So here’s a weird one. I get a call to say that the users web browsing is ultra slow and could I have a look. Being the distrusting soul that I am, I don’t take the problem description at face value – hey, 25yrs in IT has taught me one thing and that is to keep asking questions because eventually the truth will out. I guess this is the same game the police play.

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Jim’s post about over at Church Tech Matters about the bogus security software Antivirus XP 2008 has set me to thinking – again.

I remain amazed that some people consider it still ok to surf the web without adequate protection. Let me clarify that – here I mean machines with Windows installed – before the *nix and Mac crowd start hollering. I can understand that some people don’t have access to cheap, free and useful advice but when that same set of people are my family and friends then I shake my head in anguish.

These same folks (bar one) all ask for my assistance in their purchases and as part of my patter I always tell them not to be swayed into buying the AV / Firewall / Whatever App that the store wants to push and we will do better with freebies. So, they get their shiny new box set it up and then I come along and do my magic for them. Whilst there I spend a fair bit of time on ’safe surfing’, what to look out for, what to beware of,  what not to do and so on.

Only the other day my best buddy confessed that his PC was messed up and he was fed up with it so was going to buy a laptop all for himself. He mostly blames the messed up PC on his children (teens) and the junk they download. After he’d finished his rant my first question was what AV was he using and after getting a puzzled shake of the head followed it up with well what firewall then. So then ensued the lecture … but I don’t feel convinced that he’s going to listen and what’s more he’s now gone wireless and I’ll lay good odds that it isn’t secured either!

So, and getting back to my point, all this has got me to thinking about my advice. Rather than repeating it ad nauseam, why don’t I document it and then just update it as prevailing thoughts or technology change? To that end I’m going to work on a, I hope, fairly simple and straight forward document and publish it here. I may even give it its own page or similar. If any of you have anything to add or suggest changes then please do email me.

Oh, and once done I’ll put a link to it from this post.

Whenever I pop over to somebody else’s blog I always want to know the answer to certain questions. What’s their experience, what are their qualifications (not necessarily paper based) and what drives them. Additionally when I visit a tech blog where the owner is involved in IT support for a Church I always want to know what they support. (more…)