Most of us who work with computers (which, these days, would include just about everyone) have built our lives around these machines. Our entire identies - confidential letters, emails, sensitive spreadsheets, documents, presentations, pictures, etc. are stored on our computers. Despite the enormous amount of personal data stored on our computers, few of us take the time to actually keep it protected and safe. Here are a few tips to help you get started on this path:
1. Backup Your FilesIdeally, you should have two backups of your data: a local backup through an external hard drive, and a remote backup online. You should keep a copy of pretty much everything on your computer on an external hard drive - a mirror image of your system. In addition, you should keep an additional copy of your most important files in an online backup service. These services, which number into dozens (though you should pick the most reputed ones, such as the ones offered by Microsoft, Box.net, etc.) not only give remote access to your files, but also protect them from loss, theft, or hacking.
2. Adequately Protect Your ComputerDo you have an anti-virus installed? If yes, do you regularly update it with the latest anti-virus definitions? How often do you scan your computer for threats? What about anti-spyware/malware? Do you have software that automatically, and actively protects you against malicious websites or software?
These are some of the questions you must answer if you want to protect your computer adequately. It is frightening to find so many people still without a proper anti-virus software on their computer. Don't make this mistake: protect your computer from external threats as much as you can.
3. Be Wary of TheftsThis may sound trivial, but make sure that you take all precautions to protect your computer from being stolen. While desktop computers are obviously much harder to steal that laptops, the latter can be easily picked up by anyone if you keep them unsupervised. Never keep your laptop unsupervised in a visible location (such as a car or coffee shop). Nowadays, you can get security software that will not only lock your data in case of theft, but also help you find it through GPS tracking. If you travel frequently, or are in a habit of using your laptop outdoors, it is recommended that you install such software on your system.
John has been writing online for several years now. You can read more of his stuff here.