Viruses are no longer the only threat on the Internet. Other threats have evolved in recent years, including spyware, adware, hacking, identity theft, data theft, pop-ups, and data loss.
Let’s start with the basics. We all need to protect our PC in the same way that we protect our house, car and bank account. We wouldn’t give a stranger the keys to our car, house, or bank account right now, would we? If you don’t protect your PC, it’s like giving the keys to a stranger and allowing them full access to your PC. Once the stranger has the keys, he can snoop around and take whatever he wants. I know, you’re thinking how can they do this, my computer is at my house and my doors are locked. Well, today you can be anywhere in the world and access someone’s computer through the Internet. Since the introduction of cable and DSL modems, everyone’s PC is online all the time and accessible.
Why do I need to protect my PC, I don’t keep any important information on it? Ask yourself a couple of questions.
1. Do I bank online?
2. Do I buy online?
3. Do I create documents, spreadsheets?
4. Do I let other people use my PC?
5. Can I download music, files on my PC?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then your PC is vulnerable. If you bank online, you are sending sensitive personal information to your bank over the Internet. For example: Let’s say you are infected with spyware and you are entering your account number plus password. A spyware installation can record keystrokes and then send them to a site on the Internet. Now the person who set up the site has your bank account number and password. Here’s one more example, if you answered yes to I let other people use my PC, here’s what happens. The other person decides they like this cool new piece of software. They download and double click the exe, msi or whatever installs the software. The adware, spyware or virus gets installed. Now the infection is installed and you can now start stealing sensitive information or wreak havoc on your PC. You go into the PC as usual since you don’t know this has happened and you start doing what you always do, writing documents, going to chat rooms, doing your online banking, reconciling your quicken banking and all this time your confidential information is stolen and you are completely unaware that it happened.
The million dollar question, what do I do? Well, you can follow this approach.
1. Install a spyware application and install and configure it correctly. If you already have a spyware application installed, make sure it is up to date and configured correctly.
2. Install an Adware application and install and configure it correctly. If you already have an adware app installed, make sure it’s up to date and configured correctly.
3. Install an antivirus application and install and configure it correctly. If you already have an antivirus app installed, make sure it’s up to date and make sure it’s configured correctly.
4. Install backup software, because if something gets past your defenses or you accidentally delete something, you always have a way to recover your data. You should try to back up your system at least every other day.
5. Install the encryption software. This software will encrypt files like word documents, spreadsheets, bank files in Quicken. This way, if someone steals your information, they won’t be able to read it.
6. Install a firewall. The Firewall can be software or hardware based. I would install both, especially if you bring your laptop and connect to the internet in different places. The firewall will block hackers trying to scan your system while you are on the Internet.
Many people have these apps installed but do not configure them correctly. Just installing the app does not mean that the app is working properly to stop the threat/infection. For some apps, you need to configure settings for the app to work the way it was designed to. Find out how to set up and install the software correctly, either by reading an instruction book or asking someone for help. If you already have the app installed, make sure it’s up to date and make sure it’s set up correctly. All software must be up to date and stay up to date. As new threats are released on the Internet, all applications will need current updates to combat them.
If you want to know if your PC is protected, you can take the test. This will not harm your PC, it just checks for vulnerabilities and lets you know if it has passed or failed. The application is a single exe and DOES NOT NEED TO BE INSTALLED. All you need to do is run the test app and follow the instructions.
Get the risk assessment tool [http://www.mweffa.com/urltrak/control/redirect.php?id=273]