Every day when we read news about computers being hacked worldwide, we also get a fear in our minds that our systems may be hacked as well. If you feel that way, then don’t worry! Given below are some essential tips that you need to follow to protect your computers from being hacked.
Operating System
It’s quite obvious that the best-selling Operating Systems are being targeted by hackers. To prevent your OS from being hacked, you need to keep your system updated with the latest OS versions. A weekly or monthly update of the OS versions would be sufficient enough to keep your systems safe and secure. Likewise, it is also good to have the latest versions of all the important applications that you work on including web browsers. By having the updated versions, you are minimizing the chances of your system from being hacked.
Passwords
Having a secure password for your online activities is the most important step in keeping your system safe from hackers. Any online activity that requires the use of passwords definitely involves a lot of confidential information. We use passwords for online cash transactions, emails, social networking, and many other activities. A password that is difficult to hack is the one that has an enigmatic combination of alpha-numeric characters and symbols with maximum strength (meaning more characters). Also, make it a point to keep changing your passwords frequently.
Anti-Virus Software
Check your system for viruses. There are numerous free Anti-Virus software available on the Internet. AVG is one such effective and reliable anti-virus software which can be downloaded for free. Scan your system whenever you download an application from the web. Likewise, it is also good to have Anti-Spyware software installed in your system. Spyware remains to be one of the major threats to computer users all over the world. You may check out reliable Anti-Spyware software like Ad-Aware to keep your system spyware-free. If you don’t have a firewall installed in your system, activate your Windows with one! The firewall helps filter bulk traffic and helps filter incoming and outgoing data. It is important to stay protected against online threats.
Spam Emails
Don’t open spam emails. Don’t be lured by enticing email content. Spam emails with attachments are even more dangerous. All you need is one simple click on those links to get hacked. Nevertheless, these days, majority of the email services come with automatic spam filter options. If at all you doubt any email, just delete it.