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InTouch & Informed Blog

How to Minimize Your Risk – Computer Security Tips

Friday, January 28, 2011 by Jason Koeppe

My next-door neighbor is an IT nerd. He loves talking new technology updates and enjoys being the computer guru of the neighborhood. He is the go-to guy for most of my neighborhood if anything crashes or glitches on our PC’s. I guess I take him for granted. You see, to me, computer techno talk is like eating dry, old bread without any water. It doesn’t kill me – but in no way do I enjoy any part of it.

So, when we were chatting at the bus-stop the other day and he asked what kind of anti-virus software I was using, I froze. I honestly had NO idea! I’m a well-educated individual with a good job. I was embarrassed by my lack of protection to some of my most valuable assets: my identity, my banking info, my credit cards. So, I decided it was time I dove right into finding out just how protected my computer and personal information is, and what I need to do to maintain a comfortable level of security.

Minimizing your risk and protecting your computer is so much easier than I anticipated. At first, I felt intimidated by not understanding the ‘lingo’ and not knowing what to choose, but here are some easy guidelines that you can follow to insure online and wireless computer security.

Make Sure Your Computer is Equipped with The Basics

Every computer should have the following three core protections installed:

Additionally, you need to block spam emails, use an up-to-date web browser, make regular backups, and encrypt your wireless network.

Automatic Updates to Security Features

Installing these software packages is the first step. Equally important is keeping them up to date.

New threats emerge daily and quality software packages come with subscriptions that allow you to update your defenses on a regular basis. In most cases, you can set the software to retrieve the updates automatically. Set your system for these automatic updates so you don’t create extended periods of potential vulnerability.

In addition, your computer runs an operating system. If you surf the Internet, you use a browser as well. Both should be updated regularly. Many of the updates that address security issues can be scheduled to run automatically.

Perform Free Security Checks

According to www.staysafeonline.org, many computer security vendors offer free computer security checks for your computer. Visit a link below to check your computer for known viruses, spyware, and more and discover if your computer is vulnerable to cyber attacks.

http://daol.aol.com/security/computer-checkup

http://www.auditmypc.com

http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html

http://shop.ca.com/STContent/Resources/Resources.aspx

http://www.eset.com/online-scanner

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm?s_cid=sah

http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/default.asp

http://www.pandasecurity.com/activescan/index/?track=1&Lang=en-US&IdPais...

http://www.symantec.com/securitycheck

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp

http://www.webroot.com/En_US/land-ss-promo-freescan.html