Computer Security

There is so much to learn when you think about all the things that one need to keep his or her PC safe. Viruses, spyware, malware, adware and the dangers seem endless. I recently learned how I need to check my PC to confirm that the installed protection is actually turned on and updated. I did not know this as my lap top is secure when I am at school and on the school network. My home computer has Norton protection and I run the updates as suggested and renew each year. An assignment in my CEP 810 was to attend an online tutorial on Atomic Learning about this subject. I chose to learn about computer clean-up and about organizing my files. My computer has been running very slow and this was due to the amount of programs and software that were installed. I learned that having things that you don't really use or having several editions of software, or even duplicates of programs can slow down your computer tremendously! I really needed to hear this tutorial and learn what to do to solve this problem. My computer is faster already.

I also viewed the tutorial on Organizing. I did not know how much easier it would be to look for things and retrieve them. I have added new folders and I have stored documents in a more predictable location. My desk top and screen saver looks so much better and I have made my life less cluttered and chaotic. I was able to delete things not needed or copy old documents and photos onto a flash drive.

I had no idea how many different items one needs to protect against hackers and viruses. I learned about spy ware blaster and downloaded the free program that was talked about on the tutorial. I checked into the free Avast anti-virus protection and will look further into this program. Above all this I still need to check on the firewall protection of my hardware and my software. I had no idea there were so many modes of protection needed. Keeping my computer safe is a full time job, but needs to be done.

Another highly important thing I found out is regarding account passwords. The need has never been greater to keep these private. With so many people experiencing identity theft and account invasion, passwords need to be strong, secure and they need to be variable, meaning don't use the same one for all your accounts. This information prompted me to change my passwords on some of my important accounts to increase safety and privacy.