The Old Paludians Association

Internet Security

The Internet has provided personal computer users with phenomenal facilities. The existence of this website and the fact that hundreds of Old Paludians from all continents are in contact is testimony to the new changes introduced. However, some internet users were not content with all this extra facility, and have introduced dangers for the unsuspecting internet user.

Please may I ask you to check your own computer set-up against the following checklist:

For your own security, you should ensure that:

Your PC has an up-to-date virus-checker (2 months old is too old). The impact of a virus is greatest in the hours and days after its first release into the wild. Continuously updated virus checkers can provide protection against a virus attack that has yet to happen among your contacts. You should ensure that your virus-checker is set to disinfect infected files if possible, but to delete the file if it is not possible to disinfect. There are many suitable virus-checking products available. Examples include:
- Avira Antivir is updated regularly and is free for personal use. A subscription professional version is also available.
- Grisoft AVG Free is updated regularly and is free for personal use. A subscription professional version is also available.
- Sophos Anti-Virus is updated regularly, but is relatively expensive. However, it can be very strongly recommended.
You use an Internet Firewall (to prevent unauthorised programs obtaining internet access). Examples include:
- ZoneAlarm - the excellent freeware product. A subscription professional version is also available.
You use a Spyware checker (to reduce the inadvertant distribution of your internet details). If you use a recent version of Windows, you should ensure that you have installed:
- Microsoft Defender
Other excellent examples include:
- Adaware - the excellent freeware product, which complements Defender. A subscription professional version is also available.
You do not download Web search toolbars (typically offering to improve your searching), nor download managers (typically offering to increase the speed of your downloading). These often contain spyware or 'browser hijack' code above.
Your Windows PC has been updated, and remains regularly updated, with _all_ Critical and Security updates from Microsoft. On Windows XP, you will need to use Internet Explorer for this - see Windows Update
If you use Windows XP, then ensure that you have fully upgraded to SP3 (Service Pack 3) which provides much stronger online security.
If you use Windows Vista, then Windows Update is available in the Control Panel. Ensure you have Windows Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1)
You have upgraded to the latest version of your web browser that your PC can accept. For example, you should install MS Internet Explorer v7 or Mozilla Firefox v3. These versions fix vulnerabilities to which earlier versions were susceptible.
You consider an alternative web browser. Using an alternative web browser avoids using Internet Explorer, which has been and will continue to be particularly targetted by virus writers. Examples include:
- Firefox web browser - the excellent free web browser. Firefox has an excellent Adblock Plus extension for blocking advertisements.
- Google Chrome (beta) web browser - the excellent free web browser. Currently only available as a beta version and has no advert blocking.
You avoid websites you do not know. If you are searching for information, consider using a trusted website or a trusted encyclopaedia website, to avoid trying unknown 'hit' websites from your search engine provider. While many websites are excellent, there are some websites that contain 'browser hijack' code that can render some older web browsers next to useless. The main online encyclopaedia website must be:
- Wikipedia - the largest and free online encyclopaedia
You do not give out your email address except to websites you trust. Email addresses are traded between spammers.
You do not attempt to view an email with attachments, or open any attachment - unless you were already expecting to receive that particular email from the originator, whom you know to operate a virus-free computer. Any other email with attachments is almost certainly Spam at best, or a virus at worst.
You do not reply to emails purporting to come from banks, financial institutions, lotteries, etc. . Most of these institutions will 'phone you if they need to speak with you. It is most likely a 'Phishing' attempt.
You do not reply to email offering to unsubscribe you from a list unless you explicitly subscribed to the list. Most such emails are from spammers trying to see whether or not your email account is active. Active email accounts can be traded for higher money.
You consider moving from MS Outlook and MS Outlook Express. These email packages have been particularly targetted by hackers. Consider using either web-based email or one of the alternative email packages. Examples include:
- Mozilla Thunderbird which has a similar appearance to Outlook Express but comes with strong anti-spam features

Email Facilities

Updating email addresses

We send out Reunion invitations to the latest email address that we hold for each of our Members or contacts. Unfortunately, during the year, many people change their email address and do not remember to inform us of the updated address. If we have a postal address, then we are able to post an invitation to these Members - but this causes disruption and delay to our invitation. We would very much prefer Members or contacts to let us know your latest email address if you change this.

Security

We have received reports that some members have received virus-infected emails falsely purporting to come from Old Paludians Committee contacts. However, by inspecting the email headers, you can show that these emails are actually being sent from particular computers or from a particular Internet Provider (ISP), via the ISP's email servers. This scam is known as 'spoofing'.
For MS Outlook Express users:

Right-click the message;
Select Properties
Select Details
Select Message Source

Please note:

the sequence of mail servers mentioned in the 'Received' entries - the earliest is towards the bottom of the list
the entry 'X-Apparently-From'
the 'From' entries are therefore 'spoofed' - i.e. adjusted to purport falsely to come from Committee members.
None of the Committee to date have been the source of these emails - but their names have been used by the infected PCs

It is possible that another Old Paludian may be the unwitting source of this outbreak. These emails contain one of a number of prevalent worms or viruses, e.g. the W32-Yaha virus or W32-Bugbear worm, and you should not open the attachments under any circumstances. For more information, see, for example, the Sophos webpage on W32-Yaha-E that refers.

Use of email for communication

Despite the issues described above, the Old Paludians Association derives much benefit (reduced printing and postage costs) if Members are prepared to receive invitations, announcements and newsletters by email. In addition, Members receive their information in a more timely manner than by postal mail. If you would be prepared to receive all your OPA communications by email, please let the know.

Old Paludians Mailing List

There is a mailing list for the Old Paludians Association. Currently, there are only a few participants, but it is hoped that many more people will participate.

If you would like to join the Mailing List, please complete one of the following:

click and send the following link:
send an email to
with a subject of 'subscribe OldPaludians' (without the quotation marks)
send an email to , asking to be added to the subscription list.

You should receive a message describing the facilities available to you.

Once subscribed, you may contact all participants by sending an email to the at

To unsubscribe, please complete one of the following:

click and send the following link:
send an email to
with a subject of 'unsubscribe OldPaludians' (without the quotation marks)
send an email to , asking to be removed from the subscription list.

Experimental Google SiteSearch

In time, we hope to provide the following facility in a more prominent location to search our website. However, we are awaiting the re-cataloguing of our webpages and so this must remain am experimental facility for the time being