As people depend on computers for anything and everything they often try to get their tasks done at the earliest ignoring the threats and risks out there in the cyber world. All we do is install an antivirus program on our computer and then we’re done. It’s better to be a bit more careful and to spend few extra minutes on your security rather than getting into a mess later on.

Viruses & Trojans

Almost all personal computers which connect to internet daily will be the host of some viruses. Anyway, we do not give much attention to these stuff until the whole system gets frozen. A purchased antivirus program will protect most of the common viruses. But you should turn on your automatics updates for sure.

Another deal to get rid of these nasty scripts is to use OS like Linux. Transformation from Windows to Linux will be difficult but within no time you'll be in love with Linux’s features, power and GUI. Anyway, no one can guarantee that you’re 100% safe from viruses.

For saving data loss due to virus attacks is to save your data on an external memory device or computer which is never connected to internet. You can also save some copies on the web. I have all my important data on an external hard disk so that I can format my system every month.

Hacking and Phishing

Most of the Antivirus and browsers have measures to prevent hacking and phishing to a certain extent. Anyway, all hackers are well aware of this fact and they now design scripts to bypass these security measures and easily enter into your computer and get your data, files and even your keystrokes. So this can create very big headaches for one.

In Gmail, they notify scam emails at top of the email when you open it as shown below.

How to prevent?

Your antivirus software and browsers have limitations. Adopt the simple following steps which will helps to be more secure from hackers and phishing and also viruses.

• Do not download software from unknown websites. For finding genuine programs go to Cnet’s Download.com
• Do not download stuff like smileys, glittering cursors etc. by ads you often see. Not all of them are scams but some are.
• Avoid adult websites.
• Stop online piracy. Lots of pirated contents comes with viruses.
• Update your browser. Browser updates comes with better security so go ahead and install the latest version of the browsers.

These are few and you can adopt much more steps which you feel necessary.

Shopping Online

Many people like to shop online these days because it is much easy and there are a wide range of selection. But it is a risky business. The best way to shop online is via some payment processors like PayPal, AlertPay etc. The advantage is that we don’t need to reveal our credit card number when purchasing something. But as we know, not all websites accepts online payment processors and sometime you’ll have to use your credit cards. Many banks now offers online services like virtual credit card. This card does not exist physically but you’ll have a normal credit card number. You can set the amount in this credit card so that even some scam gets it he cannot get anything more than the set limit. Some other useful safety tips are :

• https:// ('s’ indicates a secured connection)
• Avoid shopping on websites you don’t know.
• While purchasing things from eBay always make sure that the seller has a good reputation and feedback.
• Look for Verisign and other reputed SSL encryption emblems.
• Try to avoid shopping on websites where you have to enter your credit card number (websites which doesn’t support payment processors)
• Don’t add your credit card number, bank account number or anything like that in a pop up Window.
• Never enter your credit card number while your browsing in an internet cafe.

(Also for ensuring that you get your purchased item without any problems you should be aware of the import rules in India.)

Is Android secure?

Well, most of the tablets and mobile phones are now running on Android. I thought Android was very safe but I happen to read the fact that 2,60,000 Android users were attacked by malware and trojans on a popular technology magazine which clearly means that Android users must also be aware of the dangers out there.

Safety tips for shared computer users:

Can Lock applications save my data?

Many people save their important data using some lock application in Windows. They just lock the folders with their important data and they think their data is secure because the software’s Help files said so. But the thing is that those folders are easily accessible.

These applications are meant to run on Windows platform and it will not, in most of the cases, works on other OS like Linux. One can get access to your locked folder just by booting your hard disk  by inserting a Live Linux CD (there is even no need of installing Linux). Once he/she is in Linux OS they can go through your locked folder just like any other folders and can also copy your files to an external storage device. The owner won’t even know that somebody accessed the files.

So don’t save important data using some Lock application because most of them aren’t much secure.

Install Parental Control software if you have doubts

If you doubt that somebody is trying to get their hands on your stuff you can make use of a parental control software for your aid. Most of these software are hidden and other users may not even recognize that such software is on the computer. So you can track their activities to see whether somebody is playing false.

Delete history, cache, cookies and everything

While browsing on a shared computer the safest thing is to do it in the ‘Private mode’ (‘Incognito’ in Google Chrome). So that once you close the browser all the data associated with your session will be deleted from the computer. Other wise you should make sure that you’ve cleared every data associated with the session through the Options menu,