You have a desktop, a laptop, a notebook, a netbook and if you are have a family you probably have more than one computer. Even if you are working you will probably have a desktop and a laptop, unless you only have a laptop. And with the internet being prevalent – you can’t seem to do anything without being connected – you are online a great deal.
And of course cyberspace is dangerous. Not just because your computer can get infected with viruses, Trojans and worse or your hard disk can crash or your data can get corrupted. But your very identity can get stolen, your bank account and credit cards misused, especially if you use the internet for financial purposes – and almost everybody does.
So what are the kinds of programs cyber criminals use?
Spyware, Malware and Adware
These are the least dangerous programs as they usually only track your computer usage and give the information to third parties for sales and marketing purposes. However, they can slow down your computer. There are many programs which are available free on the internet for these, though most anti virus/internet suites also come with anti spyware programs. Crap Cleaner is a free program which can be downloaded to take care of malicious programs.
Viruses
Viruses are more dangerous – they can attack the security of your computer. The can come from sites, from email attachments and even programs which you download from the net. Often viruses can attach to emails which are sent to everybody in your address book.
They can corrupt data, cause data loss and your system may start behaving erratically if there are viruses present. They can even cause hard disk crashes. To combat viruses you need a good anti-virus program. While free programs like AVG Anti-Virus are available, they are not effective against all viruses.
There are even online scanners which will scan your computer for free, but they are not in use all the time and will only work when you ask for a scan, so there will no real time defence. And then all online anti virus scanners will not remove or disinfect the viruses, but only detect them.
Among the good anti-virus programs which are available are Norton, Symantec, Kapersky, McAfee and BitDefender; there are lots more also.
Trojans
Unlike viruses, Trojans cannot replicate. However, they are more dangerous because they are the tools which hackers use to take control of your computer. Trojans can also steal sensitive data from your computer and even use it as a remote server to send dangerous programs or files to other people. Most anti virus programs are also anti-Trojans.
There are many other similar programs which can infect your computer and compromise the security of your computer and the data stored on it.
How do you know you have been infected?
If your computer is slowing down, if programs do not work properly, if people say you have sent them emails, even though you have not, if your computer keeps on hanging or showing error messages, your computer is most likely infected. If while your are browsing you are taken to other sites which you have not typed in, or there are pop-ups even if the pop-up blocker is turned on, there are chances that your computer has been infected.
What can you do to increase the security of your computer?
Install a good and reliable anti-virus cum internet suite on your computer.
Have automatic updates turned on, so when new viruses or malicious programs are found the anti-virus will automatically update itself.
Have a regular fixed time scan scheduled every day.
In spite of that, run a full scan at least once a week.
Use an online anti virus scanning program once in a while because no anti-virus program or internet suits is fail safe.
Run the anti malware program regularly.
If you use Windows, make sure security patches and updates are downloaded regularly – you can turn automatic updates on.
Install a firewall – windows now comes with a firewall, but you have to turn it on. Many anti-virus softwares also come with firewalls. However, do keep in mind that while installing a firewall, many sites may become inaccessible, till you ‘allow’ access. Firewalls are an additional layer of security and prevent data from coming in or going out.
When you use wi-fi connections security measure are all the more important. This is because many people may using the same wi-fi connection and you do not know what the other users may be up to and you do not want to be attacked by cybercriminals.
If you have important data on your computer – ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DATA.
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