Frequently asked questions

What is the Cyber Security Alert Service?

The Cyber Security Alert Service is a free subscription based service that provides home internet users and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) with information on the latest computer network threats and vulnerabilities in simple, non-technical, easy to understand language. It will also provide solutions to help manage these risks. 

The Cyber Security Alert Service is an initiative of the Australian Government and is sponsored by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and provided by AusCERT.

Who is the Cyber Security Alert Service suitable for?

The Cyber Security Alert Service is free to the public. It is aimed primarily at Australian based home internet users and Australian small to medium sized enterprises. 

In particular, within these target groups, the E-security Alert Service is most suited for home Internet and organisations with:

• Low awareness of e-security
• The lowest level of technical understanding
• Without e-security experts readily available to assist them

Small to medium sized enterprises with large networks and with dedicated IT staff may find this service does not fully meet their needs.

How do I unsubscribe or change my subscription preferences?

If you wish to unsubscribe from the service, access the Log in page for the Cyber Security Alert Service and follow the instructions for unsubscribing.

To modify the type of reports you receive, the subject topics, or your email address, log in to the E-security Alert Service and follow the instructions for modifying your profile options.

What do I do if I forgot my username?

If you have forgotten your Cyber Security Alert Service user name that you use in order to log in to the Cyber Security Alert Service website, then click on the link to Forgot user name? from the Log in page.

Follow the prompts and steps required.

Why didn't I receive my confirmation email after registering for the Cyber Security Alert Service?

If you have successfully completed the registration form for the Alert Service but did not receive the confirmation email which you need to respond to in order to finalise the registration and subscription process, this is most likely due to a spam filtering problem. Either:

• the email may have been moved to a "junk" email folder or similar folder if you have spam filtering turned on by your email software or spam filtering software; or 
• the email may have been blocked by your ISP, if your ISP performs spam filtering.

Check if this occurred. If the email is found in your junk email folder, move it to the in box and then respond. Alternatively, check with your ISP if the email was received by them and if so, ask that it be released.

To help locate the confirmation email, search on the from field or subject field:

the from field reads: Stay Smart Online Alert Service <noreply@ssoalertservice.net.au>
the subject field reads:Smart Online Alert Service: Subscribe Request

How do I tell which software I have installed on my computer?

How to determine what software or programs you have installed on your computer, depends on which operating system you are running. Most people will be running Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac OS X.

• Click on the "Start Menu" 
• Click on "Control Panel" on the right of the start menu 
• When the Control Panel has opened, click on the "Programs" link 
• Then click on the "Programs and Features" link 
• This will then present a list of the programs that are installed on your computer.

• Click on the "Start Menu" 
• Click on "Control Panel" on the right of the start menu 
• When the Control Panel has opened, click on the "Add or Remove Programs" link 
• This will then present a list of the programs that are installed on your computer.

(This will also work for Windows XP and Windows Vista in "Classic" mode)

• Click on the "Start Menu" 
• Click on the "Settings" menu 
• Click on the "Control Panel" item 
• When the Control Panel has opened, double click on the "Add or Remove Programs" (or "Programs and Features") icon 
• This will then present a list of the programs that are installed on your computer.

For Apple Mac OS X:

• Open a "Finder" window
  • To do this click on the blue face (Finder) icon in the dock
• Find the "Applications" folder
  • This normally has an icon of an "A" made from a paint brush, a pencil and a ruler.
• The "Applications" folder should contain most of the programs that are installed on your computer.

Will the Cyber Security Alert Service affect my computer in any way?

The Cyber Security Alert Service is an email and RSS based service only. No software is installed on your computer as a result of registering for this service. It will not affect your computer, or any software on your computer or your internet connection in anyway. 

The service is intended to provide email and RSS warnings about computer threats and software bugs in a timely manner for Australian internet users.

The free service is not a substitute for using security software and adopting other good online practices to keep your computer and personal information safe and secure. For information about other counter-measures that you should follow refer to Fact Sheet 1 - Secure Computing Checklist (PDF, 113Kb).

Why aren't I receiving Alert Service emails?

To receive emails via the Alert Service you first need to register and respond to the confirmation email by clicking on the link within the email. 

After you have done this, log in to Alert Service and ensure you have ticked the appropriate check box to receive email notifications. Make sure you click "Save Profile" button before logging out.

If you have done all the above but still are not receiving Alert Service email notifications, then check that the Alert Service emails have not been filtered to your "Junk" folder or spam email folder.

If so, mark content from the Alert Service as a "safe sender" to prevent this from happening again.

How do I subscribe to RSS feeds?

To subscribe to RSS feeds, read the detailed instructions in the E-security Alert Service User Guide (File size: 319Kb). 

How do I stop my newsletter PDF file from crashing?

Some subscribers have reported that attempts to open the newsletters using Adobe Reader 7.0 fails; specifically that the Adobe Reader 7.0 crashes. 

Please note that there have been a number of stability issues reported in various versions of Adobe Reader, including version 7.0, which result in the Adobe Reader crashing in some circumstances. For example:

• Adobe Reader 7.0
• Adobe Reader 7.0.7

The recommended solution to this problem is to upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Reader, which currently is version9.0. The Adobe Reader version9.0 is available from the Adobe website.

Also, as reported in SSO Alert SSO-AL2008-005, there are also security issues in Adobe Reader versions 7.0 to 7.0.9 and hence for security reasons also, we recommend upgrading to version 9.0.

As a general rule, unless there are operational reasons for not doing so within a business enterprise, it is good practice to upgrade to the latest version of software as it is usually more secure. It is not recommended upgrading to 'beta' versions of software which may still have unresolved stability issues.

If upgrading whole version numbers, for example, from version Adobe Reader version 7.0 to version Adobe Reader version 9.0, or version 8.0 to version 9.0,it is better to uninstall the old version first. If simply updating an existing version, such as version 7.0 to 7.1.0 then do not uninstall the existing version 7.0 - just install the update for the newer version.

To uninstall software from Microsoft Windows operating systems, click the "Start" button (generally found on the bottom left hand side of screen), then click "Control Panel", then click "Add or Remove Programs". When "Add and Remove Programs" opens, find the software you wish to uninstall and click "Remove". Users need to be logged into an account with administrator privileges to do this.

Adobe Reader 9.0 is available for download at no cost.