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Many people are grossly misinformed on the subject of computer safety and hackers. The biggest computer threat is someone blindly spreading the word of how treacherous they think the internet really is.

Blaming internet insecurity on all hackers is just as illogical as declaring that everyone who has ever owned a telescope is looking through your window stealing your credit card numbers. This belief is what widens the social gap between the computer savvy and the rest of the world.

The belief that identity theft is committed by a bunch of malevolent hackers is sickening. Most of the identity theft is committed by people who walk right up to your house and go through your mailbox. If you have ever had a bill come a month late? It is probably because the original came on time and was stolen.

Many people think that a hacker can scan tens of thousands of computers an hour. This is completely false, and would require a supercomputer or at least a Beowulf structure. The same thing goes with passwords, if you mix letters, numbers, and characters, then you are doing the best thing you could do against someone trying to crack your password. Password cracking software scans through known dictionaries of words, when that doesn't work it scans through combinations of letters and numbers. This can take hours just to get through the known words. A Beowulf structure would be needed to scan through every possible number and letter combination, unless the hacker had months of time to waste. So heres my next suggestion, change your important passwords every month and write them down and keep it in your sock drawer so your kids don't find it.

Often the people who are most likely to hack your computer are the ones you know. So don't leave passwords on post-its lying around. Most people are vigilant in keeping their computer safe, but do nothing to protect their mail or personal paperwork lying around their office.

Adware and Spyware is not the choice tool of a hacker. These are products that any annoying internet company can purchase as a marketing ploy. Get a good adware/spyware blocker and scanner and you should be fine.

Commercial Antivirus programs are a huge mistake. Most people use McCaffe or Norton along with a few other common Antivirus's. Because these are so common, they are the prime target of antivirus killing software. It takes 30 seconds to download a small file that is designed to corrupt one of these. Try looking online for a free antivirus with a lot of update support. You should have one that actively scans for viruses and known virus syntax, and a second that scans for suspicious behavior.

When it comes to a firewall, more than one will corrupt a lot of your files. Look for a good firewall that is easy to use and configure it to your liking, or buy a firewall router, linksys offers good options.

You should also look for a tool like 'Snort', which alerts you of an intrusion. This paired with the other tools I've told you about should make you just about as safe as you can be.

The worst thing you could ever do is credit card transactions or managing bank accounts while at a public wifi hotspot. At one of these hotspots you have very little security, and you are potentially networked with anyone else in or outside of the building.

The best way to keep your self safe is to get educated on what you fear. Learn all the ways a hacker can find access to your computer in order to know exactly what to look for and to prevent it.

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge.
-Daniel J. Boorstin

Learn more about this author, christopher beard.
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