Tips For Protecting Your Computer From Hackers

Tips For Protecting Your Computer From Hackers

Use protection software anti-virus and keep it up to date

Antivirus or anti-virus software is software used to prevent, detect and remove malware such as computer viruses,malicious bhos,hijackers, keyloggers, rootkit,Trojan horses,worms,malicious LSPs, dialers, fraudtools, adware and spyware. Computer security including protection from social engineering  techniques, is commonly offered in products and services of antivirus software companies. This page discusses the software used for the prevention and removal of malware threats, rather than computer security implemented by software methods. Make sure you have anti-virus software on your computer! Anti-virus software is designed to protect you and your computer against known viruses so you do not have to worry. But with new viruses emerging daily, anti-virus programs need regular updates, like annual flu shots, to recognize these new viruses. Be sure to update your anti-virus software regularly! The more often you keep it updated, say once a week, the better. Check with the web site of your anti-virus software company to see some sample descriptions of viruses and to get regular updates for your software. Stop viruses in their tracks.

Do not open e-mail from unknown sources

Many unsolicited emails were received by having deceptive email subject lines to lure in people to open the e-mail. People will open the e-mails unwittingly and majority of web crime (such as stealing code, spreading virus, transplanting Trojans and stealing computer information...etc ) will occurs. The University's host computer does not automatically send notify e-mails to ask colleagues to reset his/her webmail password. For those Colleagues who received unidentified or unsolicited e-mails, please delete them immediately and do not open them by curiosity. A simple rule of thumb is that if you do not know the person who is sending you an e-mail, be very careful about opening the e-mail and any file attached to it. Should you receive a suspicious e-mail, the best thing to do is to delete the entire message, including any attachment. Even if you do know the person sending you the e-mail, you should exercise caution if the message is strange and unexpected, particularly if it contains unusual hyperlinks. Your friend may have accidentally sent you a virus. When in doubt, delete.

Use hard-to-guess passwords.

A secure, memorable password is easy for you to remember, and hard for others to guess.Everywhere you turn you've got to come up with a password to register for something or another. Whether it's the dozens of web sites that require you log in to use them, or your ATM card PIN, or your wireless network login, how do you decide on a new password? More importantly, how do you remember it?. Passwords will only keep outsiders out if they are difficult to guess! Do not share your password, and do not use the same password in more than one place. If someone should happen to guess one of your passwords, you do not want them to be able to use it in other places. The golden rules of passwords are:

1.A password should have a minimum of 8 characters, be as meaningless as possible, and use uppercase letters, lowercase letters and numbers, e.g., xk28LP97.

2.Change passwords regularly, at least every 90 days.

3.Do not give out your password to anyone!

Use firewalls

Equip your computer with a firewall! Firewalls create a protective wall between your computer and the outside world. They come in two forms, software firewalls that run on your personal computer and hardware firewalls that protect a number of computers at the same time. They work by filtering out unauthorized or potentially dangerous types of data from the Internet, while still allowing other (good) data to reach your computer. Firewalls also ensure that unauthorized persons can't gain access to your computer while you are connected to the Internet. You can find firewall hardware and software at most computer stores nationwide. Do not let intruders in!Firewalls can be used in a number of ways to add security to your home or business. Large corporations often have very complex firewalls in place to protect their extensive networks. On the outbound side, firewalls can be configured to prevent employees from sending certain types of emails or transmitting sensitive data outside of the network. On the inbound side, firewalls can be programmed to prevent access to certain websites (like social networking sites). Additionally, firewalls can prevent outside computers from accessing computers inside the network. A company might choose to designate a single computer on the network for file sharing and all other computers could be restricted. There is no limit to the variety of configurations that are possible when using firewalls. Extensive configurations typically need to be handle and maintained by highly trained IT specialists

Do not share access to your computers with strangers. Learn about file sharing risks.                                 

Your computer operating system may allow other computers on a network, including the Internet, to access the hard-drive of your computer in order to "share files". This ability to share files can be used to infect your computer with a virus or look at the files on your computer if you do not pay close attention. So, unless you really need this ability, make sure you turn off file-sharing. Check your operating system and your other program help files to learn how to disable file sharing. Do not share access to your computer with strangers!

 Disconnect from the Internet when not in use.

Remember that the Digital Highway is a two-way road. You send and receive information on it. Disconnecting your computer from the Internet when you are not online lessens the chance that someone will be able to access your computer. And if you have not kept your anti-virus software up-to-date, or don't have a firewall in place, someone could infect your computer or use it to harm someone else on the Internet. Be safe and disconnect!

Back up your computer data.

Experienced computer users know that there are two types of people: those who have already lost data and those who are going to experience the pain of losing data in the future. Back up small amounts of data on floppy disks and larger amounts on CDs. If you have access to a network, save copies of your data on another computer in the network. Most people make weekly backups of all their important data. And make sure you have your original software start-up disks handy and available in the event your computer system files get damaged. Be prepared