Hacker Protection - Avoid Hackers - Keep Personal Information Safe

Computer Hackers, Are You Venerable?

Recently we had a customer, residential, who came to us to help fix a security issue. His computer and personal information was violated by a hacker. The event triggered several related issues leading to monitory expense, loss of data, the list goes on. So are you venerable?

The short answer is yes, in fact, 99% of us are in some way. Hackers find weaknesses in our defenses and exploit these weaknesses in many different ways. Some simply want to show that they found a weakness and were able to access your system, some use hack tactics to force events on your computer in an attempt to lead you to purchase a "fix", usually software or instructions on how to cure the issue, and others have a purely malicious intent with destruction on their mind.

Hackers look for weaknesses in both your system and the way you use it. Open or unmonitored ports, use of download sites that may contain questionable material, weak firewalls, use of short or easy to guess user names and passwords, even exploiting password programs designed to remember passwords for you. The fact is there are hundreds of was to wreak havoc. The key is taking precautionary steps to ensure you are not a victim.

The first thing to ensure is that you have a proper, well designed and functioning firewall. A hardware firewall such as the Sonicwall TZ150 make a great home / home office / small business hardware firewall. Unfortunately, at a cost of $250+ it may be out of reach for some residential consumers. Fear not, there are a great deal of software firewalls that are very good and will due an adequate if not excellent job at keeping you protected. Take a look at ZoneAlarm Total Internet Security package, offered at about $70 or Eset's Smart Security Suite for around the same price. both are excellent options to keep you protected and add in excellent anti-virus and anti-spyware protection as well. If you need a free solution, Zonelabs mentioned above has an excellent free version of their stand alone firewall.

Next, be mindful of your user names and passwords. We all worry about not remembering or loosing our passwords. Fortunately, being proactive about this aspect of our PC usage can go a long way. Pick user names with 8 or more characters, and passwords with 13 or more characters. Use user names and passwords that do not relate to you in any direct way. Use random characters, and use symbols and numbers where possible. Store your passwords in a safe place where you have access to them, preferable NOT in a file on your computer named "passwords". If you need to store your list on your computer, be creative in naming the file so it blends in with the files around it, and put it somewhere where you have allot of user created files.

Also, stay away from password managers. All software can have venerabilities and you are only as safe as the program storing your information. So why take the chance? Again, being proactive will only help keep you safe. Not to mention, if the hackers intent is to take over your computer, masking themselves as you, the user, they will have instant access to everything you use, including your password manager.

If you use a computer at a public location, even work, be mindful that you log off sites you are visiting. I have walked up to public terminals and have seen personal banking information, account information, I even once saw a computer still bearing a page that had a first and last name, ssn, and the street address of the person who used the computer before I did. Talk about a huge mistake. Mistakes like this can lead to not only identity theft, but physical harm so you must be careful. log out, close browsers, and be sure never to store anything personal on a public computer.

If you think you have been compromised run a full security check, including virus scan, spyware scan, and port scan to ensure there isn't a bug lurking or a hacker hiding in the shadows. if you think a user name / password has been violated, change it immediately and let the site know that you think you may have been hacked. If it involves banking information, or personal information it is a good idea to alert the institution that may have been compromised and follow their internal procedure to remedy the situation. In some cases it may be wise to report the event to your local authorities. If you would like to take steps to ensure you are one of the 1% of computer users enjoying clear sailing, call On-Site and speak with on of our knowledgeable computer service experts.

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