General Windows PC Security

This week I will describe general safety and security that everyone with a computer should be implementing. This includes running antivirus, using passwords, and keeping programs up to date. These are the things that should be done at a minimum to keep your computer secure.

Antivirus ( or AV ) should be run at all times. This is a program that specializes in finding viruses ans quarantining them. Most AV programs can be bought such as Mcafee and Norton. If you do not want to pay for AV then there are great options such as Avast! Antivirus ( www.avast.com ) Things to consider with your AV is keeping it up to date and running periodic scans. The easiest way to handle this is to automate this. What I mean by that is that there are usually options to make it automatic. So you can set it, then forget it.

Passwords is a topic that often comes up in my blog so I hope you can see it is important. Passwords should be set for all your accounts. This can be done in Control Panel -> User Accounts. This will keep people from accessing your computer when you don't want them too. For more information on passwords, see my earlier post.

The last item I will discuss is keeping programs up to date. This is where people start to shy away since it can get complicated so I will try to demystify it. The reason you want to keep programs up to date is because hackers constantly find new ways to get in to your system and programs release "security updates" to "patch" these vulnerabilities. If you are not patched, you are vulnerable to known "holes" into your system. Here is what you should keep up to date at a minimum:

• Windows OS.
• This is done via Control Panel -> Windows updates
• Microsoft Office
• This is done via Control Panel -> Windows updates
• Your Web Browser
• This varies between browsers but I suggest using something like Google Chrome that updates itself.

To wrap up I would like to suggest that you download Baseline Security Analyzer. This will scan your computer for the items I mentioned above plus more and tell you how to fix it. Get it here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/cc184923.