4 Simple Ways to Keep Your Computer Safe

No matter the kind of data you have stored in your computer, you want to make sure it’s safe no matter what, so that in any sort of emergency, you don’t lose everything that’s important to you. But if you’re in the dark about how to keep your computer and its contents as safe as you can, you’re not alone.




Here are some really simple and very straight to the point ways by which you could keep your computers and all the data in it safe...


1. Install Anti-Virus Software

Some of the best anti-virus software available on the market today are either relatively inexpensive, or some are even free. You’ll want to install one of these as soon as possible.
Anti-virus software will help protect your computer from unexpected hackers who try to disguise viruses in email or browser links. By having a good anti-virus software installed, you minimize, or even potentially eliminate, the risk of your computer getting a virus that has the capability of eating all of your data and making it unavailable to you.


2. Update Your Operating System

Believe it or not, many hackers love to find loopholes in the security of some operating systems. If your current OS is out of date, you may be at risk for a potentially deadly computer virus.
There are “holes” in older operating systems that many hackers have figured out over the years. So take the 5 or 10 minutes it takes to download and install the latest operating system update for your computer to protect it overall from hackers and viruses.
Visit your operating system's makers website for more on Operating System updates.


3. Password Protect Your Computer

When you log into your computer, you should have it set so that you have to enter a password to access even the desktop area.
If you don’t have this in place yet, you’ll want to set one up. This way, no one else besides you (and whoever you choose to share your password with) will have access to the files and data stored on your computer.

4. Back Everything Up

Last but not least; BACKUP all your important files/data. The best practice to follow so you will never have to worry about losing your important information is to back everything up before you even have a chance to lose it.
Invest in a good, large external hard drive and save a copy of everything on your computer to your hard drive, as well. Don’t leave the hard drive lying around your home or office – when you’re done backing up to it, toss it into a purse or briefcase so it’s always with you. That way no one else will have access to the information stored on it besides you. A few good external drives come with the password feature also e.g Western Digital external hard drives have the option to password protect the hard drive- you can visit their website here: http://www.wdc.com/en/