If you want to give a computer-user a minor heart attack, tell them about the malware strike to their PC and BOOM goes the elevated heartbeat and some handful anxiety following that. First, the thing that hits your brain to a two-way road is the word ‘Antivirus’ — if you don’t have it, you’ll look for a tech-savvy website from where you can choose the best antivirus software available, and if you have it, it is about to time to get a new one.
As the popular saying goes, prevention is better than cure; one must build a humongous wall of defense for an attack on their computer before the virus messes up with their precious data. Anyway, there are things your anti-virus could do and there are things beyond that as well — your antivirus isn’t the only sentinel you need for your computer, in this article, you’ll explore about everything you need to do for wholesome virus management.
Stick to the basics with the antivirus:
Regardless of how the winds of change have stricken the IT world, the basic antivirus routines that one needs to perform haven’t moved an inch. First thing first, you need to install antivirus software in your machine. A lot of fearless folks don’t like their systems to be hindered due to an antivirus software —commonly because of speed issues. But no matter what, you need to have an antivirus before you realize that precious speed you were saving for better speed of operations in your machine, is already struggling to do the operation as a mere virus attack has ruined it all for you.
So, before it goes south, make sure every time you look southwards on your screen, there’s an antivirus software’s icon waving back at you. Not to mention, keep your software up-to-date as the developers keep releasing updates to make your antivirus software adapt to software and technological advances in both negative or positive ways.
Things that need to be taken care of apart from an antivirus software:
Hackers have up their game nowadays with the soaring social engineering practices lately. So, you need to be extra careful with security now as they can hack your data and sensitive information for fun and you might end up beating your head for opening a trifling link that could have been avoided. Okay, so how do we keep ourselves safe from it?
First up, secure the source — your internet connection. It goes without saying that you should have your Wi-Fi connection password-protected. However, if it’s still an open network, make sure you secure it before it’s too late. WEP encryption is an outdated encryption type; so, it is recommended to use WPA or WPA2 encryption over the former.
A lot of people swing-by the coffee shops or libraries to work or do basic internet surfing. If you have a portable internet modem or any other device, you better pick it over the ‘Open Wi-Fi’ available at the very place. Such networks are vulnerable to hacking and they can put you in jeopardy of a potential security threat as they are easy to break into.
Now let’s speak about personal data. One of the most common motives of a hacker is to get hold of your shiny personal data — the bank account details, your online security codes and what not? One loophole in your security settings is good enough to break into your sensitive information. So, you need to have a vigilant approach while handling your valuable information on the internet.
The basics would be locking down your privacy settings and to have a strong password and security checks in your accounts. Never take passwords for granted. Make sure you have a strong password and it isn’t something that the hacker could decipher out of the information that is available publicly about you, and also, use multiple passwords. Keep data backups, and avoid clicking any shortened links or downloading attachments from unknown sources.
Viruses aren’t only about infecting your system and messing up with its functionality, it goes beyond it. A virus attack could wipe out your bank balance or could set your data up for an auction and god knows what the highest bidder would do with the data? But you don’t want that, do you? Of course, not, and that’s what this article was about — making sure your precious remains the way you want it.
