Workshop: Run an online health check with Shields Up

The internet is often portrayed as a sort of new Wild West where cyber-outlaws roam, stealing at will from anyone who dares to surf the net or send an email.

While this isn’t exactly accurate, there’s no doubt that crooks, cons and thieves are increasingly exploiting the poor security found on some home PCs in order to make mischief – and occasionally, money. It doesn’t need to be that way.

A typical broadband internet connection will include a firewall which acts as a barrier between the PC and the internet; add an inexpensive off-the-shelf security program, keep it up to date and all should be fine.

To see if your PC is sorted, try following this Workshop: we’ll show how Shields Up, a free service that probes – harmlessly – internet-connected PCs, looking for security holes. If it finds problems, you’ll know to fix them.

Here's how to run an online health check with Shields Up