Protect Your Computer
SecurityTip: Protecting your computer is like exercising — you should do it regularly!
Computer viruses can cause problems to your computer and data. Sometimes the damage can be minor, causing only the inconvenience of deleting a file. Other times it can be extremely harmful, causing loss of not only to all your data and programs, but also damage to other computers and files whenever infected diskettes or files are exchanged.
Unfortunately, there’s no magic bullet that can protect you against viruses, worms, spams and other nastiness. You’re vulnerable to attack at any time. With so many computers connected to the Internet, computer protection becomes a must today.
You can dramatically reduce your computer’s chances of being compromised by a hacker or a virus with the following simple precautions:
- Take advantage of security updates. Regularly apply the latest patches, fixes, and upgrades to your applications and operation system.
- Install anti-virus software on your computer. Regularly run scans and updates to keep your anti- virus software up to date. Use the software to scan any files, programs, or diskettes before you use them on your computer. Learn more information on anti-virus software, please visit the ITS anti-virus Web site.
- Always scan Word or Excel file e-mail attachments before you read them.
- Always scan all files you download from the Internet.
- Always make back-up copies of important documents or files and store them on separate diskettes or other electronic media.
- Follow best practices when handling junk e-mail: Read Combat E-mail Viruses and Spam.
- Learn more about identity theft by reading:How to Prevent Identity Theft