How safe is your computer?

Nobody can say they are completely safe from catching a computer virus, becoming victim to a phishing scam, or being the target of a clever piece of spyware. You can, however, significantly lower your risk by taking some precautions. Listed are the most common yet integral ways to keep your computer as safe as possible:

1. Have a firewall! According to Microsoft, a firewall helps to keep your computer more secure. It restricts information that comes to your computer from other computers, giving you more control over the data on your computer and providing a line of defense against people or programs (including viruses and worms) that try to connect to your computer without invitation. Some good examples are the default window's firewall and zonealarm.


2. Have a good spyware removal program and use it! Spyware is a broad category of malicious software intended to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the user's informed consent. Spyware will monitor your activity on the Internet and transmit that information in the background to someone else. Spyware is potentially dangerous because it can record your keystrokes, history, passwords, and other confidential and private information. Some good examples of spyware removal programs are spyware blaster, ad-aware se personal edition and spybot search and destroy.

3. Utilise a good anti-virus and scan regularly! A virus is a program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes. Even a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and bring your system to a halt. Some good examples of anti-virus programs are norton antivirus and mcafee antivirus.

With these few techniques, you're not safe from ALL of online threats, but you can be sure these protection will deter most of the hackers and viruses from infecting your computer. This simple procedues will ensure you do not lose your valuable data on your hard disk, and save you the trouble of constant reformatting your computer, as a result of spyware and virus problems!