Home PC Security

This page contains the key elements of the BCS Jersey presentation on Home PC security for the general public on 12 October 2004 which attracted a large audience. The presentation explains how by taking some basic precautions and using free or low cost software you can significantly reduce the probability of virus attack, unwanted intrusion and identity theft.

We have also included some links to other resources that have been published by organisations that are trying to increase home PC user's level of Internet security awareness. We recommend that you have a look at these before viewing the presentation.

Some of these files are published in 'PDF' file format - to view these files you will need Acrobat Reader.

Download Acrobat Reader (this link will open in a new window) if you do not have it installed.

Resources

The Get Safe Online web site has a wealth of information about how to protect your PC, including a simple two page guide on 'How to set up a new PC as safely as possible' in six simple steps. The web site is sponsored by the UK government and a number of high profile commercial and financial organisations, and includes guidance for Apple Mac and Linux as well as Windows.

A similar set of instructions is published by the SANS Institute which focuses on Internet information security. 'Windows XP: surviving the First Day' is a set of guidelines which includes some screen shots to make it easier to follow.

The UK Government has also launched ITsafe - a government service designed to provide both home users and small businesses with proven, plain English advice to help protect computers, mobile phones and other devices from malicious attack.

More information on Internet hazards and children and the Internet and security for home and small business users is available from the BCS web site. Additional advice on children and the Internet is also published on the Kidsmart and NCH "IT OK" web sites.

And to help you protect your personal financial information and assets, the UK banking industry has published a web site which explains how you can bank on-line safely.

Presentation documentation

You can download the presentation and some reference documentation which will help you improve the security of your home computer - especially if you connect to the Internet.

The full presentation is a large file and may take some time to download unless you have a fast Internet connection. If you have a slower link we recommend that you download the separate sections of the presentation.