Simple Tips to Keep Your Computer Safe and Secure

When it comes to security, you will notice that everything that has a high value in your life are kept under tight security, be it your household assets or your highly classified documents. Similarly, data present in your computer and network is highly valuable and needs several layers of security to prevent data theft. Also its important to prevent malicious programs, bots, etc. to get in your computer. Whenever you are entering any data such as your usernames, passwords, your bank account details, they all are vulnerable and may be stolen by some pesky spyware or sniffed out of your network if you don’t secure your computer and network enough. Here, we will walk you through the process of securing your computer from any security threats.

Patch Frequently, Keep your operating system updated

The very first step is to keep your operating system patched with the latest updates available through the manufacturer of the OS. Be it Windows XP, Vista, Linux, Mac OS or any other system, it is always a good idea to keep your system patched. Patching helps in plugging the security loopholes usually used by hackers to attack a system. And by the way, it sometimes do improves system performance. So keep the Automatic Update setting on in your operating system. Below you will find some useful links related to updates and security: Windows OS, Apple Mac OS, Linux, Sun OS

Use Antivirus Software, Firewall and Keep It Current. Keep Your System Protected Against Spyware

Before you do anything in your system, you should always install a security suite. Keep in mind though, never install more than one security suite. This will not make your system more secure but will cause system instability and many other system problems including performance degradation. So always try to keep only one very good security suite. Security suites, be it antivirus or Internet security suite, whatever be your choice, keeps most of the viruses, Trojans, spyware and other malicious programs and scripts at bay.

There are many good security suites programs such as the ones provided by Kaspersky, Symantec, AVG and others. You will get a good review about which one is the best at Anti-Malware Test Lab, AV-Comparatives or TopTenREVIEWS. In addition to basic antivirus protection they also protect from spyware, ad-ware, Trojans, and other threats. Also keep in mind to keep virus-definitions updated to equip your security suite to catch the new threats.

Keep Spam at bay, Use Anti-spam Solutions

Spam is flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message, trying to force the message on people who would not otherwise choose to receive it. Most spam is commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or quasi-legal services. Spam costs the sender very little to send, most of the costs are paid for by the recipient or the carriers and not by the sender. There are many software filters available that will help you to remove spam before it even shows up in your Inbox.

For instance, SpamAssassin is generally considered as one of the most effective spam filters available, especially when used in combination with spam databases. Even simple text-matching alone may, for most users, be sufficient to correctly classify a majority of incoming mail. Use of good email clients like Mozilla Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook with built-in spam filter also helps reducing spam. Now, even some security suites includes anti-spam filters. Use any of your choice and prevent spam mails piling up your Inbox.

Be careful with Passwords, Keep them Strong and Never Share

Always use a strong password that includes a combination of letters, numbers and symbols. Never use your spouse name as your password for your bank account or other important areas. Also, never include the name of the system or the associated username with the password. Never let anyone else know or use your password. Never write it down; or if you must, keep it in a locked area or in your wallet. Don’t post it on your computer or anywhere around your desk. Try to change your password periodically, even if it hasn’t been compromised.

Encrypt your data to keep them secure from theft

The only solution to protect your important data from being theft is to keep them encrypted, so that even if someone gets it, it becomes useless for them. There are many encryption softwares available that helps you encrypt your data and keep them secure with military standard encryption rules. TrueCrypt is one of them. It is wizard based and is free to use. Encryption is a very strong solution to protect your confidential data from going to wrong hands.

Other Good Practices and Solutions

• Frequently backup your system and keep copies in another location.
• Avoid Phishing Scams (Read more at Microsoft.com)
• Monitor system performance for clues about any virus infection or other malware. If the performance is degraded suddenly or your internet connection becomes slow all of a sudden or system showing lot of unusual activities, fully scan your system for any infection.
• Also keep your softwares updated.

Share with us below, the security measures that you carry out to keep your computer safe and secure.

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