How to Protect Your Home Computer

This article will show you 11 steps on how to protect your home computer.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. 
    

   1. Disable any default user accounts such as guest.
   
   The Windows XP guest account is not only used to allow guests to login to Windows XP but also to authenticate the computer in peer to peer networks. Disabling the XP guest account is therefore only advised if you do not use file sharing, printer sharing or Internet connection sharing. Disabling the account in the User Accounts menu of the Control Panel does not disable it but simply removes the icon from the login screen. Users who connect to the computer in Peer to Peer networks still authenticate as guests. To fully disable the Windows XP guest account you need to use the following command in the command line. Open the command line by pressing start RUN, then entering cmd and return afterwards.
   Use the command net user guest /active:no to disable the guest account.

2. 
    

   2. Install and use firewall.
   
   It is important to have a basic understanding of what a firewall is and what is its purpose. A firewall is a hardware device or software application used to prevent unauthorized access either to a network or computer system. It should only allow what you need to allow to for your computer to operate.
   
   There are many different good and useful firewalls to select from. At the least you should use what is provided in the later versions of Windows. To enable your local Windows firewall open control panel and double-click Windows Firewall.
   
   Please make a mental note of the "Don't allow exceptions" check box. You should use this when using public internet connections. You also should always review the exception tab to make sure you are not allowing exceptions for old or unknown programs.

3. 3. Install and use anti-virus software.
   
   Anti-virus software does more than just help prevent viruses and remove them. First you must understand a little about what a computer virus is. It is a computer program that can copy itself and spread to other computers. Anti-virus software also can protect users against other programs such as adware and spyware. The difference between these programs and viruses is the reproductive capability. Adware and spyware are not reproductive.
   I do suggest you purchase and install some anti-virus software but if your budget is limited you can use some free versions which I have listed below.
   http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage
   http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html
   You should scan frequently. How frequently, that is up to you but I would suggest daily. It can be scheduled just before shutdown every day.

4. 
    

   4. Use strong passwords.
   If you do all these other things to protect your computer but then have a simple password you are defeating the purpose of all the other security. You want to have a mixture of upper and lower case along with letter and symbols if possible and the more characters the better. Here is an example of some strong passwords:
   
   0tc0b3r271962#1
   1492C0lumbuss@1l3dthe0c3@nblu3
   
   No the problem is how do you remember these passwords. I will show you a little trick. The second password is from something I remember from school "1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue". I changed some letters to numbers to make more difficult for someone to guess. You can also test how strong your password is by going to this web site.
   
   http://www.microsoft.com/protect/fraud/passwords/checker.aspx

5. 
    

   5. Keep your operating system up-to-date with latest patches
   Windows provides a method to use Automatic updates. Go to Start, Control Panel and then open Security Center. Turn Automatic updates on.
   
   You have multiple options on how to apply these updates. Under manage security settings open Automatic Updates and select your preferred option. I prefer to download and apply myself but prior to shutdown every day.

6. 6. Keep your programs (browser, firewall, anti-virus, etc.) up-to-date with latest patches.
   
   I suggest making a list of programs maybe in a spreadsheet with the web site URL for each so you can check for periodic updates. Some programs can be configured to notify you of patch updates or to perform them automatically such as your operating system. Another option is to use notifier software. You can find a list and review of notifier software here- http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-software-update-monitor.htm

7. 7. Only accept or open emails from people you know.
   
   It sounds very simple but not many people follow this warning. This along with the spam filters most email providers have will protect you from most threats concerning your email.

8. 8. Never share user passwords with anyone.
   
   There should not be any reason to share your passwords. If you get a message while using some chatting software such as AOL or yahoo and some request your password , DO NOT give them your passwords. They may say they are tech support or help desk. You could even get a call on the phone indicating they are your help desk and require your password. Again DO NOT share your password with anyone.

9. 9. Change your user passwords frequently.
   
   Most people never change their passwords for such things as web mail. How frequently should one change their passwords? It usually depends on the system or program you are accessing. It also depends on the data that is supplied by that system. If you use public machines often to access web mail and other applications such as online banking, I would change very frequently such as monthly. I would even suggest not changing the password from that public machine. I good idea would be to change from your home computer which you know has certain security controls in place. There is no set time period but more often is better than less often.

10. 
     

    10. Never enter secure information on http web site, it MUST be https.
    
    You need to make sure that you find a lock on the browser as shown above. It may be a different location for depending on the browser. You will find the lock in lower left hand corner of the browser. If you are required to enter any personal data on a web site, DO NOT enter unless the web site supports https.

11. 11. Backup important files (encrypt and backup to external source).
    There are many ways to encrypt your data. Windows XP provides the capability to encrypting folders. Follow the instructions provided in these windows knowledge articles to encrypt or decrypt your folders.
    
    How to encrypt a folder in Windows XP-http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308989/
    How to decrypt a folder in Windows XP-http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308993/
    
    You can also look at a couple of free open-source encryption software packages.
    http://www.truecrypt.org/
    http://www.ce-infosys.com/english/downloads/free_compusec/index.html
    
    
    Backup options:
    
    A. Use windows backup utility. This link below describes how to use the Windows backup utility.
    .http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/bott_03july14.mspx.
    
    If you don't have the back utility, you can install the utility from Windows XP home edition CD. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q302894
    B. Use free backup solutions. Here are a couple of those free backup solutions.
    http://www.bacula.org/en/
    http://www.amanda.org/
    
    C. Use a manual backup option. You can backup your content to CD or external drives.
    
    
    I would prefer options 1 or 2 since you can schedule these on a regular basis.