The world has moved ever increasingly online, and, the Internet has become a dangerous place for your computer. There are many scams and security risks out there, which can sneak into your computer disguised as an email from someone you know, or an ad on a favorite website. These can cause untold amounts of damage to your expensive hardware and cause you to lose the data on your computer. This can be devastating, but there are a many ways to keep this danger in check. Here are a few simple tips, which you can use to keep yourself and your computer safe.
- Back up your computer regularly. Backing up your computer data is the best way to keep yourself from losing any important information currently stored on your computer, as many IT support services will advise you. Whether you have important work information on there or precious family photos, it’s likely something which you wouldn’t want to lose. A good option is to do remote backups, which are sometimes called cloud backups. Companies that provide this service use programs that collects data from your computer, compresses it down to a manageable size, encrypts it to keep it secure, and then transfers it to their servers or hardware for safe keeping. These backups happen on a certain schedule, sometimes daily or weekly depending on what you need. By using a backup service, you are ensuring that if anything disastrous were to happen to your computer, the information on it wouldn’t be lost to you. Remote backups give you a quick recovery option.
- Use quality security programs. To keep your computer safe, it is important to have many security measures in place, such as malware, anti-virus, anti-spam, and firewall programs. If you are not exactly tech savvy, these all may sound like the same thing. You might think that if you have a malware program set up then you are totally protected. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and it is important to have multiple programs running to protect your computer. If you know the difference between these programs, and how they are installed and used, then you probably have them in place. If not, it may be a good idea to find some IT support in your area. You can hire people with a thorough understanding of computer security to install the necessary programs and help you keep your computer safe.
- Browse with caution. Computer hackers have gotten trickier to keep up with current technology, and they can hide viruses and other dangers to your computer in the simplest of things. Email is one of the biggest issues. You should NEVER open ANYTHING you receive from an unknown or unrecognized source, because this is a common way for bad things to get into your computer. Many computer repair services see this happen to customers all the time. You may even receive an email that appears to be from someone you know or a company you recognize, but which contains a questionable link. Always hover over links without clicking to see what site it will take you to. A good way to check whether something is a scam or harmful is to check sites like snopes.com. Here people try to identify scams plaguing the Internet and prevent users from falling into any such harmful traps. The bottom line is not to trust anything until you have verified it.
There are many ways to keep yourself safe from viruses and hackers, but these three tips are a great place to start. If you have questions about computer security, and want answers from professionals, give us a call here at The Local Circuit. We specialize in computer repair and I.T. support services.