There is no worse feeling than having your house broken into. The feeling of being victimized by strangers unceremoniously going through your things, looking at documents and stealing is an unhappy place to be. Imagine someone breaking into your computer, going through your things, stealing passwords, addresses and your identity before breaking into your bank account and stealing your money.
With just a little effort, you can protect yourself from computer hackers and keep your information off the Internet.
- If you don’t have antivirus software, you really are asking to be taking advantage of. Some hackers crash your system by sending you a virus and the best way to repel viruses is to have this software. There is some really great spyware software that is absolutely free.
- Set up a firewall – The best thing you can do to protect your system is to set up a firewall. The best firewall you can set up is called a router. The router is a physical component attached to the computer that blocks most hackers and slows others down dramatically, enough that they will likely move on to the next target. Routers are hardware and do not slow your system down.
- A spam filter is a must – Spam email is annoying. What you might not know is many computer hackers use spam to slip a virus or some kind of infectious code into your system that prevents it from being protected.
Note: One of the great ways to get away from spam email is to have two email addresses. Use one for professional use that includes your first and last name in the email, and use the other for the personal stuff. Also, don’t click on an email from a sender you do not know.
If you’re concerned about your computer safety, hire a professional to do the work for you.