{"id":460,"date":"2009-02-18T15:05:00","date_gmt":"2009-02-18T23:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/?p=460"},"modified":"2020-01-17T21:43:47","modified_gmt":"2020-01-18T05:43:47","slug":"cyber-security-tip-safeguarding-your-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/2009\/02\/cyber-security-tip-safeguarding-your-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyber Security Tip: Safeguarding Your Data"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cyber Security Tip ST06-008\u00a0 Safeguarding Your Data<\/strong><\/p>\n

When there are multiple people using your computer and\/or you store\u00a0 sensitive personal and work-related data on your computer, it is especially important to take extra security precautions.<\/p>\n

Why isn’t “more” better?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe there is an extra software program included with a program you bought. Or perhaps you found a free download online. You may be tempted to install\u00a0 the programs just because you can, or because you think you might use them\u00a0 later. However, even if the source and the software are legitimate, there\u00a0 may\u00a0 be hidden risks. And if other people use your computer, there are\u00a0 additional risks.<\/p>\n

These risks become especially important if you use your computer to manage\u00a0 your personal finances (banking, taxes, online bill payment, etc.), store\u00a0 sensitive personal data, or perform work-related activities away from the\u00a0 office. However, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and protect your finances with several invoice tools<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How can you protect both your personal and work-related data?<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Use and maintain anti-virus software and a firewall – Protect yourself against viruses and Trojan horses that may steal or modify the data on\u00a0 your own computer and leave you vulnerable by using anti-virus software and a firewall (see Understanding Anti-Virus Software and Understanding\u00a0 Firewalls\u00a0 for\u00a0 more information).\u00a0 Make\u00a0 sure to keep your virus definitions up to date.<\/p>\n

2. Regularly scan your computer for spyware – Spyware or adware hidden in software programs may affect the performance of your computer and give\u00a0 attackers access to your data. Use a legitimate anti-spyware program to scan your computer and remove any of these files (see Recognizing and Avoiding Spyware for more information). Many anti-virus products have incorporated spyware detection.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Keep software up to date – Install software patches so that attackers cannot\u00a0 take\u00a0 advantage\u00a0 of known problems or vulnerabilities (see Understanding Patches for more information). Many operating systems offer automatic updates. If this option is available, you should turn it on.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Evaluate\u00a0 your\u00a0 software’s settings – The default settings of most\u00a0 software enable all available functionality. However, attackers may be able to take advantage of this functionality to access your computer. It is especially important to check the settings for software that connects to the internet (browsers, email clients, etc.). Apply the highest level of security available that still gives you the functionality you need.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Avoid unused software programs – Do not clutter your computer with unnecessary software programs. If you have programs on your computer that\u00a0 you\u00a0 do\u00a0 not use, consider uninstalling them. In addition to\u00a0 consuming system resources, these programs may contain vulnerabilities\u00a0 that, if not patched, may allow an attacker to access your computer.<\/p>\n

6.Consider creating separate user accounts – If there are other people using\u00a0 your\u00a0 computer,\u00a0 you\u00a0 may\u00a0 be worried that someone else may accidentally access, modify, and\/or delete your files. Most operating\u00a0 systems (including Windows XP and Vista, Mac OS X, and Linux) give you the option of creating a different user account for each user, and yo\u00a0 can set the amount of access and privileges for each account. You may also\u00a0 choose\u00a0 to have separate accounts for your work and personal
\npurposes. While this approach will not completely isolate each area, it\u00a0 does offer some additional protection. However, it will not protect your computer against vulnerabilities that give an attacker administrative\u00a0 privileges. Ideally, you will have separate computers for work and\u00a0 personal use; this will offer a different type of protection.<\/p>\n

7.\u00c2\u00a0 Establish guidelines for computer use – If there are multiple people\u00a0 using your computer, especially children, make sure they understand how\u00a0 to se\u00a0 the\u00a0 computer and internet safely. Setting boundaries and\u00a0 guidelines will help to protect your data (see Keeping Children Safe\u00a0 Online for more information).<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 Use passwords and encrypt sensitive files – Passwords and other security\u00a0 features add layers of protection if used appropriately (see Choosing and\u00a0 Protecting\u00a0 Passwords\u00a0 and Supplementing\u00a0 Passwords for more\u00a0 information). By encrypting files, you ensure that unauthorized people
\ncan’t view data even if they can physically access it. You may also want\u00a0 to consider options for full disk encryption, which prevents a thief from\u00a0 even starting your laptop without a passphrase. When you use\u00a0 encryption, it is important to remember your passwords and passphrases;\u00a0 if you forget or lose them, you may lose your data.<\/p>\n

9. Follow\u00a0 corporate\u00a0 policies\u00a0 for handling and storing work-related\u00a0 information – If you use your computer for work-related purposes, make\u00a0 sure to follow any corporate policies for handling and storing the information.\u00a0 These policies\u00a0 were likely established to protect\u00a0 proprietary information and customer data, as well as to protect you and the company from liability. Even if it is not explicitly stated in your\u00a0 corporate policy, you should avoid allowing other people, including\u00a0 family members, to use a computer that contains corporate data.<\/p>\n

10. Dispose of sensitive information properly – Simply deleting a file does not completely erase it. To ensure that an attacker cannot access these files,\u00a0 make\u00a0 sure that you adequately erase sensitive files (see Effectively Erasing Files for more information).<\/p>\n

11. Follow good security habits – Review other security tips for ways to protect yourself and your data.
\n_________________________________________________________________
\nAuthor: Mindi McDowell\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Produced 2006 by US-CERT, a government organization.
\n<http:\/\/www.us-cert.gov\/cas\/tips\/ST06-008.html><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cyber Security Tip ST06-008\u00a0 Safeguarding Your Data When there are multiple people using your computer and\/or you store\u00a0 sensitive personal and work-related data on your computer, it is especially important to take extra security precautions. Why isn’t “more” better? Maybe there is an extra software program included with a program you bought. Or perhaps you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[37,10,13,12],"tags":[89],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1092,"href":"https:\/\/scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions\/1092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scamdex.com\/ScamBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}