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7 Tips and Tricks to Prevent Hacking on Your Computer 7 Tips and Tricks to Prevent Hacking on Your Computer
How To    02/03/2022

7 Tips and Tricks to Prevent Hacking on Your Computer

Is your computer vulnerable to online threats? Check out seven tips that will help to prevent you from becoming a victim of cybercrime.

Digital security is incredibly important these days. With the number of hackers, phishers, and scammers growing larger by the day, staying safe online is more important than ever before. To help you keep your computer as secure as possible, we’ve put together seven tips and tricks guaranteed to improve your defense against all digital threats.

1. Always update

As tedious as the process can be sometimes, don’t let update notifications pile up. Whether it’s firmware or a software update you need, it’s best to not waste any time in getting updates installed as quickly as possible. Programs you use often can be set to update automatically which, though inconvenient at times, will save you time and effort in the long run.

Many computer vulnerabilities are caused by outdated software. All it takes is one missing update for malicious software to infiltrate your system. Once compromised, your computer is unlikely to be able to update anymore, which is why it’s so important to stay on top of updates.

2. Encrypt your data

Thanks to advanced encoding algorithms, encryption software puts an extra barrier between you and any would-be infiltrators. Different companies use different encoding techniques, but they all share the singular purpose of codifying your data, making it that much harder for hackers to breach your security.

According to multiple rankings, encryption programs like Axcrypt, Folder Lock, and CryptoForge come highly recommended. They are user-friendly, relatively easy to set up, and subscription offers are surprisingly affordable.

Encrypt your data

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Also Read: How to Tell If Your Computer Is Hacked

3. Install security software

There are several types of security software available, all of which are fairly self-explanatory. Antivirus programs, as the name applies, focus on viruses and malicious code. Antispyware and antimalware follow the same naming conventions as the aforementioned, whilst targeting specific aspects of cybercrime.

With so many programs to choose from, your best bet is to do a little research on each brand beforehand. Bitdefender, for example, is renowned for its low resource usage, operating smoothly in the background while you use your computer normally.

4. Manage your security settings

Which apps are using bandwidth without your knowledge? How many cookies have been left in your temporary system files? Do you allow your internet browser to save your passwords? All of these questions should be familiar to you, and you should know the answers if you want to stay ahead of cybercriminals.

Take the time to browse through all of your security settings. Set them up to your liking, and try to operate on high-security settings at all times. You want your computer to ask your permission for everything because the alternative means that you won’t know about any potential infiltration, at least until it’s already too late to do anything about it.

5. Protect your passwords

Love it or hate it, password management has become the norm for the majority of internet users. If you think about it, with the many social media accounts, app logins, and video game profiles we need nowadays, it was kind of inevitable that password management would become as important as it is today.

Password management apps like LastPass are all the rage right now, making it incredibly easy to manage your ever-expanding library of passwords. There’s also multi-factor authentication, which gives you a much-needed extra layer of protection. Whatever you do, don’t use one password for multiple accounts, it’s an easy way for hackers to gain control of your most vital accounts.

Protect your passwords

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Also Read: Is Your Computer Hacked? Check How To Recover From A Hack

6. Trust your sources

We download all sorts of files and folders on a daily basis. Whether it’s an email attachment or a video stream, only downloading from trusted sources will keep you that much safer. If you must download something from an unknown source, before you open it, use an antivirus program to scan the file in question.

Sometimes, all it takes is one click for a hacker to gain access - one file that you thought was okay to open. It’s worth repeating that, before you click on anything, know exactly what it is you’re about to access. For example, don’t open attachments from unknown emails, no matter how tempting.

7. Use backups

Backing up your data has numerous benefits. Aside from hacking and other forms of cyber infiltration, backups also protect you from corrupted files, lost data, and storage device issues. Not many people are aware that storage space deteriorates over time.

Whether it’s data integrity or read and write speed, all hard drives suffer from diminishing returns over time. Like any mechanical object, wear and tear will eventually destroy any hard drive, regardless of how well it’s looked after. This is why it’s so important to never leave all your eggs in one basket, and rather diversify your storage solutions.

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