Safe Surfing

If you surf the Internet, whether using a wireless or wired connection, you can view and download a variety of content. But just downloading and opening e-mail attachments or starting seemingly harmless programs can have serious consequences – if doing so installs known malware such as viruses, worms, spyware or Trojan horses on your PC. And the effects can be devastating. In addition to deleting data and hard drives, malware can also steal passwords. Malware also propagates automatically by e-mail.
Although the trade press occasionally reveal new threats, users need to be most careful of the well known threats mentioned above. When it comes to security, being careful when online is simply not enough. But if you take the following advice, you will be well protected.

Here’s how to protect yourself

	A firewall and virus scanner protect your PC from external attacks and prevent malware from intruding.
	Important: Update your virus scanner regularly to arm yourself against new malware. Also update your browser regularly.
	Before opening e-mail attachments and downloading files from Web sites, make sure the source seems trustworthy.
	Back up your data regularly to keep the risk of damage to an absolute minimum if you are infected by a virus.

Here’s how AVM protects you

	Each FRITZ!Box has a powerful TÜV-tested firewall to protect your PC reliably against attacks from the Internet. This prevents your PC being controlled remotely (for example by a Trojan horse) or being compromised by actively spreading worms.
	The included software FRITZ!DSL Protect prevents unintentional transmission of data to the Internet, preventing malware from sending itself.
	For full protection, we also recommend using a virus scanner.