We Can Improve your PC's Security
There are many areas where a computer may be vulnerable, including threats from the Internet, unauthorized use of your Wi-Fi network, to unwanted changes made by friends and family who share in the use of your computer. All computer users are also at risk if they do not defend against data loss due by having a backup plan.We can improve your security in all of these areas.
Threats from the Internet
The best known form of threat from the Internet are computer virus. There are also unwanted programs that cause ads to pop up, generally called adware. And there are programs that report your PC usage and habits called spyware. All of these can slow your computer down, and some can cause some serious damage!
The next class is a person who tries to gain access into your computer to gain information or just for the thrill of doing it. These type of threats can be prevented by proper security measures.
Threats from Wi-Fi network use
The Wi-Fi can allow other people to access your computer if it is not set up correctly. The most common setup that occurs by default when you just plug in a piece of new wireless equipment. This permits anyone in range who wants to use the Internet connection the ability to use your connection. Many times this is not what you want. This also potentially allows other people to see files on your computer if you have file sharing turned on.
Other users on your computer make changes
Frequently if a computer is used by other people in addition to the primary owner, the computer tends to get filled up with games, music, videos and it starts to get slower and less reliable. Unless each person has there own user account, they must use your account. Therefore it is easy for them to make changes to suit their personal preferences, and then you are stuck with these changes. It is much better for each user to have an account of their own, or a guest account.
Sometimes a guest or a disgruntled employee can decide to erase some or all of your files. It can be easy to do if they access to the computer.
We can address all of these areas and keep your PC secure
This is what we can do:
- Internet Threats
- We start by checking if you have a virus problem and fix it if we find a problem. We install an anti-virus program if none is present, or ensure the one you have installed is working. A NAT (Network Address Translation) firewall with SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) gives a good level of protection against external attacks, and is essential if you have an always on Internet connection. If you do not have this protection, we can add this to your system. If you have a Wi-Fi Wireless Access Point and Router, then it probably includes this capability.
- Wi-Fi
- We setup WAP encryption and a good multi-word encryption key that is not subject to a dictionary attack to keep your wireless network private. WEP encryption is too weak and is not satisfactory. We check that you do not have default passwords on any of your Wi-Fi equipment. We check that you do not have file sharing enabled with anything but the minimal requirements for your use, and that authentication is required for shared access.
- Local Security
- We setup one administrator account for the computer owner to use when they need to add new hardware or software and set it up with a secure password. This will prevent anyone else installing new programs or making major changes to the computer's software. We create a limited account for each of the other users, these may not require a password if you do not wish. We can make all files that are created by each user private.
- Backups
- No computer is truly secure against natural disasters or equipment failure unless the data on the computer is regularly backed up. See our backup plan page for more details.