Things to Know When Your Computer has been Compromised

How safe is your computer at this moment in time? Do you even care? You should care, but some people must not because they don't do anything to protect it. Your computer might be compromised because you don't follow some simple security procedures.

Nothing bad might happen, but what if it does and your world is turned upside down? I know you don't want the worst case scenario to strike and it won't, but you must start changing the way you do things.

Here are some of the main things you must keep in mind.

1. Don't use An easy to guess password

I hope you're smart enough to use proper passwords because the simple ones are so easy to break. You might think nobody will be able to guess a simple password because it doesn't relate to you in any way, but hackers can use programs that will find it. As an example, they could use a program that will test out every single word in the dictionary so if your password is one word long it will be broken easily.

2. Try Using a firewall

If you don't use a firewall you are setting yourself up for trouble. I know they can sometimes be annoying because they constantly flash messages in front of your face, but they are only trying to warm you of danger. Your firewall might only need to stop one hacker from gaining access to your machine every 2 years, but it's that one time that counts.

3. Sending passwords over email

We all love email a bit too much and it makes us want to trust it more than we should. You can't trust your email address because it might not be safe, so don't send any passwords to people if you don't want them stolen. Even if your email account is very safe you have no control over how safe the other person's email address is, so send any passwords and you could be in trouble.

4. Downloading dangerous files

Don't bother downloading any software unless you know where it comes from. If software is free there is a good chance it's full of malware. Your machine will be infected and anything could happen to it. How would you feel if someone installed key-logging software on your hard drive so they could steal all of your passwords? Would you still download the software?

5. Sharing your computer

Another thing you don't want to do is share your computer with anyone, especially if it has sensitive information on it. You might think it's safe to let your child play online, but what happens when they try to download music from a torrent site? Your machine will end up with a virus and your bank account details will be stolen. It won't be your child's sensitive information that will be stolen. It will be yours.

6. Not updating software

If you use Windows you need to update the software on a regular basis. If you use any other software you need to update it whenever new updates are ready to install. It's very important because the updates might be to fix any security issues the software has. If you don't update it a hacker might be able to find their way inside your computer./

7. Opening infected email attachments

People are going to send you emails and I know you will enjoy receiving them. You will love the fact that someone has taken time out of their day to send you something. It means you get to procrastinate for another few minutes. Don't open any email attachments under any circumstances unless you were expecting something because once you open it you won't like what happens next.

James Kirby, the author of this post, is a technology blogger and he often writes about computer security to help his readers. He works for WebWatcher which provides remote monitoring software for personal home use. Click here for more info.