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When it comes to passwords, it's not nice to share. Your
password is secret and confidential; be sure to keep it that
way. Never divulge your password to anyone, whether in person or
over the phone -- no matter who asks, no matter why they say
it's needed.
Backup important files to a separate location/media
Creating original documents is a time consuming process.
Hours of irreplaceable work can be destroyed in a flash due to
computer hardware failure, virus infection, disk failure, or
user error. “Backup” is the most practical means of
protection.
“Backup” means keeping one or more extra copies of your
document, preferably in separate places. Imagine the
worst: what would you do if your computer crashed and you
lost everything on it right now? What if the building
burns to the ground? How much work would be lost?
How many hours would it take to replace it?
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Compose your document with frequent saves to your computer’s
hard disk, and always consider that version to be your
"original" (modern hard disks are considerably more reliable
than floppy disks).
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When you stop for the day, or when you reach a milestone
representing a level of work that needs extra protection; “back
up” by saving the file(s) to removable media: floppy disk,
CD-RW, flash drive, etc. With a PC, select File
from your menu, select Save As while your document is
open.
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At the earliest opportunity, store the backup in a separate
physical location. The backup should be far enough from
the original that the likelihood of both locations being
destroyed is extremely small.
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If you can’t immediately store the backup media in another
physical location and the document isn't too big, consider
e-mailing it to a friend or colleague. You can also e-mail
it to yourself. That way, the document is safely stored on
your e-mail server until the next time you check your e-mail.
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If you must do significant editing to the document, save it
under a different name, for example, mypaper2.doc .
Continue to use new names with each successive edition, being
careful not to delete the old ones until you are 100% sure that
you will never need them. This is especially important
when combining documents to make a new document: always
give the new document a different name, and always save the
original pieces in case they are needed later.
For extra protection, periodically print your document.
That way, the document can be re-typed or scanned if the disk
version is destroyed or damaged.
Always run a current up-to-date version of anti-virus software
A virus is a program that can wreak havoc on your computer and
use your Internet connection to spread itself to other
computers, usually those of your co-workers, friends, and
family. You can prevent many viruses by only opening e-mail
attachments when you know where the e-mail came from and are
expecting the attachment. Unfortunately, sometimes that isn't
even enough. Read on to learn how you can help prevent viruses
from infecting your computer.
Step 1: Check your computer for antivirus software
Most computers now come with antivirus software installed.
Follow these steps to determine if you already have the software
you need to prevent viruses.
Step 2: Keep your antivirus program up to date
You don't expect that flu shot you got three years ago to
prevent you from contracting this year's strain do you?
Similarly, antivirus software will only help protect you from
viruses if you update it regularly. Antivirus programs work by
comparing your machine against known viruses. When you update
your software you download information about all the latest
viruses. Depending on your software this information is usually
referred to as "virus definitions." As virus writers are always
coming up with new ways to infect your computer, we recommend
that you download all the new virus definitions monthly or even
weekly.
Here are two ways to find out when you last updated your
antivirus program:
Check your virus software to ensure auto-update is set to daily.
If it has been more than a month since you manually updated your
software, do it now to help ensure your safety. You can usually
download up to date virus definitions (antivirus software
updates) by simply visiting the website of the company that
makes your software.
Remember, you must have a current antivirus subscription to
download updates to your software. If your subscription has
expired, be sure to renew—or, if you prefer, take this
opportunity to try a different antivirus program.
Tip: Two
antivirus programs are not better than one. If you
already have antivirus software but you'd like to try a
different one, always uninstall the old program before you
install the new one. Running more than one antivirus program at
the same time may cause major conflicts.
Step 3: Choose antivirus software that's right for you
If you don't have antivirus software on your system, or if you'd
like to install a different program here are two key factors to
consider before you make your choice:
Regularly download Microsoft critical updates--this can be
scheduled
Microsoft regularly issues patches or updates to solve security problems in their software. Updates or “patches” normally are released on Tuesdays, but important issues can trigger updates at any time. Critical updates are the ones you should be concerned about. If these are not applied, it leaves your computer vulnerable to hackers. Service Packs are larger updates which upgrade and fix security problems.
For a tutorial on how to check for updates and configure them to load automatically in Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 click on the following link -- Tutorial
Regularly run updated anti-malware software
Malware is a term to
describe any malicious software that is loaded on a computer in
order to gather information, re-direct browsers, send SPAM mail,
or any other activities unbeknownst to the computer’s user. Some
examples of malware are viruses, worms, trojans, rootkits,
dialers, keyboard loggers, spyware, and adware. Unfortunately
many of these types of programs are able to circumvent even the
most reputable and up-to-date Anti-Virus program.
These programs are often installed without the
user's consent as a result of visiting a website or through
clicking on an option in a deceptive pop-up window. Spyware can
also be carried in viruses or installed alongside other free
software downloaded from the internet. You should read the
license agreements for such software very carefully before you
agree to install it.
While we recommend that everyone install a
good Anti-Virus program (and keep it updated) complementing it
with a good Anti-Malware program is essential to keeping your
computer running efficiently and it’s data safe.
There are a number of
free anti-malware software tools and commercial products that
claim to be able to remove malware from your computer. These
should be regularly updated like anti-virus software with the
latest definition files from the vendor. One such free product
is Malwarebytes
Anti-Malware. Important points to remember:
E-mail: run routine maintenance; beware of unexpected
attachments
This is an important part of your email management. When you no
longer need an email, it should be deleted. When you first
delete an email, your software will send the email to the Trash
Bin. Your email is not actually deleted until you first empty
your trash bin. Emptying your trash bin compresses the
mailboxes from where the email was originally filed. This is
absolutely paramount to the protection of your email data. If
you go too long between compressing your email data, then your
email data could become corrupted and you might need assistance
in recovering your email data.
Organization is key to any emails that you intend to save.
Having 2000 emails in one folder is a sure-fire road map to
confusion and lost communications and information. You are
the best judge as to how to organize your email into topics that
provide an easy method of retrieval of the information when you
need it most. Fortunately, the popular email clients make
it easy to organize your information. By allowing you to create
folders within your email software, you can file specific emails
into folders dedicated to the topic of the email.
Beware of unexpected or unsolicited e-mail attachments.
Because e-mail is one of the primary ways to exchange
information among Internet users, it is also a key method for
spreading viruses. A basic plain text e-mail is unable to
transmit most viruses. It is the attachment to the e-mail that
contains the potential hazard. If the attachment is unexpected
or unsolicited and from an unknown sender, the wisest decision
would be to delete the e-mail without opening the attachment. If
the e-mail is from a known and trusted source, but you did not
expect an attached file from that source, you may want to
contact the sender to confirm that the attachment is legitimate.
Keep original CDs/Disks of software
You should always store all CDs and floppy disks that came with
the computer in a safe place where you will find them if they
are needed for troubleshooting problems with your computer.
These disks can resolve most issues with your computer.
Most brand name PCs such as Dell and Gateway ship
with a "restore" CD, which contains a utility that will restore
your PC to its original state (as it was when you initially
purchased it). This is a great utility if you need to re-format
your PC, however, reformatting is usually a last resort for most
problems that your system may encounter. Furthermore, this
utility is not appropriate for resolving most problems, which
require files to be copied from the original operating system
software. Therefore, you want to have the actual Windows
95/98/2000/XP CD
or Mac OS CD that shipped with your computer . If the system you
purchased did not include these CDs, you should contact the
manufacturer and request that they ship you the appropriate
operating system CD.
Turn off PC & monitor when leaving for the day
Reasons:
Waste of Electricity
Security: Internet
Security: Network
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