Personal computers are vulnerable to an innumerable quantity of threats and intrusions. As a PC owner, you should be aware of the dangers that you face when using your machine – especially online. Luckily, there are a great many security and safety applications that make computer use far less risky. Here is a guide to the kinds of software you need to install to keep your PC safe.
Antivirus software
It is absolutely essential that you install and constantly update antivirus software on your PC. PCs running Windows operating systems are particularly vulnerable to malware, which can be spread by means of a seemingly countless number of strategies. The best antivirus software keeps you in the loop, alerting you to new threats and advising you of the background work that is going on to protect you.
Don’t rely on the antivirus measures that come packaged with your operating system: purchase a high-quality alternative.
VPN
Downloading a VPN for PC is easy, cheap, and extremely useful for data security and internet freedom purposes. A VPN – or Virtual Private Network – routes your internet input and output via a remote proxy server. This has the effect of obscuring your device’s IP address and making it very hard for your Internet Service Provider and any hacker types to collect information about your activities online. An IP address is a unique code of digits that contains information critical to effective communication between machines. It is important to remember that VPN software does not make you invincible. You need to secure your PC in other ways too.
Virtual Private Networks are popular among political activists, people handling sensitive data, and people that want to view geo-blocked content. Geo-blocking is the practice of preventing people from certain regions from accessing content. Both private companies and government organizations partake in geo-blocking. Repressive governments are particularly bad offenders. The government of the Russian Federation has recently geo-blocked sites like Facebook – citing ‘misinformation fears.’
Firewall
A firewall is a network security system that intercepts and scans all incoming and outgoing data. Based on a set of security protocols, it will block any incoming data that seems suspicious and prevent malicious actors from making changes to your computer. Although most operating systems come readily equipped with a firewall, it might be worth purchasing a high-spec example if you are particularly worried about computer safety.
Password Generators
Password authentication is often one of the weakest links in a computer’s protective armor. Determined hackers can use several methods for determining a password. They can ‘phish’ – sending bogus emails that prompt you to enter your details. They can ‘key log’ – using special software to record your keystrokes. They can use ‘brute force’ attacks – using a generator to systematically try every combination of digits.
A good password generator will constantly prompt you to adopt new, randomly generated, strong passwords. This makes it much harder for hackers to crack your password and get into your private data.
