Windows 10 For Dummies

Chapter 11

Safe Computing

In This Chapter

Dealing with permission warnings

Staying safe on the Internet

Avoiding phishing scams

Setting for children controls

Like driving a car, working with Windows is reasonably safe as long as you avoid bad neighborhoods, obey traffic signals, and don’t steer with your feet while looking out the sunroof.

But in the world of Windows and the Internet, there’s no easy way to recognize a bad neighborhood, find a traffic signal, or know what’s really official. Something that appears to be fun, innocent, or important — a friend’s e-mail, a downloaded program, or a message from a bank — may be a virus that infects your computer.

This chapter helps you recognize the bad streets in virtual neighborhoods and explains the steps you can take to protect yourself from harm and minimize any damage.

Understanding Those Annoying Permission Messages

After more than 20 years of development, Windows is still pretty naive. Sometimes when you run a program or try to change a setting on your PC, Windows can’t tell whether you’re doing the work or a virus is trying ...