Saturday, July 28, 2007

What Should I Do To Secure My Home Computer?

Securing your home computer is not a trivial task. There are many topics to consider and many steps to follow. They take time to learn and do. If you can, read this entire document before you begin to secure your computer. You’ll have a better understanding of the effort and all its facets. This ought to help you when you begin to tackle the tasks described here.

In the next part of this document, we describe two types of activities. Some you can do using the programs that came with your computer: working with passwords and email attachments, running programs, and backing up your work. For other activities, you might need to obtain some specialized programs: applying patches, and running anti-virus, firewall, and file encryption programs. Though some vendors’ products provide these features, we’ll assume your computer doesn’t have any of them so you’ll need to add all of them.

Here then is the list of tasks you need to do to secure your home computer. Their order is based on how intruders attack computers, beginning with the most-often used attack methods. By starting with the lower numbered tasks, you address the biggest problems you face in securing your home computer. Remember that most sections end with a reference to a web site that you can use to find an example of how to do the task on a Microsoft Windows computer.

Stay tuned for the next few posts, as i will be updating the few tasks to keep your computer safe on the internet.

Task 1 - Install and Use Anti-Virus Programs

Task 2 - Keep Your System Patched

Task 3 - Use Care When Reading Email with Attachments

Task 4 - Install and Use a Firewall Program

Task 5 - Make Backups of Important Files and Folders

Task 6 - Use Strong Passwords

Task 7 - Use Care When Downloading and Installing Programs

Task 8 - Install and Use a Hardware Firewall

Task 9 - Install and Use a File Encryption Program and Access Controls

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