Note: There are many issues related to security that we get questions about on a daily basis.  Please select from one of the "related articles" on the left hand column to learn more! 

Your home pc and office network are critical to your productivity. Yet many of today's networks have serious security flaws that when exploited can have devastating repercussions. Any number of growing threats to your network can cause network slowdowns, server crashes, data loss or worse.

The good news is that San Diego PC Help has the solutions for all your IT security needs. We offer a wide range of security services and products such as:

• Comprehensive security assessments
• Firewall & VPN solutions
• Intrusion protection/detection software
• Anti-virus and anti-spam
• And much more!

San Diego PC Help is a single point-of-contact for an array of industry leading security solutions and has the expertise to assure you have the right solution optimized for you.

The two greatest worries today are Network Security and Virus Protection. You don't want anyone from the outside to be able to infiltrate your network. Virus protection is a must with new viruses being introduced to the Internet daily. It is vital that a company connected to the Internet have the most current anti-virus software installed and protecting the network. We can implement a centrally managed anti-virus protection program that will automatically update with the latest virus definitions. This allows you to know about the virus and eliminate it BEFORE it wreaks havoc on your network, causing downtime and quite possibly the loss of data.

*According to Information Week's Global Security Survey in July of 1999, "Viruses and computer hacking will cost U.S. businesses an estimated $266 billion this year-more than 2.5 percent of America's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)."

Here are some points to remember when receiving or reading email messages:

If you receive an email with an attached file from an unknown source, simply delete it.

Viruses and Trojan programs must have code that is executed in order to infect. If you "double-click" an attached file on an email message, you are executing code and may infect your machine. (Note: Newer antivirus software is capable of scanning these attachments before they are opened.)"

Your computer cannot be infected by a virus simply by reading an E-mail message. An infected file must be attached to that E-mail message, and you must download the attached file to your hard disk, decompress the attached file (if it's compressed), and then execute that file in order for a virus infection to occur.

This is why it is very important to regard attached files with caution and/or suspicion, especially if the file that is sent to you is unsolicited and from someone you do not know. Always scan the file as soon as you can (before running the file) with an antivirus program in order to verify that the file is not infected. In the long run, taking the time to do this simple task can save you a lot of grief.

Related Links

Security Focus
Security News Portal
Privaterra
Windows Security
PGP (Pretty Good Privacy)
Spotting an Internet virus or scam