Saturday, August 30, 2008

Dealing with Security Issues

Guest Post  - by Heather Johnson

No sooner is one fixed than another turns up, and if you’re not careful, you could end up losing all the data on your computer and the money in your bank. Viruses, Trojan horses, worms and other malware that are floating around on the Internet are morphing into new forms each time someone comes up with an antidote for those that are discovered. Not everyone is savvy about protecting their systems from being breached by hackers who are some of the best in the business.

Security suites and anti virus software offer some form of protection, and as they are updated regularly as and when new virus signatures are discovered. But even if your security software is up to date and reliable, there are ways that hackers can get at your system if you are not careful.

  • Don’t log in to your computer as an administrator as this leaves your system vulnerable to attacks. When you surf the web and hit a strange or untrusted site, you could end up with a formatted hard disk. Hackers could also create their own user accounts with administrative privileges. When you need to perform tasks that require administrative privileges, you can log in temporarily as an administrator from a non administrative account.
  • Do not click on links in emails from strangers.
  • Do not open attachments without scanning them for malware.
  • Do not share your passwords with even friends and family.
  • Be up to date in applying security patches and system updates.
  • Log out of your accounts, email, bank and others, when done.
  • Do not use public computers to conduct sensitive transactions.
  • Use secure sites that offer encryption when using your credit card to order goods and services online.
  • Do not provide sensitive information online even if the request seems to come from trusted sources.
  • Do not enable file and print sharing.
  • Lock your computer or log out when leaving your desk.
  • Shut down your computer when done for the day.
  • Do not download software that is on offer from a source you cannot trust.
  • Remove programs and applications that you do not use.
  • Protect your home network from sniffers if you use a wireless router to connect.

By-line:

This article is contributed by Heather Johnson, who regularly writes on ATT Yahoo. She invites your questions and writing job opportunities at her personal email address: heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.

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