The 4 Power Tips You MUST Know To
Protect Your Computer From
Identity Theft Predators Lurking in The Shadows of the Internet
One of the places that you are at highest risk of having your identity stolen is in your very own home – at your computer.
Think about all the things that you use your computer for. Do you pay your bills online? Review bank statements? Shop? Email friends and family? Store passwords and account information?
Chances are that if you have a computer with Internet access, you do some, if not all, of these things. If so, you are at a heightened risk of identity theft.
Internet users face villains such as viruses, trojans, phishing scams, spam and spyware.
All of these threaten your personal identity as well as the health of your computer.
So what can you do for protection?
- 1. Install a firewall on your computer. Available in the form of either software or hardware, the purpose of a firewall is to protect your computer from hackers and viruses by filtering the information allowed into your network.
Because you can customize these filters, you can choose to add or remove allowable information as you see fit.
Your computer may have come with a built-in firewall. If not, you can install a hardware firewall such as those that come with many home broadband routers or a software firewall available through security software companies. - 2. Install antivirus software. A virus can corrupt or delete data on your computer, erase your hard drive, and use your email and instant messaging to spread problems to other computers.
Antivirus software programs are used to detect and prevent dangerous viruses from interfering with your computer by searching your computer for signs of virus activity.
If it finds a virus that it is already able to combat, it will attack it for you...
If it finds a virus that it cannot fully combat, it will alert you of the virus so that you can look into ways to combat it yourself.
Because new virus arise all the time, software companies are constantly updating their software to fight new viruses.
As such, it is important that you update your software regularly. - 3. Install anti-spyware on your computer. Spyware is computer software that is installed on your computer without your consent, and is dangerous to the security of your computer.
Spyware attempts to monitor your behavior so that it can collect personal information, reconfigure your computer or force unwanted pop-ups and advertising upon you.
Once spyware is installed, it can be very difficult to get rid of, so the sooner you guard against it with anti-spyware, the better off you will be. - 4. Install a spam blocker or filter in your email account. Spam can be one of the easiest ways for identity thieves to trick you.
Although the best form of security is to be careful about opening attachments and downloading files from emails, you can reduce your risk of becoming a spam victim by using a spam blocker or filter.
Transmitting personal information over the computer has become so commonplace that it is easy to mistake it as a trustworthy and protected place.
But as soon as you open yourself to the Internet, you put yourself at risk to those who make it their business to steal from you.
Installing security measures on your computer can be a pain, but consider all the things you use your computer for and the extent to which you transmit and store personal information.
Then ask yourself - How delicate is this information and what am I willing to do to protect it?
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