We at Elite Insurance take our internal network security very seriously to protect all of our companies sensitive information. When thinking of backups and security, sometimes things can get overwhelming to the average PC user. So Elite Technical Support decided to write the following article to give some simple tips on making your computing experience safer.
1.) Install a AntiVirus Product.
There are thousands of viruses out there, just waiting to infect your pc. It's estimated that nearly 30% of computers on the net today does not have a adequate antivirus product installed and up to date. Viruses can steal sensitive data (credit card numbers, emails etc...), crash your computer and at times even physically damage your computer.
There are many products available on the market but you don't have to spend a fortune to get protection. Microsoft has recently announced their new FREE antivirus solution which you can download from their website. Microsoft Security Essentials (click here to download).
2.) Do not use P2P File Sharing Software
Products like Limewire, Bearshear, Torrent or Kazaa seem to offer a great value on their downloadable content but it comes at a price. Most of the time, this content is embedded with viruses, bots and spyware. All of which can wreck havoc on your PC. There are benign uses for these products, but the common use is to "pirate" illegal content. So you can end up with a virus and a lawsuit... Don't do it! Hope that grabbed your attention!
3.) Schedule Automated Backups
We can't stress enough how important it is to schedule backups. Can you imagine getting hit by a virus, lighting strike, hard drive failure, etc... and losing all of your important documents, family photos, music and so on...
Backup! If the event every arises you be glad you did! Backing up isn't hard. In fact a few companies make it easy to backup all of your data offsite. So, even if your house burns down you can still recover your critical data.
We recommend Carbonite (click here for more information). You will install their software on your computer, choose what you want to backup, pick a time each day to start the backup and your done! Simple! Trust us, you will be glad you did! Their even offering a free trial!
4.) Perfect your browsing habits
Learning good browsing habits will be your knight is shining armor. Keep this in mind, usually you're not a winner (no matter what the advertisement said). Your long lost rich uncle in Siberia will not deposit the family fortune in your bank account ( no matter what his email said). If your credit card company send you a email asking you for your credit card number, then run away!
You must use your gut feeling. Anything that sets off a red flag in your head is a good indication that someone is trying to scam you.
5.) Install your Updates!
Last but not least, install your system updates! It is important to install all your system updates as they contain critical patches that can help your computer from getting infected or hacked. You should set this to automatically update but check at least once a month that your computer is updating properly.
Windows users (XP, Vista, 7) can click Start -> Control Panel -> Windows Update. There, depending on your version of windows, you will have options available to help you update your computer.
Apple users (OSX), can click the small apple logo at the top left corner of the screen then click "System Update". From there it will download the latest updates available for your computer.
We hope this article helped you. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment below!