Computers have completely revolutionized the way the world works. Life has become more reliant on technology. Our personal information is now digitalized. Our systems have become smarter. Unfortunately, so have the hackers. Without the proper protection for your computer, you’re very much at risk of becoming a victim of various cyber-attacks, like phishing, malware, Trojan horses, etc. Thankfully, there are preventative measures you can take to protect yourself and your data. Let’s take a look at some of them.
An Up-to-Date Antivirus
This is perhaps the most crucial step in securing your computer. It’s your first line of defense. An antivirus worth its salt will stop hacking attempts from even reaching your front door. Lucky for us, there are several great antivirus programs available. They will alert you of suspicious activity like possible phishing attacks (email messages that appear to come from a legitimate source). Other examples are pharming (hackers trying to appear as trusted websites) and malware (malicious programs created to damage your computer).
Quality Software
The importance of using reputable software cannot be stressed enough. Even the most powerful antivirus doesn’t stand a chance against a program with security bugs. Your data will end up being served on a silver platter to the first hacker who’s smart enough to exploit a flaw that developers overlooked. The best remedy is to use trusted software from established developers, like Microsoft. They have a software solution for pretty much any task that you need done. Reassurance is priceless. Knowing your programs have been built by a global powerhouse with the best security measures in place gives you that peace of mind. Good quality software like this is best purchased from reputable certified software vendors, like MyChoiceSoftware.
Poorly developed software is vulnerable to "the first hacker who’s smart enough to exploit a flaw that developers overlooked"
which can provide an unknown backdoor into users information and other portions of their system.
Practice Good Password Management
Passwords are meant to secure access to you (the password holder) and only you. So, sharing passwords is a bad idea, unless you have no problem with someone else accessing your data. Memorize your passwords. And don’t write them down if you’re not going to destroy the written password in the immediate future. Choose passwords that are complex and that have a good mixture of numbers, symbols, lowercase and uppercase letters. Avoid obvious passwords like birthdays and pet names which can be easily guessed. There are some handy password generators that create random complex passwords that are pretty much impossible to crack
Be Aware of Suspicious Websites
Hackers are very sneaky. If they can’t get to you, they’ll try to get you to come to them. Have you ever come across an offer for some item that seems too good to be true? Well, it probably is. One trick used by hackers is to set up websites to offer popular products at unbelievably low prices. This is the bait. Some clever wording will convince you this is a good idea. You take the bait and enter your payment details. And that’s all they need. They now have your credit card info and personal details which they use to steal your identity and enjoy your bank accounts.
You should also be aware of websites that are not HTTPS-enabled. This is a global security protocol that issues certificates that verify website owners as legitimate. A website that does not have this basic security measure in place has no business asking you for any information at all.
The Internet can be as unsafe as the Wild West if you’re not careful. But, these practical steps will help keep you and your information safe. With the right software protecting you, you can bravely go online without worry. Your best way forward is to contact a reliable software vendor like MyChoiceSoftware, who will be able to advise you on what software would best suit your specific needs.
