IT News May 2010 - Check your computer's security; How to check if a site is broken.

Tuesday, 11 May 2010 15:21 Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 May 2010 21:07

In this month's Newsletter:

How to check if your computer is safe and secure
How to check if a web site is broken
Free Stuff: Security, Site, Password and Software Checkers

How do I know if my computer is safe and secure?

By now, most people have taken reasonable step to secure their computers: antivirus software and firewalls are installed and accounts are password-protected. But how do you know if its working? There is no way to be certain but there are some tests that should help to either reassure or else highlight problems.

1. The first is from (surprisingly enough) Microsoft! MS have made available their MS Baseline Security Analyzer. It checks your system not just for any missing updates but also for common configuration problems. Download and run the program and it will give your system an MOT and tell you what you need to do to make it more secure.

2. The second thing you can do is go to go to the ‘Shields Up’ site and check your “File Sharing” and “Common Ports” weaknesses. The site will attempt to access your system and give you a report. Links and instructions are on my site.

3. The Baseline Security Analyzer checks your Microsoft software for security flaws but what about your other programs? I recommend Secunia. Download and run the program and it will identify any insecure programs installed on your computer and give you links to the solutions.

4. The last recommendation I have is to check the quality of your passwords. For this, go to CertainKey.com and it will tell you how long it takes to crack your password - you’ll be surprised.

All these products are FREE. Please contact me if you need further help.

Is 'google.co.uk' down (unavailable) to everyone or is it a problem with my computer? Has my own website been 'down' during the last month?

When go to a web page and you get the "Server Not Found" error it could be that the page is 'broken' (their problem) or it could be a problem at your end. How do you know which it is? I'm going to assume that you've entered the correct address!
Go to: downforeveryoneorjustme.com and enter the address and it will tell you. Simples!

If you have your own website you will want to know if the site has ever been 'down'. Whenever the site is down you are potentially losing money! I use JoomlaMonitor for the sites that I am responsible for. I get a monthly report showing uptime; downtime and outage. This helps me to monitor the quality of the hosting company I use. For the record, I've had no downtime on any of my sites for the 12 months I've been receiving reports.
This is FREE for single sites.