Internet Security – 10 easy tips for Basic Users

NVMedTech Mark Sexton, MPA, CISSP and Jenna Sexton, Ph.D.

Internet Security Security is important Computer security basically consists of protecting data from

unauthorized access Data can be anything from files on the computer system, personal

information of the user, tax documents, photos or credit card transactions. Many Internet users reduce security to protecting their computer against computer virus attacks

http://loginhelper.com/internet/10-tips-improve-internet-security/

Internet Security – 10 easy tips The following list of tips will help to improve the

Internet security for the basic computer user

Tip 1: Always keep your system up to date This includes installing operating system updates

when they come out and regular checks for software updates to see if an update is available The core applications are the operating system, security

software, web browser, web browser plugins like Adobe Flash, email client, any other software program that connects to the Internet and every application that is installed on the computer system

Tip 2: Install a good antivirus software and Firewall There are many free and good solutions available from

Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG 9, and Comodo Firewall

http://download.cnet.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition-2012/3000-2239_4-10320142.html

http://download.cnet.com/Comodo-Internet-Security/3000-2239_4-10460704.html

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security_essentials/default.aspx

Tip 2: Install a good antivirus software and Firewall, cont… Good commercial alternatives are Norton Internet

Security or Kaspersky Internet Security

Tip 3: Be careful what you click on! Never click on links in emails, execute attachments

directly or send personal information to someone asking for them

Tip 4: Use a password manager that handles all your passwords and logins The benefit of this is that you can select secure

passwords like G8retv_er3.e3§fop without having to remember them as the password manager does that The password manager can also perform automatic logins One of the best password managers is Last Pass

(http://lastpass.com) which is available for Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome.

Tip 5: Backup important data Backups are important because they ensure that data

is safe even if it gets deleted. Your data can lost due to a virus attack, accidental deletion, hardware failures or even PC theft

The 10 best windows backup software article lists ten free backup solutions for Windows users. http://lifehacker.com/398229/five-best-windows-backup-

tools

Tip 6: Install security extensions for the web browser This highly depends on the web browser you use The Firefox web browser has the largest assortment of

security add-ons; NoScript which blocks all scripts privacy related add-on Better Privacy safe browsing tools that display a website safety rating in the

browser Some of those, like Web of Trust, are also available for other web

browsers like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer

Tip 7: Use common sense Does that 20 year old hottie really want to talk to you? That guy from Nigeria who just needs $5000 to get

$100000? A screensaver of Britney Spears or …? Common sense is one of the most important aspects of a security strategy. Criminals exploit human weakness if it sounds to good to be true, it’s too good to be true!

Tip 8: Do not enter personal data unless necessary Companies and criminals want to know more about

you. The first to deliver targeted advertising, the latter to exploit those information

If you fill out every survey on the Internet, post personal information in blogs or social networks then you will get spammed and attacked eventually One good option is to either use a fake identity on the web

along with a secondary email address for that purpose or avoid filling out personal information and leave those “allow to send emails” boxes unchecked

Tip 9: Use WPA2 if you need to use WiFi Many wireless routers support several wireless

security standards, usually WEP, WPA and WPA2 WEP and WPA have both been cracked and the only

relatively secure standard left is WPA2 If you have devices that only support WEP or WPA consider

updating them or buying an extension card to add support for WPA2

Tip 10: Educate yourself so that you know the basics The differences between http and https What computer ports are and do How to block software from connecting to the Internet Education along with common sense is essential for

staying protected on the Internet.

Internet Security – 10 easy tips Tip 1: Always keep your system up to date Tip 2: Install a good antivirus software and Firewall Tip 3: Be careful what you click on! Tip 4: Use a password manager that handles all your

passwords and logins Tip 5: Backup important data Tip 6: Install security extensions for the web browser Tip 7: Use common sense Tip 8: Do not enter personal data unless necessary Tip 9: Use WPA2 if you need to use WiFi Tip 10: Educate yourself so that you know the basics

Thank you!

Questions? Comments?