A Secure Computer System is Essential
Today, more and more people are using their computers for everything from communication to online banking, and investing to shopping. As we do these things on a more regular basis, we open ourselves up to potential hackers, attackers and crackers.
Phishing for personal information to steal your identity and hijacking your computer to attack others are daily threats on the internet.
There are inexpensive steps that can be taken to make your computer more secure. Here are twelve critical precautions to take now.
1. Always make backups of important information and store in a safe place separate from your computer.
2. Update and patch your operating system, web browser and software frequently.
3. Get a good firewall. Without a good firewall your computer is vulnerable to viruses, worms, and Trojans, malware and adware from the Internet. Both the benefits and differences of hardware and software based firewall programs should be taken into consideration.
4. Check the settings of both your browser and email for optimum security. Why should you do this? Hackers use both Active-X and JavaScript in order to plant malicious programs into your computers. Cookies, though fairly harmless when it comes to security, track your movements on the Internet and build a profile of you. Internet zone settings should be high and trusted sites should be set to medium low in your security settings.
5. Make sure that you receive the most current versions of antivirus software by setting up your computer for automatic updates.
6. Don’t open email attachments from unknown sources. Knowing the person who sent you the message is not sufficient, as even the account of someone you know may inadvertently pass on a computer virus to you. So be cautious of ANYTHING that you open!
7. Do not run programs from unknown origins. Also, do not send these types of programs to friends and coworkers because they contain funny or amusing stories or jokes. They may contain a Trojan horse waiting to infect a computer.
8. Disable hidden filename extensions. By default, the Windows operating system is set to “hide file extensions for known file types”. Disable this option so that file extensions display in Windows. Some file extensions will, by default, continue to remain hidden, but you are more likely to see any unusual file extensions that do not belong.
9. When your computer is not being used you should turn it off and disconnect from the network. This will help to prevent an attack from hackers.
10. Consider making a boot disk on a floppy disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised by a malicious program. Obviously, you need to take this step before you experience a hostile breach of your system.
11. Don’t allow unrestricted physical access to your computer. If you have sensitive or proprietary information on your computer, allowing other employees or family members to use your computer can lead to potential breaches in your computer’s security.
12. Don’t use weak passwords. Use passwords which are difficult for someone to figure out. People frequently use the names of children, pets, anniversary dates, or birthdays. Because there seems to be a password needed for everything, it is not uncommon to see many people using the same password for everything. Big mistake! The use of only one password provides a hacker with easy access to a smorgasbord of personal information. If you have to write your passwords down, it is best not to leave them on a post-it, attached to the screen of your computer. You may chuckle at the absurdity, but it happens more than you think.