Home Security and Your Computer

Having a computer in your home is for many a wonderful convenience, and for others an absolute necessity. Whether you work from home and need a computer as a vital part of your home office, or if you keep in touch with far-off family and friends via email, or even if you just simply enjoy online shopping and surfing the web, your computer is an increasingly common part of the household.

Unfortunately, for all of its conveniences, your computer is attractive to others, as well, and can pose a threat to your home security. And not just because of the machine, which is valuable in and of itself, but because of the information stored inside that computer-savvy hackers can access at the stroke of a key – credit card numbers, your bank account information, social security numbers, etc. This information may seem securely tucked away, but those who are familiar with the inner workings of computer hard drives can gain access to this type of information and use your numbers and data to spend your money or even steal your identity.

Internet hacking is a serious issue that oftentimes is difficult to trace, leaving a trail to dead ends while the hackers make off with your vital private information. Home computers in particular are of interest to computer hackers as they are usually not secured the way that business computer systems are, making them significantly easier to break into. Thus, you might want to consider treating your computer as a part of your overall home security system, necessitating the same level of security as your windows and doors to protect this important machine.

So think of your computer like a house – you lock your windows and doors at night, and activate your home alarm, so why not do the same with your computer? Most computers come equipped with a security system, you just have to activate it. Protect your hard drive and account with passwords that you can remember without having to write down, and that others cannot guess easily.

As for the use of the computer, install anti-virus spyware to protect your machine from viruses that are spread quickly and virtually the same way that we catch viruses in person. Never send vital personal data over the web, such as your credit card or bank account information. If you really must transmit this type of information virtually, split the digits up into various emails, encoding the numbers so that an unauthorized person who might open up that email will not automatically realize that it is your private bank information. This is like installing a code in your home security system so that only you and those with the code can activate or deactivate the system.

Also, remember to back up your work every so often, meaning to save copies of your computer information on CDs or an external hard drive, which should of course also be password protected to prevent easy access to your information. This will ensure that your work is not all in the same place, so that even if your system is somehow cracked, all of your vital data will not be available to the intruder.

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