Stop procrastinating! You’ve probably thought of ways to improve your computer’s Internet security, but for one reason or another you’ve kept putting it off. It’s time to get serious and take some affirmative action. These 6 steps are just what you need to get started.

Step 1: Identify potential threats

To create an effective action plan, it is essential that you identify potential threats. This includes not only the ways your sensitive information could be illegally accessed on your computer without your knowledge, but also where the threats might come from. We usually think of nameless hackers lurking in cyberspace waiting for a chance to invade our computer and wreak havoc. While this may be the most common danger, there are also more intimate people around you, such as casual friends, business associates, friends of friends, or even associates of family members, who, given the chance, could break into your computer and get some sensitive information, such as bank account numbers, credit card information, and other private data. The point here is that you should take steps to ensure computer security against potential threats both within your sphere of influence and outside of it.

Step 2: Lock the computer

One of the easiest steps, and the one most overlooked by most users, is to simply lock the computer when it’s not in use. Whether you use your computer at home or even your business computer at work, you should never leave your computer running unattended for any period of time without having some sort of locking system in place. Most computer operating systems, such as Windows, have this feature enabled when you first turn on your computer, however, users often leave their computer running unattended, which means anyone can sit down and have access to it. . Therefore, it is important to have another layer of security to protect your sensitive files when your computer system is running. This means having a good password to lock your computer from unauthorized access, along with different passwords to protect the files you want to keep private. Use a combination of letters and numbers, both uppercase and lowercase, for the best protection. Never use common everyday items like birthdays, names of children or pets, phone numbers, etc., as these are too risky if the hacker knows you personally.

Step 3: Disconnect

No Internet security software or firewall system can be considered 100% secure in all circumstances, day in and day out. With new forms of malware such as viruses being invented every day, there is always a chance, perhaps a very small one, that the security of your current computer could be breached. There is a 100% solution to online threats that most computer users rarely consider, which is actually free and very easy to do. Simply disconnect your Internet connection from your modem when you’re not using your computer. This physical interruption in the path of the Internet to your computer will solve any type of online threat that currently exists.

Step 4: Safety on board

It’s amazing how many computer users today They still ignore the need for good quality computer protection in the form of highly respected Internet security software.. Either they are totally naive and believe the myth that “it will never happen to me” or they work on the cheap and believe that the basic malware and spyware protection and firewall provided with their operating system are good enough. Others will take things a step further and download some free PC Internet security software thinking it is just as good as the paid version. Hello? There’s a reason it’s free! You generally get what you pay for—or don’t pay for—in terms of Internet computer security. This is not to say that the basic security settings of your operating system and some email programs, web browsers and applications should be ignored! These need to be activated to add another level of protection for your computer against external threats.

Step 5: Prepare for the unexpected

With all the worry about hackers breaking into their computer, physically or online, people often overlook the less sensational dangers to their computer system, like power surges or spikes and hardware malfunctions. Any of these can destroy or corrupt important files and even render your built-in security useless. Therefore, it is advisable to use a good quality surge protector that protects against unexpected spikes of electricity that could fry your computer components and damage the hard drive that contains your data files. If you’re really worried about these types of hazards, there are battery system backups you can use that will automatically protect against power surges and outages and allow you to save data and shut down your computer normally to avoid damaging any files.

Step 6: Backup important data

Anyone familiar with computers usually knows or has heard at least one story of someone who lost everything in an instant when their computer’s hard drive suddenly and without warning… STAR! If you don’t back up important data files that contain sensitive personal information or even information that has sentimental value to you and your family, then it’s like playing a game of “Russian roulette.” It’s only a matter of time until this happens, since computer hard drives are not designed to last forever. Sometimes a good computer technician can still access a faulty hard drive and save the content to a different hard drive, and sometimes not. Can you afford to take this opportunity? External hard drives or “zip drives” are very affordable these days and can hold large amounts of information, in most cases the entire contents of your hard drive, and offer an easy solution as well as “peace of mind” knowing that you have your important data stored elsewhere in case your hard drive fails. Just remember to back up regularly! Depending on the value of our data and how often changes are made, you may need to perform a monthly, weekly, or even daily backup.

There’s no time like the present to start taking the steps necessary to create an action plan to help improve your computer’s Internet security. Tomorrow may be too late!