Tips to Help Keep Your Computer and Information Safe from Hackers

Very few computer systems might be considered “unhackable,” but assurance lies in the quality of protection and the difficulty in breaking through firewalls and alarms. Not many people can afford the type of computer security that big businesses and governments have in placed, but that doesn't mean the average user is completely powerless.

Here are a few tips that can improve your PC, laptop or tablet protection against those who want whatever is in your computer, even if it's not terribly important.

Image Licensed Under Attribution

Passwords
The strength and frequency of passwords used is your first line of defense. Not all “information thieves” troll the Internet but can sneak into your computer in the terrestrial world.

– Compose your passwords with no association of any kind to actual words, names, dates or other numerical sequences that mean anything to you. For instance, entering initials and a reverse date is an easy pattern for hackers to break.

– Mix numbers and alpha characters and special characters whenever allowed. Some password-required sites and accounts disallow things like the dollar sign and percentage signs. Some allow only alpha-numerical passwords.

– Use upper-cased and lower-cased letters, and do not repeat letters in your password, such as “Und3r$C0rE,” substituting for “underscore.” While the repeat is only one letter, E, it's still a repeat. Also note the zero standing for the letter O: That's a common substitution that should be avoided.

Also avoid using the digit 5 for an S, the digit 1 for I, or a 1 for a lower-cased L or a 3 for an E. Don't use the exclamation point for a digit 1 either, another common substitution.
-- The longer you make your password, the harder it will be to hack it. At least eight characters – numbers, letters, spaces when allowed and symbols – are best, more if possible.

-- Change your passwords often. The more often you use the Internet and sign into your various accounts, the more often you need to change your passwords! Keep to a change timing pattern that you can remember easily, but don't let a pA5sw0rD remain as is for long.

Security Questions
As back-up to many password situations, you can enter anywhere from two to four “secret questions” that ensure you can have access to your information. When you choose secret or security questions, have the answers accurate but not truthful: Don't enter the actual, factual answer to the question. It's not a lie detector: It's a security issue.

If you enter “Aunt Jane” as your actual favorite relative, for example, and that answer is factual, anyone who knows you might know that answer. However, if you enter as your favorite relative, “Bozo the Clown,” Bozo was a 'real' character, but it's probably not your favorite relative. It's easy to remember, though.

Image Licensed Under Attribution

Your childhood hero? How about Mickey or Minnie Mouse, perhaps. You get  the idea – “real” but not “right.”

Program Updates
Always keep your OS, firewall and anti-virus/anti-spyware programs up to date. Sometimes, it's inconvenient to download and restart your computer umpteen million times, but it's far less convenient to have a hacker slip inside your computer.

Provided by GHCQ who specialise in supplying people with IT jobs.