The Internet can be a boon to a church's ministry, but it can also be a scary place. Learn how you can protect yourself from some of the most prevalent technical issues on the Internet.

• Always keep your Virus Protection up to date! Many new viruses are discovered on a daily basis. It is imperative that you keep your protection up to date. Simply buying the software and installing it is not enough! To check your PC to see if you have the most recent Update List, click on the start button, go to Start > Programs > Norton Antivirus (Says Symantec sometimes depending on your version) and Norton Antivirus again (sometimes followed by a year). Look in the bottom right hand corner of the screen at the Virus Definition File Version Number. This should be a recent date of no more than a few days old at most. If this is not a current date, than you need to Go to Live update and update you Virus Definition List.
• Never open an attachment if it looks suspicious or if you aren’t you expecting it and you don’t immediately recognize it. If someone sends you an attachment, make sure they actually sent it to you, before you open it. If you’re not sure, than call or e-mail the sender! This is one of the basic tricks used for sending spam, spyware or viruses. Viruses often come in a message that appears to be from someone you know, with a subject line like "test" or "error." Most of the time this person did not send you the e-mail. Many times the address of who it came from is incorrect, when this happens, it’s called “Spoofing”.
• Never download anything, unless you research it first, especially “Free” software.” A good rule of thumb in today’s society is this: if its free, its has spyware attached to it! Some software may look very authentic and enticing. Beware of these. Take a few extra minutes and do a search on the name of the software if you are unsure if it contains spyware! Make sure to run Spybot, Adaware, and Microsoft Anti-SpyWare (Spyware Cleaners) every week, and always remember to download the updates before you run them.
• Do not respond to spam mail asking to be taken off their mailing list. The provided link to "take me off the mailing list" is usually just a ploy to confirm that your mailing address actually works. When you reply, you are targeted even more.
• Do not respond to an e-mail that claims to be from your bank or Microsoft and asks you for any kind of private information. This is never legitimate! They are just fishing for information and trying to steal it from you. And don't be fooled if the web address of the bank appears in the mail. These are being "spoofed" all the time by people who wish to appear legitimate. It's hard to tell legitimate messages from banks and other institutions from these that are not. The links they provide look correct and they use all sorts of tricks to fool you – So BEWARE!
  If you do get a message from your bank or other company that looks legitimate, DON’T follow the links given in the email message. Go to the web site yourself using your own favorites or hand-typed links. The same information that is in the email message should be on the web site to which you navigate. If there’s no mention of the offer or problem at the site, then it is not real.
• Keep Your Machine updated with Windows Updates! Either Click on Start > Programs > Windows Update or you can enter their website through the following link: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/. Click on Scan for updates and wait a few minutes for it to search for the appropriate updates for your PC. Click on “Review and install updates” then click on Install Now. You may have to restart your PC several times and repeat the process a few times to make sure you have all of the updates! Only install the critical updates, do not install any other updates.
• Running an unprotected Computer is a form of negligence just like driving a car with out doing any oil changes. You're going to get yourself into trouble, and also make things worse for everyone around you, if you do not practice safe computing!