For quite some time, computers have been an important part of our both personal and work life. During the times of worldwide pandemic that had been going on for the past two years, computers and the internet have become an even more critical part of our lives.
During the most intense times of the lockdown, people used computers for merely everything: work, studying, communicating, entertainment, ordering groceries, ordering food from restaurants, even clothing or furniture.
However, the more active we are online, the more active are the ones who create malware and viruses that can leak or expose our sensitive data.
The odds of encountering a cybersecurity threat are increasing, particularly if you do not take the necessary measures to protect your device.
This article will provide you with six effective ways to create a solid cybersecurity strategy and secure your computer.
Always Use a Secure Network
You probably know that internet service providers do assure you some amount of security; however, you should also know that it is not always enough. Especially if you are a digital nomad who travels the world and works in various coworking spaces during the year.
Therefore, if you use your computer in a public place, make sure you do not mark it as a safe home network because you never know. Also, make sure you secure your own router at home to avoid data leakages.
In case you have no choice but to use public Wi-Fi, the least you can do is invest in a virtual private network and use the service as a security layer.
Pay Attention to What Kind of Errors Are You Receiving
Always pay attention to the errors that you are receiving, especially if the same errors are appearing more and more often. If that happens, it is only smart to figure out the nature of a certain error by looking it up on the internet.
For example, if you are using Microsoft Outlook and often receive the [pii_email_bbc3ff95d349b30c2503] error, it might be due to the fact that you were trying to use multiple accounts, have a poor internet connection, use an illegal version of Microsoft Outlook, or maybe your computer is infected by malware or a virus.
Such error messages are a sign that your email service and computer is not secure, and you should react to the issue accordingly.
Invest in Effective Antivirus
It no longer matters if you are a Windows or a macOS user. In both cases, you need to care about your computer’s security, and you can not rely on your computer’s system to take care of it alone.
Thus you need to find and invest in effective antivirus software. Thankfully, there are great antivirus choices that are free, so you can find a reliable anti-malware tool for your computer even if you cannot spend money on it.
If you care about files you store on your hard drive or confidential documents you use for work, make sure you choose reliable antivirus software and scan your computer for viruses and malware consistently.
Also, you should consider backing up data as a safety net. Cloud services or an external HDD should work as a backup solution.
Do Not Open Suspicious Emails
Avoiding getting viruses and malware on your computer is a smart way of prevention. To recognize emails that might carry a virus, there are quite a few things to look out for.
First of all, if you receive an email from someone you do not know, and it has an attachment, never open it. Also, if it has a link, be very cautious and make sure to check the actual link that is hiding under the highlighted text. To do that, hover over it with the cursor, and you will see the actual URL that it leads to.
More to it, if an email has a lot of grammatical errors, if it rushes and pushes you to participate in something in a very short limited time, or it seems way too good to be true, better just delete it.
Install Updates As Soon As Possible
Keeping your computer’s operating system updated is one of the most efficient ways to keep it safe from viruses and malware. This is because system updates do not just improve the entire performance of the computer; they also include a lot of security features and updates.
Also, make sure you install both your system’s updates and your antivirus software updates which are of crucial importance if you want to protect your computer from the latest versions of viruses.
Use Secure Passwords
Believe it or not but a lot of people still use passwords that are “123”, “password”, and are super easy to guess. It is also not secure to use the same password for all of your accounts because if one of them gets hacked or its data is leaked, someone else can easily gain access to your other accounts as well.
In order to avoid this from happening, you can use password generators which you can find online and use for free. They will generate random combinations of letters, numbers, and other symbols that are much more difficult to guess.