Computer Security Made Easy
Posted by Joseph Brochin
Submitted by: Ryan Ginster
As more and more people begin to use the internet, be it for communication, online banking, investment or shopping, the potential danger of hackers and malicious attackers increase. While some may simply be after information for phishing or identity resale purposes, others are more dangerous, looking for computers to use to launch attacks such as the infamous Denial of Service or other viruses or trojans at other unknowing targets. The list below contains some easy, cheap methods to make your computer secure. While there are other ways to do so, following the ten steps below will help you begin to protect your computer and your private information.
1. Backup your files and store them in a safe place away from your computer
2. Frequently patch and update your operating system, anti-virus, web browser and internet protection in order to prevent hackers from taking advantage of loopholes in software. You can update your windows operating system quickly at www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com by using the update wizard. Microsoft Office updates can also be found at www.officeupdate.microsoft.com
3. Install a proper firewall. With both a proper hardware and software firewall, most viruses, worms, trojans, malicious programs and adware are removed before they cause any major trouble or damage. It is important to update your firewall regularly as well.
4. Configure your browser and email settings for best security. Programs like ActiveX and Java are most commonly used by hackers to plant malicious programs into your system. Cookies can also be used to track your internet surfing in order to build an online profile of you. A good way to overcome these problems is to configure your internet browser to “high” security settings. At minimum, set your security settings to “high” for the internet and “medium” for your trusted sites zone.
5. Automatically update your antivirus software and internet security softwares. This allows you to receive the most current versions to prevent your computer security from being compromised.
6. Only run email attachments from people you know. And even then, only when you know what you are openning. Often, hackers can use a compromised email address to spam viruses or worms to infect other people. It is not enough to recognise the email address but rather you need to recognise the attachment.
7. Do not run unknown .exe programs. This is the most dangerous thing to do as they often contain trojan horse scripts waiting to infect other computers.
8. Disable hidden filename extensions. This allows you to identify and spot any unknown filenames or programs that may be running on your computer. The Windows default option hides filename extensions so you will have to disable this option.
9. Disconnect your computer from the internet and switch it off when not in use. This prevents a hacker from attacking your computer as it is not hooked up to a network.
10. Make a boot disk on a CD before your computer experiences a hostile breach of security. This allows you to recover the data and your system operations after a successful attack on your computer.
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Article Source: Ryan Ginster at Free Articles Search Engine Directory
Computer Software
Posted by Joseph Brochin
Software - An Indispensable Part of A Computer by Nor Nan
Software is the most integral part of a computer that gives adequate commands to a computer on how to generate proper output in result of the input feeded by humans. Software essentially consists of programming languages, which can be categorized into programming software, application software, and the most crucial system software. A computer’s software is stored in the random access memory or RAM of the computer, which is then utilized in the central processing unit. Software is written in the complex machine languages, which cannot be understood by any non-programmer.
Due to development software, there has been such a large evolvement of the computers from the mainframes to the present day PC’s. The programming software helps to write the instructions about the main working of the computer. Application software help with business applications like making files and documents and recording important numerical data. Without proper software, a computer’s hardware cannot work properly and cannot execute the instructions that are handed over by the humans.
Anti-spy ware software is also present in the market these days, which aids in protection of your computer from Trojan viruses and all kinds of viruses. The application software takes care of routine tasks of a computer system like the business applications, storage of databases, also listening to music and also playing games. Application software helps the computer to run programs related to the normal applications and the most common examples are Windows media player, SQL and Tally.
There are many kinds of software that are available in the market today like assert management software, accounting software, the medical software, and the property training software. You can also make use of these kinds of software to keep proper track of your assets and also to run your business in an efficient way. Software is developed through an extensive process known as the software development life cycle, which involves considerable planning about the software, then its development and testing and the final stage of maintenance. Even after software is implemented in the company, it is regularly updated to meet the company’s changing needs.
Payroll software has also been developed now, which can assist in calculation of the incomes of employees after taking into account their leaves, pay scales, promotion benefits and various other allowances that are provided to them. Educational software is also available these days which can help in augmenting the quality of the teaching methods and can makes use of word processing programs to enhance learning by students. Every computer has its own software, which can understand the machine language that is used by that computer. It converts the instructions given into appropriate binary values, which can be understood by the computer’s processing unit.
With the help of programming software, a programmer can easily write programs. It provides some important mechanisms, which the programmer can make use of like the debugger, the tester and the interpreter. Software generates a link between the humans and the computer by converting their instructions into the machine language. With the help of proper software, a user can get an output for any kind of instructions that he gives to the computer.
The article is written by Nor Nan. You can find out for more useful information about computer software and other related topics at Computer Software Software Trends
Article Source: Add-Articles.com