Making sure that your personal computer is safe from intruders is as important as it is for your home. And like securing your home it isn't difficult to do but it does require some work on your part. It is very important to ensure that your computer system is secured. A machine that has not been secured can result in a lot of trouble. It can be used to send Spam or transmit a virus. It can also be used by a third party as a jumping point to hack into other networks or allow them access to your personal information including financial information that you have stored on your machine.

 

Securing your PC

 

Securing your personal computer can be as easy as these steps:

 

1. Make sure your software is up to date

2. Install a Firewall

3. Install Anti-Virus and check for Trojan software

 

If you are using a Microsoft operating system, information on how to secure your specific version can be found via the links below:

 

· E-mail safety

· Peer-to-Peer safety

· Checking for Trojan Software

 

 

Keeping your system up-to-date

 

One of the most important things that you can do to secure your PC is to make sure that all of your software is up-to-date. This includes your operating system as well as anti-virus and firewall software. Hundreds of new vulnerabilities are found every month. It is important to make sure that your software is updated to prevent one of these from being used to access your PC. Updates for Microsoft operating systems can be done in two ways:

 

You can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center or you can stay up to date with the latest critical and security updates by using Automatic Updates. To turn on Automatic Updates:

 

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

 

2. Depending on which Control Panel view you use, Classic or Category, try one of the following:

a. Click System, and then click the Automatic Updates tab.

b. Click Performance and Maintenance, click System, and then click the Automatic Updates tab.

 

3. Click the option that you want. Make sure Automatic Updates is not turned off.

 

For Microsoft Office products go to Office Update

 

These sites allow you to scan your system to see what updates are needed for Microsoft products and then tell you which ones you need to download and install. In November 2003, Microsoft began releasing software updates on the second Tuesday of each month. You should check your system on that day, or shortly after, to ensure that your system is constantly updated. You can also use the Automatic Updates software that is included with later versions of Microsoft Windows.

 

It is also extremely important to make sure your Anti-Virus software is constantly updated. There are new viruses discovered every day and Anti-Virus vendors routinely release updated virus definitions. Most vendors release new virus definitions once every 1-2 weeks. Many Anti-Virus software packages allow you to schedule definition updates to occur automatically. Check the documentation for your particular software to determine if it has this capability and how to configure it.

 

Installing a Firewall

 

Securing your high-speed connection with a firewall is much like locking the front door in your home. Without firewall protection, your computer has an open door that hackers and other malicious Internet users can use to steal your files and personal information, damage your system, monitor your activities, read your e-mail, or use your PC to perform illegal attacks.

 

There are two types of firewall, hardware and software. A hardware firewall is a physical device that you must install between your cable modem and your PC. There are many style and types of these devices but they all perform the same function. A hardware firewall acts similar to having another PC in the line between your main PC and the modem. The hardware firewall acquires the public IP from our servers and assigns a private IP to your PC. This means that when someone attempts to access your public IP they are actually accessing the firewall device, not your computer. Because your computer is assigned a private non-routable IP from the firewall someone accessing the firewall from the outside cannot access your PC.

 

Software firewalls are programs that you install on your PC. CA Internet Security Suite provides a firewall that can be used on up to three PCs. This service provides strong protection against hackers and other unauthorized attempts to access and transfer information to or from your computer.

Installing Anti-Virus Software

 

Before installing any anti-virus software, your system should be scanned to avoid corruption of the anti-virus by any current infections on the computer.

 

Just like in the human world there are hundreds of thousands of viruses floating around in cyberspace. There are new viruses released and found "in the wild" everyday. Because of this it is important that you "inoculate" your PC by installing Anti-Virus software and make sure that it is kept up-to-date with the newest virus definitions. You should configure your software to scan your system daily as well as having it run in the background while your system is running.

 

Checking for Trojan Software

 

A Trojan horse is a program in which malicious or harmful code is contained inside apparently harmless programming or data in such a way that it can get control and do its chosen form of damage, such as ruining the file allocation table on your hard disk. In one celebrated case, a Trojan horse was a program that was supposed to find and destroy computer viruses. A Trojan horse can be considered a virus if it is widely redistributed.

 

CA Internet Security Suite provides automatic and continuous protection against known viruses and Trojan horses. This powerful anti-virus software runs in the background and completely blocks incoming virus attacks. There are more than 65,000 live viruses currently circulating, with over 500 new viruses appearing every month. With CA Internet Security Suite, anti-virus program you'll receive automatic updates - free of charge - so you are always protected against the latest threats.

 

E-mail Safety

 

Probably the best thing that you can do to safe guard your machine from a virus infection through e-mail is to not open e-mail attachments unless someone tells you that they are sending you one. Even an e-mail that appears to be from a friend or business associate that contains an attachment may in fact be a virus. One trait of many viruses is that they pull information from your e-mail client's address book and send themselves to every address listed. They will also show themselves as being from that individual that is infected. So what may appear at first glance to be something that is safe may indeed not be.

 

Not using the preview pane is also a means of preventing infection by some viruses. Certain types of viruses are imbedded in graphics or HTML e-mails and can infect your machine simply by viewing them in the preview window. Turning off this option will help safeguard you from possible infection.

 

Another measure that you can take to help keep your system from being infected by e-mail bourn viruses is to have your anti-virus software scan your e-mail as it downloads it. This way the e-mail is automatically scanned for viruses before you even see it.

Peer-to-Peer Safety

 

Peer-to-Peer file sharing has become extremely popular over the past couple of years particularly with the younger Internet users. P2P, as it is more widely known, can be very useful when used for legitimate purposes. But it also has a dark side. The most widely publicized has to do with copyright infringement. This becomes an issue when you allow files on your system to be shared with others. When you do this you then become a provider of the information and violate the DMCA. More information on Copyright infringement and the DMCA can be found here.

 

A lesser-known side affect to P2P is the spyware and Trojan software that can end up on your system as a result. This can happen as the result of spyware or Trojan software contained within the application itself or as the result of downloading what you thought was a good file that was actually a piece of spyware or Trojan. This is just another good reason to make sure that your anti-virus software is up to date.