Below is 11 tips for you.
1. Update/patch ALL your software every now and then!
2. Check/adjust ALL your settings so they are safe, since they AREN'T by default!
3. Use firewall, like ZoneAlarm to control what goes in and out from your computer!
4. Use good passwords: at least 13marks long, containing both letters and numbers. Remember to change your password every few months at least and don't ever use the same password in two places!
5. Get a good antivirus program: NOD32, F-Secure, AVG or Norton Antivirus and keep it updated!
6. Don't open or execute files that you are not 100% sure are absolutely safe nomatter where or how you get them.
7. Wipe your history files (like cookies, internet history and temporary files, etc.), logs and personal files, with specific wiping program (like Eraser) instead of just deleting them.
8. Use encryption to enhance your privacy! Use encrypted email (like Hushmail or Ziplip), www-surfing and encrypt sensitive files on your computer (PGP).
9. When you are finished using some internet-based service like email, sign out of it rather than just closing your browser! Also, when you leave your computer, make sure that none of such programs or connections are left open that someone could abuse. In WindowsNT/2k/XP, press Windowskey+L to lock the workstation.
10. Don't use public computers for anything you need to type in your logins, they usually have Trojan horses that capture your passwords.
11. Make backups and store them in safe place! Easiest way to do a total-backup is to make an "Image" of your hard drive or partition and store it on safe location, but floppies will usually be just fine for storing documents,
Showing posts with label PC SECURITY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PC SECURITY. Show all posts
11 Tips for Computer Security
Increase Your PC Performance
There are a few steps that can be followed and verified if they work or not, well in approximately all the cases these steps are the best solution to handle any problem.
Firstly, check out the PC and see what kind of files you have stored in your PC, are there any such files that you do not want and have installed without any proper use. There are chances that at times such files that are if no use, then even they can also reduce the speed of your computer. If there are such files that you do not use then there is no point keeping these files in your computer the best way is to remove them. This might be a good step in increasing your systems speed.
Secondly, check out the defragmentation that you have done. If you havent defragmented your drives properly then there are chances that there might be an adverse effect o the speed and the performance of your PC. There are chances that your hard drive may turn over crowded and this can slow down your PC searches and performance thus defragmentation is needed to overcome such situation.
Get a proper and more RAM, this is required as RAM is the main aspect that allows the smooth functioning of a computer and thus affects the working d speed. The affect of RAM on performance and speed is well known so its better to get more and quite effective RAM.
Graphics, there are at times chances that this factor might be the culprit behind the reduced speed affects. There are times when any game or any functioning turns slow just because of the graphic that are not appropriate in your computer according to the necessary requirement so getting the best graphic card even checking the graphic property can do the needful.
The 10 Commandments of PC Security ~ MUST READ
Hey guys,,, The below mentioned rules are very very important and necessary now-a-days. ensure that you have read all and followed at least 9 of them. Your computer is your 'safe'. Keep it 'safe' from the technical theives..
I. Remember thy antivirus software and keep it updated. It's not enough to have the software installed (if you don't have an antivirus package, stop reading right now and get one); you also need to keep up with new viruses as they emerge. "Your antivirus software is only as good as your latest virus definitions set," says Kelly Martin, senior product manager for Symantec's Norton Antivirus.
II. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's attachments. You get a message you think is from a friend with what looks like a cool file attached, so you click on it. Next thing you know, you're Typhoid Mary, spewing out infected e-mails to everyone in your address book. That's how the Sobig.F worm spread--and it happened so quickly that millions of copies got out before the antivirus companies could update their databases.
"Never trust an e-mail 'from' address," adds Chris Wysopal, director of research for security consultants @Stake. "And never open an attachment without verifying it was sent by a trusted person, and they meant to send it to you."
III. Avoideth bogus file downloads. Be wary of any Web site that requires you to download software to view a page, unless it's something familiar like a Flash plug-in or Acrobat Reader. The file may contain a virus, a Trojan horse, or some auto-dialer that calls pay-per-minute numbers via your modem and racks up huge charges.
"Do not install software via the Web unless you are absolutely sure what it is and that you trust the company you are downloading it from," warns @Stake's Wysopal.
IV. Smite spyware and pop-ups. Like Trojan horse programs, spyware secretly installs itself when you download software like file-swapping applications; it tracks your movements online and delivers ads based on where you surf. Pop-up ads can also exploit security flaws in Internet Explorer, like the recent Qhost Trojan that hijacked users' browsers after they viewed an ad on the Fortune City Web site. Fortunately, there are tools that can protect you: For example, Ad-aware (free) blocks spyware and StopZilla ($30) takes care of pop-up ads. Some antivirus software and security suites also stop spyware and pop-ups in their tracks.
V. Thou shalt foil spammers. Unsolicited commercial e-mail is more than just a nuisance; it's also a major source of virus infections. In fact, some versions of Sobig are designed to turn infected PCs into zombie machines that can be used to send spam..
VI. Keep thy operating system patched. E-mail-borne worms and other scourges like to exploit security holes in your software--namely Windows and other Microsoft programs. These days Microsoft issues so many critical updates to fix these flaws that many users ignore them. Don't. Last January, the Slammer worm exploited a vulnerability that Microsoft had fixed more than six months before. But thousands of infected computers--including some at Microsoft--didn't have the patch installed. Run the Windows Update program once a week and whenever Microsoft issues a warning.
"Until we see automated patch management software, users will simply have to stay up to date," says Thor Larholm, senior security researcher at PivX Solutions.
VII. Maketh a rescue disk and keep it handy. When things go bad, a boot or rescue disk is your first step to recovery. At minimum, you'll want to put the basic elements of your operating system on a floppy disk or Zip media, so you can bypass the hard disk at start-up. A better idea: Use your antivirus program to create a rescue disk you can use when your system gets infected. Label it with a date and store it near your system where you won't lose it.
VIII. Be not taken in by false claims. There are more hoaxers than hackers on the Internet, and more bogus "e-mail virus alerts" than actual viruses. Even real virus threats are typically blown out of proportion by the media. A phony warning could cause you to delete harmless files and then forward the message to others, clogging e-mail servers and causing virus-like damage in the process. When you get one of these e-mails (or see yet another breathless news story), check it out first. Type the name of the alleged virus into a search engine to see if any of the major security vendors have issued an alert, and visit the virus hoax pages at F-Secure and Hoaxbusters.
IX. Honor thy firewall. A firewall is like a bouncer for your computer--it checks every ID at the door and won't let anything in or out until you give the thumbs up. So a hacker can't access personal information on your hard drive, and a Trojan horse keystroke logger (a stealth program that monitors the characters you type) can't steal your passwords and transmit them over the Net. Symantec and Network
X. Maketh backups and keep them holy. Simply put: Back up your data files at least weekly (daily if you're running a business). Even if you fall victim to a virus or hacker attack, you'll escape with only minor damage. Fail to keep a recent backup though, and you'll go straight to hell--at least, that's how it will feel
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