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A member of the Safer Community Beat Team and your Neighbourhood Watch chairman will be at a on the last Friday of every month from
Jane Newcombe
Neighbourhood Watch Week 2009
YOU CAN ACCESS THE 'CONSUMER DIRECT' NEWSLETTER HERE (pdf file) |
MAY/JUNE 2009 EDITION
FROM YOUR CHAIRMAN The lovely April weather has encouraged many of us to get out in our gardens. As we all know the summer months provide many opportunities for the opportunist thief and also for bogus callers. Unfortunately thefts and burglaries are also starting to increase as the recession takes hold so we all need to be extra vigilant. Remember during the summer months: • Take extra care to make sure that garden tools, furniture and ornaments are kept safe • Lock toys, bikes, tools etc. in a shed or garage overnight and do not leave items unattended on driveways or in front gardens during the day • Don't leave front or side windows or doors unlocked or open when in the garden • Pots, planters and hanging baskets in your front garden should be clearly marked or fixed in such a way as to make them difficult to remove in a hurry. At this time of the year the 'oddjobbers' are around offering to do tree work, hedge trimming, tarmacing etc. Please have nothing to do with them and please keep an eye on vulnerable neighbours.
Articles stored in sheds and garages and where premises are being renovated are particularly vulnerable. To lower the risk of theft: • Do not store or leave items of high value on display in sheds and garages • Consider using an alarm • Record models and serial numbers of equipment • Secure and regularly check outbuildings and report any attempted break-ins as soon as possible • Report any persons or vehicles taking interest in sites and anyone offering to sell second-hand tools and equipment. HOW SAFE IS YOUR HOME? - FIND OUT HERE Please may I draw your attention to the interactive home security assessment tool, which you may find of interest. It is available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/secureyourhome/questionnaire/ The pages include a new online personalised home security self assessment entitled 'How secure is your home?' It also provides simple advise about how improvements can be made. POLICE REPORT Well now that the summer is nearly upon us let's make sure we keep ourselves and our property safe. Ensure that you secure all windows and doors when leaving the property and keep your front door and windows locked when working in your back garden. In the last month we have seen an increase in burglaries in the area so please take the time to make sure your home is secure especially if you are going on holiday. Follow the following tips to try and ensure you do not become a victim of crime. • Make sure your home looks like someone is living in it • Don't close your curtains in the daytime • Use automatic time switches to turn your lights on when it gets dark • Cancel any milk or newspaper deliveries • Don't leave valuables on view • Mark valuable items with your postcode • Don't put your home address on your luggage when travelling • Fit mortise locks or bolts to all doors, and locks to all windows • Lock garage and sheds with proper security locks • Lock away all tools and secure ladders • Get a neighbour to look after your home while you are away. Have a safe and crime free summer and don't forget to report anything suspicious you see in your area to us. Jane IMPROVING WIRELESS COMPUTER SECURITY At the recent Safer Neighbourhood meeting Dave Enness, a local computer engineer, brought up the problem of computer fraud and the possibility of identity theft if people's personal computers are not properly safeguarded. He has subsequently written, "A number of my clients have told me that money has been stolen from their on-line bank accounts. I would like to bring this to the attention of the residents and advise them to ensure that their computer security is up-to -date. It is recommended to have a WPA-PSK wireless encryption key of at least 63 characters." If like me this didn't mean a lot to you I hope the following information will help. We need to remember that a wireless signal is broadcast and accessible to anyone In simple terms WPA-PSK is extra strong encryption where encryption keys are automatically changed (called re-keying) and authenticated between devices after a specified period of time. The process used to generate the encryption key is very rigorous and the rekeying is done very quickly. This stops even the most determined hacker from gathering enough data to break the encryption. Dave also wrote to me about safer surfing generally. He said, "it is crucial to ensure anti-virus and anti-spywares are up-to-date and running successfully. Surfers should be wary of fake anti-virus software which, when downloaded, can seriously damage computer system files, resulting in loss of system software, programs and user data. Some scam web sites claim to have detected viruses to encourages you to download their software, whilst other scams simply ask you to disable your firewall." More information about this is available on the internet and Graham may put more information on our website in the near future. If anyone is concerned I can let them have Dave's details, just give me a call tel.737659. Joan
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who has the technology to receive it. Encrypting the wireless traffic makes it more difficult for an unauthorized person to extract information if your wireless signal is intercepted. The default type of encryption (WEP-Open) used by most wireless access points can be easily broken and decoded. WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) with PreShared Key (PSK) authentication) is substantially more secure.