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How to protect your computer
Cybercrime prevention can be straight-forward - when armed with a little
technical advice and common sense, many attacks can be avoided. In
general, online criminals are trying to make their money as quickly and
easily as possible. The more difficult you make their job, the more likely
they are to leave you alone and move on to an easier target. The tips
below provide basic information on how you can prevent online fraud.
Keep your computer current with the latest patches and updates
One of the best ways to keep attackers away from your computer is to
apply patches and other software fixes when they become available. By
regularly updating your computer, you block attackers from being able to
take advantage of software flaws (vulnerabilities) that they could otherwise
use to break into your system.
While keeping your computer up-to-date will not protect you from all
attacks, it makes it much more difficult for hackers to gain access to your
system, blocks many basic and automated attacks completely, and might
be enough to discourage less-determined attackers, so they will give up
and look for a more vulnerable computer elsewhere.
More recent versions of Microsoft Windows and other popular software
can be configured to download and apply updates automatically so that
you do not have to remember to check for the latest software. Taking
advantage of auto-update features in your software is a great start toward
keeping yourself safe online.
