Securing Your Computer System
Computers are increasingly used for everything from communication to online banking and even for investing and shopping. The bad news is that we are opening ourselves up to the dangers of hackers, attackers and crackers when we do these things on a regular basis.
Some might be targeting you for identity theft, while others may use your computer to launch attacks on other victims.
Below are 12 easy, cost-effective steps you can take to make your computer more secure.
1. Make a backup copy of information that is important to you, and keep it separate from your computer.
2. The operating system, web browser and software should be updated and patched regularly.
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. Set the browser and email configuration on your computer for optimum security. Hackers frequently use Active-X and JavaScript to insert harmful programs into your computers. Cookies are pretty harmless, but they do keep track of what you do online and build a profile of information about you. It is recommended that you choose your security settings for the internet zone to be at High, and the settings for trusted sites zone to Medium Low. (These are the minimum recommendations, and you can set your security higher, if you wish to do so.)
5. Make sure you have antivirus software installed and that it is set to receive automatic updates. Automatic updates insure you are protected from the latest viruses.
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. If you don’t know where a program comes from, don’t run it. Another word of advice is to avoid sending programs like this to your colleagues and friends, even though the content might be entertaining. There might be a Trojan horse that wants to infect your computer, and theirs.
8. If you have hidden file name extensions you should disable them. If the default setting has not been changed, then Windows will automatically ‘hide file extensions for known file types.” To allow Windows to show file extensions, disable this option. Some will stay hidden, but you will also be able to catch some unusual file extensions that don’t 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. You should be prepared in case a malicious program causes damage to your computer by making a boot disk for your computer on a floppy disk or CD. This should obviously be done before your system is breached.
11. You should never allow access to your computer by anyone, unless you okay them to use it first. Letting other people use your computer can result in a breach of your computer’s security, so beware if you keep personal information on your computer, and then let family members or coworkers use it. They may accidentally compromise the security of your system.
12. Use strong passwords. Passwords should be hard for others to figure out. Using the names of children and pets or dates that are important to you should not be done. Do not use the same password for everything that you need a password for. While some people do this, it is dangerous as it makes the hacker’s job easier and gives them access to all kinds of personal information about you. When you write down a password, never leave it in the open. Instead, put it somewhere that only you can find it. You may be laughing but you would be surprised at how may people leave their passwords out in plain sight.
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