Guelph Police Fraud Unit to make Presentation to Seniors

GUELPH, Ontario January 6, 2011 There are lots of ways for seniors to help themselves. The "Make Yourself at Home" Suite of Services, which is a Program of the Guelph Wellington Seniors Association, has a team of senior volunteers who connect other seniors to their community and its services.

One way "Make Yourself at Home" is assisting this New Year is to host an education session on fraud awareness. In partnership with The Guelph Police Services Fraud Unit, this presentation will be held at the Evergreen Seniors Community Centre, Wednesday, January 19 from 1:00-3:00 pm. The Police Service reports it receives calls weekly from seniors who have been targeted by fraudsters, and comment, "We need to educate them about the scams out there so they can Recognize it, Report it, and Stop it from happening".

"Make yourself at Home" has supported clients who have fallen victim to fraud. "Seniors who are aware are much more likely to be able to avoid the fraud pitfalls", explains Program Manager Sheila Schuehlein. "We welcome anyone interested in learning more about how to avoid fraud, or wanting to report an incident to join us at this session on January 19th.

Free parking and refreshments will be provided and an opportunity to bring your questions and concerns. This event is one in a monthly series. Please call Make Yourself at Home to find out more about the upcoming education sessions and to learn how we may be able to help: 519-837-5696.

Five fast and easy cyber tips help make online information secure

New Year's resolutions you can keep from Trend Micro Canada

OTTAWA, December 29, 2010 /Canada NewsWire/ - New Year's resolutions don't have to be hard. If you want to be more secure and safe online in 2011, the Trend Micro crew in Ottawa offers some quick and easy ways to make your New Year's resolutions a reality. These insider tips will save you time and money, and go a long way to prevent your online information from being compromised.

"These tips won't prepare you for a marathon, but if you resolve to take a few minutes to update, backup and clean up your PC or MAC files, you'll sprint to a safe and secure online start to the New Year," says Trend Micro's Ian Gordon, Director of Marketing.

1. New Year. New Passwords. The easiest change you can make this year - increase the strength of your passwords, write them down and put them in a safe place (not beside your computer). For the strongest passwords, don't use words at all. Use random letters, numbers and special characters to make a pattern on your keyboard. For example: qWe4%6yUi is much stronger than the name of your first pet.

2. Dude! Back up those files. The New Year is the right time to get in the habit of backing up your files regularly before a hard drive failure, theft or physical disaster provides a gut-wrenching reminder to do so.

3. Update your operating system, Web browser and media applications. Updates are among the best defenses against attack, so take a few minutes to patch those holes before hackers find them.

4. Start 2011 Clutter free. Do yourself and your computer a favor and perform a New Year's cleaning. Your desk or laptop may be slowing down under the burden of all that clutter. Take a few minutes to uninstall unused programs, delete unneeded temp files, get rid of old email attachments and defragment your drive.

5. Install the latest security software suite and keep it updated. Today's security software is more effective and easier to use, and it offers exhaustive protections against cybercriminals, viruses and everything in between. There are free trials available so you can be protected without breaking the bank.

About Trend Micro: Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in Internet content security, focuses on securing the exchange of digital information for businesses and consumers. Trend Micro is advancing integrated threat management technology to protect operational continuity, personal information, and property from malware, spam, data leaks and the newest Web threats. A transnational company, with headquarters in Tokyo, and operations in 23 countries including Canada, Trend Micro's trusted security solutions are sold through its business partners worldwide.