewall”
... then later
“If you act without reasonable care, and this causes losses, you may be responsible for them”
and specifically refers back to the bit about anti-virus.
While the burden of proof is on the bank to prove you didn’t act with care... its best to be safe. For more on what to do if you think you've been defrauded read more in the ID Fraud protection guide on Martin Lewis' money saving web site.
Password Manager - Roboform
RoboForm is the top-rated Password Manager and Web Form Filler that completely automates password entering and form filling. RoboForm was named PC Magazine Editor's Choice, and CNET Download.com's Software of the Year.
RoboForm allows you to:
- Manage your passwords and Log In automatically.
- Fill long registration and checkout forms with one click.
- Encrypt your passwords to achieve complete security.
- Generate random passwords to maximize password strength.
- Fight Phishing by entering passwords only on matching web sites.
- Defeat Keyloggers by not using the keyboard to type passwords.
- Back up your passwords and copy them between computers.
- Synchronize passwords between computers using GoodSync.
RoboForm Password Manager is:
Let RoboForm manage your passwords and fill forms with one click! The basic version is free.
Firefox Version 3
Anyone who has had me help them with any PC problem will know that I am a great fan of Firefox. It is more stable, more secure, safer, uses less resources and has more features than the Microsoft's Internet Explorer. It will come as no surprise that I could not resist the temptation to extol the virtues of the latest version.
Should you upgrade? Short answer: Yes. Longer answer: Yes, definitely. It's simply a better experience. It's faster, uses fewer system resources, has clever new data-mining tools for your bookmarks and browser history, and has more security features than any other browser shipping. It's not perfect (what is?), but it is the best.
Firefox 3 is now available for public download, although the final release candidate has been so close to commercial standard you wouldn't be able to see much difference. I, and a selected few clients, have been using it for a few weeks so I can confidently recommend it.
It's solid, it's reliable and it does things I like - tabbed browsing is of course a given by now, but its memory of where you've been - offering you frequently-visited sites as you enter the address regardless of whether you've bookmarked them - is a plus.
Mostly, though, I like the speed: it seems to me to just whiz along. When you open as many tabs and windows to find things on a deadline as I often am, the absence of a wait is very welcome.
The most obvious change is the navigation bar (the area at the top where you can type in the address (URL) of the site you want. Dubbed the "awesome bar" by the company, the updated version drops in a mix of your bookmarks and browser history as you type. For example, if you've got CNN.com bookmarked, or have visited it in the past, simply typing in a "C" would drop down a stream of links with some of the most relevant or highly visited sites rising to the top.
This is going to challenge everyone in the browser market. I wonder how long it will be before a manufacturer starts preloading it on their computers?
Final Word
As always, I encourage anyone with a comment, suggestion, question, idea, criticism or inspiration to contact me at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Please also see The Inland Magazine Computer Problems Forum if you have a specific IT problem.
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