How To Protect & Secure Your Computer & Files

 

Computers these days contain lots of data that are sensitive or confidential information that should not be stolen or snooped by others.  It is even more crucial that customers contact or personal information are kept secure and not leaked out and expolited by cyber crminials.  There are never ending cases of uses losing their laptops to theives or even misplacing it themselves,  it is therefore very important that you safeguard your system so that you will not lose your information easily.


Protect your files with a password.

Microsoft Office applications allow the user to set a password on the file itself.  If you have a particular document that contains information that is not meant for others to see, you can easily secure it by clicking on File, Then Save as, Click Tools, and select Security Options.

You can set a password from there. You can click on Advanced and select Microsoft Enhanced Cryptographic Provider.  This method will not only set a password, but encrypt it as well, so that it will not be easily broken by password cracking software.

Secure your email

It is a norm for most of us to access email on public computers or on a wireless free network, such places are more vulnerable to being hijacked.  You can always make surfing more secure by using HTTPS”// .  The letter S at the end of the URL is not a typo error, but represents secure.

Take Gmail for example, Go to Settings, near the top right – hand side of the Gmail window.  Look for Browser connection section at the bottom of the General Tab.  Click on “Always use https” and save changes. Now gmail use use its built in encryption.  Surfing experience might get slower, but you will feel a lot safer.

Hide your wireless network.

By default, all routers are set to broadcast their network name out so that people can see.  Thus other people can see your network.  This is even more dangerous if you do not know how to secure your network, making it a breeze for others to tap onto your bandwidth.  Leeching your band speed aside, they can make use of your account to post comments that may be insulting to a certain race or do illegal downloads and making you the scapegoat of the crime.

You can always access your router config page by entering a special address in any browser, for example, http://192.168.1.1 and upon entering, you will be able to see the router’s configuration page which exists like a web page.  Look for a page that contains the settings, called SSID broadcast and select disable to make your wifi invisible to the public unless they know what is the network name of your router.

Password lock your computer automatically

As a working class, you are not the only person in a company.  There will be occasions where you may leave your seat for a while thinking that you will be back soon, however you may end up being swept into a meeting or discussion and end up leaving your computer open to anyone who might spy into your stuff.  If you have any great ideas or designs, your enemy might steal them from you and beat you to submitting the proposal.

Simply click on start, control panel and click on display.  Choose screen saver and then click “on resume, password protect”.  This password will be the one that you use on logon.  At least, in the event you do not make it back within a certain amount of time, say 5 mins, your system will be locked safe from others.

Secure your laptop

Laptop is  a very portable machine that makes it easy to be stolen as well.  This is especially true when you are travelling.  Even when you leave the laptop in the hotel room, it is not safe as you will never know if the cleaner is the one who steals your items.  A laptop has something that is called the Kensington Slot that is actually a reinforced hole for inserting a cable lock.  Buy one of those cable locks and attach the laptop to pipes or bed intersections so that the thief will need to steal the entire bed if he really wants your laptop badly.