If You Don't Protect Your Computer From Hackers Now,
You'll Hate Yourself Later
- By Jeff Haefner
Did you know that you could have a virus or a "hacker
program" sitting on your computer and not even know it!
That's exactly what happened to a retail business owner that
I know.
His computer was running really
slow and it locked up more than normal. He tried rebooting
the computer and removing some old programs but nothing
worked. After hours of frustration, he decided to call a
computer technician and have him take a look.
To his surprise, the technician found "rejected porno
emails" hiding on his hard drive. Someone hacked into his
computer and used it to forward "pornographic" spam email!
The computer technician tried to fix the problem, but he
couldn't get rid of all the hacks and viruses. He finally
gave up and reinstalled Windows on all 4 computers. The
entire computer system was down for 2 days!
Computers get infected more often than you think. I know 2
other people that suffered from the same type of attack.
Not to mention, my home computer receives several hack
attempts every day!
Hackers will scan the internet looking for vulnerable
computers. Once hackers get into your computer they might
copy files, delete files, snoop around for hidden passwords,
or co-opt your PC and use it to launch attacks on commercial
servers.
If you use an "always on" internet connection like DSL,
Cable, or T-1 you're at the most risk. But even if only use
a simple "dial up" connection you're at risk to viruses and
possibly stolen personal information.
How to Stop Hackers and Keep Your Computer Secure
Many hackers will break into your system by taking advantage
of "security holes" in your Windows operating system.
You can fix many of these "security holes" by keeping your
Windows operating system up to date. You can update windows
by visiting:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
Even though updating Windows regularly will help stop some
security breaches, it won't stop everyone. To fully protect
your computer you need to install a "firewall". A firewall,
when combined with a good anti-virus program helps stop
unauthorized access on your computer and prevents virus
infections.
McAffee, BlackICE, Sygate, Norton and Zone Alarm all offer
excellent software firewalls. You can buy them on the
internet or at your local office supply store.
I personally use Norton's Firewall and Anti-Virus software
because they received good reviews from PCmag.com and
PCworld.com.
I recently bought Norton's Personal Firewall 2003 and I got
a pretty good deal.
I bought it for $33.95 at
NothingButSoftware.com.
(They usually offer very low software prices.)
In summary, here's exactly how to fully protect your
computer system:
Step 1 - Install up to date "anti-virus software" on every
computer that has internet access or receives email.
Step 2 - Install a "software firewall" on every computer
that is permanently connected to the internet.
Step 3 - Configure your anti-virus and firewall software to
update automatically. (Anti-virus software will be useless
if you don't update it regularly.)
You can analyze the security of your web connection for free
by going to: http://security.symantec.com
If you're not protected, invest in some good anti-virus and
firewall software before it's too late!
To Your Success.
Jeff Haefner
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