Computer security is huge topic nowadays. Experts talk about what steps a person might take to secure a system. This topic, as stated, is aimed at the general computer user. The normal user is usually unaware of such matters but this could result in problems if one is not aware of his/her security measures. Most countries now have laws for copyright breaches over the internet and one has to take measures to make their system secure against attacks which might cause copyright infringement problems. Let us simply talk divide computer security into some parts.
- Physical security, where someone could get hand of a system and run off.
- Network security, where someone can hack in from a network or the internet and steal information.
- and someone can just steal information by getting direct access to the system itself.
If one is carrying a portable computer, he or she should take care and do not leave it unattended because it might get stolen just any other piece of luggage. This point is very simple. Even a desktop computer can be stolen. Desktop computers are getting lighter by the day, they can get stolen. The point here is to make sure that someone cannot come in and take away a system. A desktop can be locked to the wall or table, installed with some security alarms and so on to ensure it physical safety. Then the next point is access to a system. This is very common in crowded places or at work or even at places where someone might take the opportunity of the absence of the user and steal information by getting direct access to the system. Passwords are the best way to take care of such things.
Before leaving the system, locking its access down reduces the risk of such an attack further. There is another good practice for a multi-user system, i.e. to make user accounts for all the users and restrict their access to the required level. This ensures that only the administrator has access to sensitive data and the rest of the users has only low level access. The last and important part is about securing a system when it is on a network. Hackers can get access to a computer over the internet by using special techniques and exploiting simple security holes on an unprotected system. There are different levels of such an attack but we shall not go that deep. For a normal user, to ensure a good level of security, one should make sure that he/she has an anti-virus installed which has a firewall.
A firewall blocks unauthorized access to a computer. A good firewall will filter and keep an eye on all incoming and outgoing traffic from a system. A firewall can be set to allow certain programs to access the internet and block the rest. This will ensure if a bug on a system tries to send out signals, they would be blocked. An anti-virus will also keep viruses off your system which can damage data and can give access to an unauthorized user. Nowadays people are accessing the internet at their homes using a Wireless LAN. WLANs are an easy way for someone to get access to a system. Most users install their WLAN routers with the least security and often with the password shipped with it from the phone company. Those passwords can even be found on the internet so one has to be very careful in such cases. WLAN routers offer a considerable amount of security which can be set my going through a very few simple sets. A lengthy password should be used usually which cannot be guesses. Software can sniff WLAN data and gather enough data to even crack a password and normal WLAN security so most care has to be taken. We can summarize personal computer security into the following points:
- Keep your computer physically safe from stealth.
- Check the access to your computer by other users or make restricted user accounts.
- Keep data under passwords and keep changing passwords regularly.
- Have a good anti-virus which has internet security, doing system scans for viruses is a good practice.
- Turn of your WLAN router if not in use.
- If data is very critical, store it on the system encrypted.
- Keep sensitive data on external hard drives in a safe place under lock.
The above mentioned steps if followed can ensure a good level of personal security.
