Computers can easily be affected by malicious programs and are open to several kinds of security vulnerabilities. In this post I will discuss some very important computer security aspects which should always be kept in mind and adhered to.
Firewall: Firewall is one of the best ways to keep your computer protected from outside world. As the name suggests, it works exactly like a wall of fire and does not let the outside infections, intrusions come inside your computer. However, since new infections and hacking techniques are coming into existence day by day, so it is very important that you keep the firewall updated so that it easily detects and stops such attacks.
Antivirus: An antivirus is an application which has only one purpose, and that is to detect and remove virus infections. It offers several levels of protection for keeping your computer safe and sound. If it is enabled and resident in the memory, it scans the incoming data and checks if it has traces of virus infections or not. If found it straight away intimates you about the same so that the transfer of such data can be stopped. Many antiviruses automatically block such infected data from entering your computer. Another task of an antivirus software is to scan the entire hard drive from time to time and look for any infected file which could have come in to the computer system by external means like CD, Flash drive, e-mail attachment etc. But in order for an antivirus to work properly, it is very important to keep it updated with the virus definitions, otherwise your security software would not be able to detect the infections.
Antispyware: Spyware has the capability of seriously harming data or stealing confidential information. Spyware silently spies the data entered by you and can even steal your bank and other financial information. This kind of program can attach itself with any legitimate system file so that they start when the system starts and always stay resident in the memory spying your activities. One should always install a good quality antispyware on their computers and should also keep the same updated regularly.
Password: Users should always keep strong passwords for their Windows accounts, e-mails, financial sites, and almost everywhere. Your passwords should not contain your name because it is very easy to guess. The password should always contain some numbers and special characters. A password comprising of few numbers and some special characters makes it very difficult to be cracked. As a calculation a 14 character long password which consists of both lower-case and upper-case alphabets, numbers, and some special characters will require several years in getting decoded.
Locking the computer: ‘Windows logo’ key and ‘L’ is the shortcut for locking the computer and one should always remember it, rather make it a habit. Never ever leave your system open, because if you do so it will be very easy for anyone to access your information without leaving any traces. If you tend to forget locking the computer then set it in the screensaver of your computer with a timeout of 1 minute.
