Reprinted Articles

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.

Here are 12 simple steps to securing your computer, that won’t hit you hard in the pocketbook.

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. Install a firewall. Without a good firewall, viruses, worms, Trojans, malware and adware can all easily access your computer from the Internet. Consideration should be given to the benefits and differences between hardware and software based firewall programs.

4. Review your browser and email settings for optimum security. Why should you do this? Active-X and JavaScript are often used by hackers to plant malicious programs into your computers. While cookies are relatively harmless in terms of security concerns, they do still track your movements on the Internet to build a profile of you. At a minimum set your security setting for the “internet zone” to High, and your “trusted sites zone” to Medium Low.

5. Make sure that you receive the most current versions of antivirus software by setting up your computer for automatic updates.

6. Never open unknown email attachments. Several viruses can come from a known email address so recognizing the address is not enough to protect you.

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. Windows operating systems are set to hide file extensions for known file types by default. You want to disable this feature so that the extensions are displayed. There are some file extensions that will continue to be hidden but you will be better able to see unusual file extensions that should not be there.

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. Unrestricted physical access to you computer should be prohibited. Allowing others to use your computer can put the security of your computer at risk if there is sensitive or proprietary information on it.

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.

Tags: Computer Security