10 Basic Security Tips: improve your computer’s security

Protecting your PC from attacks and malware… how many times we’ve talked about this? And although we and many sites recommend and advise on computer security, people continue to fall victim of digital infections. Why? Because many of them believe that installing an antivirus is enough to feel safe. Well, that’s not entirely true: security programs are important but there are some basic things you should keep in mind to avoid undesired intrusions. Here are some of them which you definitely have to learn to enforce your internet privacy.

1 – The importance of passwords

Take a time to think about all the services and files you protect with passwords: much of our most precious data (such as e-mail and bank accounts and social networks’ profiles) are guarded by combinations of letters and numbers. That’ why is essential to have a solid policy about passwords.
There are certain things regarding this aspect that you must avoid. First of all, don’t use the same password for all your services: if one of your accounts is compromised, the rest fall with it. Secondly, using personal information (names, birth dates, favorite band, etc.) isn’t recommended. People interested in hacking your accounts will try several combinations of these data.
A good advice is to create strong passwords that contain at least 8 characters and in which you use letters, numbers and symbols (This refers to internet security). So I recommend you to use  this password generator often

2 – Protection is mandatory when going online

Before accessing the Internet for the first time with your brand new computer, make sure you have security tool installed. Surfing the Web without this kind of programs is like going out naked. There are several alternatives for protecting your PC, from antivirus and anti-malware tools to powerful firewalls. Although many of these options are paid there others that are completely free, including utilities that are built in the operating system (such as Windows Defender).

3 – Shield your networks and devices

Many people use wireless connections such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to transfer their data from their mobile devices. It’s obvious that this type of connections needs a special kind of protection. Wi-Fi networks must be secured with a password since open network are easily accessible for all the people near it. This evidently facilitates the information theft.
Bluetooth connections are different, though. In these, the best advice is to disable the Bluetooth function until you need it. Once this happens, enable it, do all the tasks you have to do with it and disable it once again. In this way, your device won’t be accessible to occasional intruders that discover your open Bluetooth.

4 – Backup everything, all the time

There isn’t a method that can protect you 100% of the times. Infections happen even to the most careful ones so it’s very important to have security copies of all the important information you store in your devices. By backing all of your precious data up, you’ll rest assured that you’ll be protected in case anything happens, from a virus attack to the complete destruction of your PC.  Take a look at these free backing up software

5 – Update your software periodically

No software is free from bugs. That’s why companies continue to release patches and packages to correct them, not only to avoid functionality issues but to cover potential security holes as well. But legitimate programs aren’t the only ones that keep updating: malware is evolving constantly, looking for new ways to spread and infect more computers. That’s why keeping your antivirus updated isn’t enough to stop them. Viruses use any bug in any application to spread throughout the PCs so it’s essential that you update all of the programs you’ve installed (that, of course, includes the operating system) to prevent infections from finding their way into your system.

6 – The Web is full with deceitful people

Internet is filled with malicious sites and services of dubious purposes that seek to obtain financial profit by tricking internauts into sending them information or money. Many draws, raffles and offers you can find on the Web were designed to gain access to personal sensitive information.
Most of these threats are spread through e-mails that promise to reward you with millions of dollars or that claim that you have been selected from thousands of users to collect a prize. Although it might seem silly, many people were already caught by these lies, so the best advice is to check all the links and e-mails before responding to them: if they look suspicious or they are too good to be true, they are surely a scam that you have to dismiss.

7 – Protect yourself while social networking

We’ve already discuss about the things you should and shouldn’t share while using social networks. I encourage you to review that post but I also want to remind you the basics regarding this aspect: learn how to use the privacy tools provided by each website to your advantage, don’t add strangers to your contacts, study carefully each app before using it and don’t post personal information that may be used against you.

8 – Piracy can give you troubles

Apart from the legal and ethic standpoints, using pirated software can compromise your computer’s security. The people in charge of pirating applications have to deal with the underlying code to avoid the trial or demo restrictions and, while they’re at it, they put their own malicious code for personal gain.
Extra features that you don’t notice can be added to gather personal information on each computer they are installed but that’s not all. It may be the case that pirated software don’t have malicious code in it. However, as they aren’t official products, you won’t be able to update them to fix bugs, breaking one of the basic premises we are describing here.

9 – Look after the use of your computer

If you share your computer with others (family, friends, etc) it’s very important that they are all aware of these basic premises as well. Teach them and let them teach you what they know and encourage safe practices while using the PC. Additionally, parents should be very careful with which their kids are consuming online since they can be accessing inappropriate contents for their age or they can be contacting unknown people through the Web.

10 – Learn from your mistakes

This obvious premise is one of the most important. As I’ve said earlier, anybody can be victim of a cyberattack. If you’re affected by one, try to remove the threat and after that review your steps to understand where the infection came from. Did you access a suspicious website? Which was the last application you used? Ask yourself these and other questions to get to the bottom of the issue and learn from your mistakes.
As I’ve always said, the most important protective measure you can take is to use your common sense. All of the ideas described in this post follow that general knowledge and they were gathered from personal experiences while using the Web. They won’t assure you 100% protection but the chances you’ll get infected will be drastically reduced. 

credits: toggle.com