Computer Security - Best Ways To Secure Your Computer
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by: SamJohnson
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When we think about how far we have come with Technology over the past ten years, it is just mind-blowing. Thirty years ago, personal computers did not even exist.
Today, we have computers that connect to a world wide internet, offering us a vast array of multimedia and just about anything we could have ever dreamed of using a computer for, has now become a reality.
Along with these amazing new technologies and exchange of information and data, we have also had to bear the unfortunate dilemma of dealing with the misuse of technology by hackers, almost from the inception of personal computing itself. It often seems like We are at the mercy of hackers, and we need to know how we can make sure our privacy and computer security is maintained.
Hackers may have started off with an "us against the machine" type of mentality and acted as a form of protest, but this is no longer the case. Most hackers now only want to wreak havok on unsuspecting computer users. Their primary purpose is to steal or destroy data.
Financial gain from the theft of personal information is rampant now, and identity theft is becoming a more common form of cybercrime. Most hackers are content to delete or destroy the information on a computer or to take a computer over and turn it into one of their own hacking devices. Generally, these types of attacks occur without the user's knowledge.
So, with all these dangers about, users really need to find out how to protect themselves from hackers and their viruses, trojans and spyware - and now also phishing to steal private information. There are two basic software applications that everyone should have on their computer to protect their data and their computer from harm. These are a Firewall and an AntiVirus program.
The Firewall is a piece of software designed to act just like the Firewall barrier in a car, which protects the car's passengers against fire in the engine. Firewalls can be complicated to set up, but they are essential. Once operating, they will safeguard the user from getting viruses through the internet because of this layer of protection.
The second line of defence and, really, equally important is the AntiVirus software. Today's AntiVirus programs are made by internet security companies and this is all they do. They simply maintain vigilance over the newest viruses and trojans that are created daily by hackers, and they continually update their AntiVirus software to stop it from being run on a user's computer, before any damage is done.
We can all do other things to stop ourselves from becoming the target of hackers, and the main way is by being aware and vigilant. We need to be careful about the emails we open and watch the kinds of websites we visit. Hackers are very clever people, who will prey on the fear we all have of losing our data, by offering their own brand of virus protection software, which contains viruses or is damaging.
The way a bank teller learns to differentiate counterfeit money from real money is by studying real money, so they can pick out a fake at forty paces. In the same way, We need to make sure we are informed about what the best practices are with our computer use, so we avoid making mistakes that could cost us our data. We need to learn and talk to people who are knowledgable about these things. If you do this, you will keep a step ahead of the hackers.
About the Author
About the author: Sam Johnson can help you to learn more about computer security. For lots more tips and advice about computers visit our website at TimeSaverGuides.com.
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