Page 247 - DCAP104_EXPOSURE_TO_COMPUTER_DISCPLINES

Exposure to Computer Disciplines

Notes their owners pay off the criminal to regain control of his or her site. Chances are that you won’t
see these activities taking place. Your computer or internet connection, however, will usually
slow down: a symptom that a computer threat is causing problems with unknown repercussions.
There are varieties of malicious objects online and Malware is one of them. You will be astonished
to know that malware was rated as the second highest ranked threat to the businesses by Perimeter
E-Security. Hackers and cyber criminals use varieties of methods to install malware on the user’s
computer. This is used to break into computer systems of the user to steal, change or destroy
information. If proper measures are not taken your bank account details and other important
information like credit card details, etc. could be misused by them.

To offer you sleepless nights, hackers use wide selection of malicious objects and Trojan horses
are commonly used. Unlike viruses Trojans it do not replicate and spread like a virus. These
programs come with the disguise of pictures and PowerPoint presentations. Once the program is
run, a virus is placed on your PC to allow a hacker to gain access to your computer. These types of
Trojans are called Remote Access Trojans (RATs). You will be amazed to know that more than 50%
of all spam (unsolicited email) is sent from home or work computers are compromised by RATs.

Now the million dollar question is how you can protect your computer as well as your online
identity and crucial information from all these malicious objects. Well, there are plenty of options
to combat all these. Firstly, you can install antivirus software, firewalls, etc. If you are not familiar
with all these, you can take help from a remote computer support providers.

13.2.6 Protection for Users
One of the first, and most basic measures, that you should take to protect your sensitive data
and computer resources is placing an anti-virus program on your system and allowing it to run
at all times. This type of software works to detect any and all types of software that is deemed
malicious. If malicious types of software do, in fact, invade your computer system, this software
will work to remove it and all threats that it pose. Viruses can be quite destructive when it comes
to the home computer system. They can interfere with the basic and higher level functions of
the system, corrupt files and other forms of data, and even spread throughout the system and
result in instabilities.
The next step to basic computer security for the home user is to turn on the firewall that is built
in to the operating system. This is a program that works to prevent dangerous intrusions from
hackers, different types of worms, and even viruses in the computer system. The firewall should
always be used in conjunction with the anti-virus program that you have on your computer to
optimize the protection that your system receives. In addition to software firewalls, there are also
hardware firewalls that you can purchase to increase the effectiveness of the amount of protection
that your computer receives.
The third step to increasing the security of your home computer if you have a Windows based
operating system is to keep up with all the Windows Updates that are available for your system.
Microsoft developers work on a daily basis to create software updates and patches that allow
Windows to run smoothly and effectively, without the threat of security infringement. It is
absolutely necessary to ensure that you check for these updates on a regular basis. To make this
easier, Windows has a feature that allows you to turn on automatic updates. This means that
your computer will automatically download and install these updates at a time that you specify.
As a home computer user, it is important to take advantage of this feature to ensure computer
security on your home system.

As you can see, there are many different steps that can be taken to ensure computer security. If
you are a home user, it is especially important to take full advantage of the features that are listed
here. Not only will these computer security steps protect your computer system as a whole, but
they will also protect your personal information.

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