Cart is empty Secure pc software is essential to safeguarding your computer, mobile device and data from hackers. Hackers (also known as cybercriminals) attack your computer or other device for various reasons, which include the theft, modification and deletion of information you value. Unlike other thieves, who typically have legitimate uses for the stolen goods, hackers have malicious intentions. They are most concerned with unauthorized access to your sensitive information, usually before you are aware that something has gone wrong.
The three key steps to secure pc software include passwords, firewalls and virus protection. If you follow these basic best practices your computer will be less vulnerable to being hacked by malware, hackers, or ransomware (software that locks your data and demands payment in order to unlock it).
Change the name of your administrator account. Select a strong password that includes upper- and lowercase letter numerals, numbers and computer symbols. Avoid using a password with a shorter length like 1234, as hackers are able to use automated tools to break passwords that are easy to guess in a matter of minutes.
Update your operating system and other programs. Most software updates include security fixes secure working with documents to help protect against hacking. Install all patches and enable automatic updates when you have them, to decrease your vulnerability to hackers.
If you own a laptop, or any other portable device that’s not being used, ensure that the drive is encrypted. This is particularly crucial for UF students. You can enable encryption in Windows by going to Settings > Update and Security > Device encryption. This will make your internal drive as well as most external drives, such as SD cards.