Long ago, I heard a compelling reason to password protect your router.  Until then, I had always left mine unprotected and really didn’t want to go through the hassle of setting up a password and worrying about getting people connected when I DID want them to use it.  But the day I heard that I could be held responsible for the surfing habits of another person, simply because they were using my internet connection, I went home and immediately enabled the security on my wireless router.

I can’t remember who told me this or why it came up, but in a recent discussion I heard a story of several people who were arrested for surfing child pornography sites and, in time, it turned out they had nothing to do with it.  Apparently, someone else had been using their wireless signal (without their knowledge I would suspect) to connect to the internet and view the sites in question.  I have yet to find an article proving this point exactly, but at the same time I am a bit nervous about typing the words “child” and “pornography” into Google.  Today, an article about a very similar scenario crossed my path.

This recent article on Switched.com by Terrence O’Brien titled Viruses Secretly Downloading Child Pornography covers the story of two higher profile cases, where unsuspecting PC users were the victims of malicious software designed to download and store these highly illegal videos.  Terrence writes “It’s difficult to understand the motives for dumping boatloads of child pornography on the hard drives of unsuspecting web users. It is possible, though, for pedophiles to secretly store their highly illegal collections on other people’s PCs, view them remotely, and thus avoid incriminating themselves. Another possibility is that the programs are designed simply to wreak havoc on the reputations of others, framing them as collectors of underage filth.”

Mr. O’Brien’s article is an eye opener and to many, should serve as a wake up call.  Why?  Because if these victims had protected themselves with the appropriate anti-virus software, they would not have been the subject of such a story.  An active, up-to-date anti-virus software like avast! Home Edition would have stopped the code dead in its tracks.  So ask yourself would it be easier to go to jail, lose friends, alienate family and spend your life savings on legal fees for something you didn’t do or simply install a FREE software on your computer.

Did you notice the keyword “active” in that last paragraph?  I pointed this out because there are many people who have anti-virus software, but don’t have anti-virus protection.  The software has either been disabled or is not up to date.  An anti-virus software that has not been updated recently might as well be uninstalled, as it is only marginally effective without constant updates from the web.  These “definitions,” provided by the software manufacturer, tell the program what to look out for.  In many cases, the malicious software is spread via the web so quickly that it makes it difficult to keep up.  Updating your anti-virus definition files regularly is a must   and the software will do this on it’s own, assuming you don’t disable it or cancel the updates.

The download link and a step-by-step How To guide for installing avast! Home Edition can be found on the Tools page of JumpstartMyPC.com.  Hop on over and begin the download now.  You can have the software installed and running in no time.  As a bonus, the software will scan your entire system during this initial phase and determine if there are any existing viruses or malware running on your system.  You can also test your system by running Spybot Search and Destroy (also available on our Tools page).  I would recommend performing both tasks, just to be on the safe side.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 10:39 am and is filed under Free Programs, Tips and Tricks, Viruses. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.