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There are two main types of security; physical and network. I say network because if the computer is a standalone and does not connect to a wireless router or the Internet, or any other network it is impossible for it to get a virus without someone walking up to it and putting in an infected disk. And that is where physical security comes into play.

Always be sure about any disks (floppy, CD, or Data DVD) that you put into your computer. If you share floppy disks, USB drives, or Flash memory sticks with other people I recommend you write-protect them before connecting to another computer so they do not get infected and spread it back to your home computer.

For network security we'll start with the easiest first. Accounts: Do not use the Administrator account for your regular work/play. Create a plain user account that does not have any elevated privileges. The majority of the time when you go to a website and get a virus, it tries to infect the computer using YOUR account and therefor YOUR permissions. If you are only a user it cannot infect any system files. Second re-name the administrator account. Every hacker tries the "root" account on Linux/Unix and the "Administrator" account on Windows machines. So rename it. Thirdly, Do not leave a blank password on any accounts. And your passwords should include upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.

Next disable all services you don't need. Like the Messenger service, Alerter service, Universal Plug and Play, etc...

After you have all of that done, make sure you install the latest patches for your operating system. Before you do this I would strongly recommend a backup JUST in case anything goes wrong.

Next install either a group of softwares, or a single suite that covers, Firewall, Anti-Virus, and Anti-Spyware. If this computer is for children I would recommend a "privacy software" also to protect them from certain types of sites, and to prevent them from giving out certain information like address, telephone number, credit card numbers, etc. As soon as they are installed, Update them. I would also strongly recommend that you set them to scan for threats at least once per week.

Next, in your emails, only open attachments from people you trust, and read all your emails in plain text mode. The Preview Pane in Outlook and Outlook Express will run any HTML code that the message has in it. Even if that code is to go to website xyz.com and download hacker tool 2. By reading these messages in plain text it prevents that. The same thing for websites. Be careful when typing the name of the website. When you get the main page right, save it as a favorite and go from there. For instance, one site looked exactly like Amazon.com but was actually another site entirely. If it had been a hacker site your identity could be good.

And finally, IF you have to call tech support for your ISP or just about any other place, realize that they will NOT ask you for your password, and unless it said there was a fee for tech support, they will not ask for credit card info, etc.

Hope this helps.

Learn more about this author, Jeg Brown.
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