Internet Safety

Do Macs get viruses?

Well there are only three known viruses out there that are made specifically for the Mac. The chances are, you're not going to get infected if you're on a Mac. Ninety-nine percent of all of the viruses out there are written for a PC. So the chances are, if you're on a Mac you're not going to get infected with a virus, any of the trojans or any of the spyware out there.

What is the best anti-virus software for my system?

There's no best or worst anti-virus software. They all do exactly what they're going to do. If you Google "anti-virus software," you'll hear a few names pop up consistently. Norton is the biggest: Norton Anti-Virus. The next one's McAfee, and both of these are equally good. Then you've got the lesser-known anti-virus softwares like Bit Defender, which are also very good. Some of them are free, but if you want peace of mind, go with the big two of Norton or McAfee Anti-Virus.

What is a "cookie"?

A cookie is an internet piece of software that remembers your information. We're not talking about your personal information, just your browsing habits. A cookie will know your choices of whether you want this website in a large font or a small font, if you've been there before and if you've chosen an international edition or a local edition. Cookies just remember information of your browsing habits.

How do cookies affect my Internet security?

There are some cookies that are malicious cookies that hackers sometimes use to store your information - the keystrokes, sometimes your passwords and your user names - and they use these cookies to send information from your computer to theirs. If you value your security on the internet, you can set your web browser settings to a very high security so that websites don't retain these cookies. That's not always the best way to go about it, because legitimate websites do need cookies sometimes, so it's just up to you and how comfortable you feel on the Internet. If you don't feel that safe, set it to a very high setting so they don't leave cookies. If you're more comfortable, go with a lower setting.