Computer Repair in Shoreham

Computer repair in Shoreham supporting computer repairs virus and malware removal and surrounding areas, we are able to fix any issues and offer free advice call us today on 0791 2529 164. 

Here is our top 5 for staying safe online in Shoreham

Hackers create malicious computer viruses and these  can cause a lot of harm, not only slowing your computer down but they can also be a massive security risk. So here are the top 5 tips for keeping safe online.

Keeping Microsoft Windows up-to-date

We all know it’s annoying when the computer starts updating, especially when you’re in the middle of something important and faced with a deadline, but the updates are there for a reason, an annoying reason but good  nonetheless.

Whenever the Microsoft Team discover a vulnerability in their software or applications, they immediately release an update, this is sometimes called a “Patch”. Without these updates it is like leaving your car unlocked and any malicious hacker can help themselves.

Windows 10 is normally pretty good at taking care of itself with automatic updates. However other Windows operating systems, like Vista, 7 and 8 are normally several iterations behind. Next time you have a day without a deadline looming, we would recommend getting all updates installed. You will be able to make your Windows push for updates by going to the control panel and finding it there.

Windows updates should update your drivers as well which may help with making your computer run faster and more reliable.

A Good Anti-Virus

We cannot overemphasize the importance of keeping your Antivirus updated. There are always hackers out there trying to steal your data or spend your money via unlocking the secrets held in your computer.

Crystal Computers recommends not installing Norton. We acknowledge it does a good job, but it uses a lot of resources and will slow your computers down. Not only that but we have had to repair a lot of devices from blue screening or internet not working and as soon as we remove Norton it works just fine :). We see that a lot when repairing computers in Shoreham and surrounding areas. 

Here is the top 5 Anti Virus we recommend: (in no particular order)

• • Avast
  • AVG – now owned by Avast
  • Webroot
  • Eset
  • F-secure

On to the Passwords

A recent trawl of the internet shows that many people have “password123” as their password another favorite is “Let me in”! Clearly these are genuine vulnerabilities. 2 Tips we have learnt is to pick a word for example McDonald’s and replace the “a” with a @ and the “S” with a $, that way you have an easy to remember word with a spin on it to ensure a hacker has a harder time figuring out how to gain access to your data. Tip number 2 is ensuring you don’t have the same password for everything. Eg your bank password should be different to your email password.

It is also very very important to have a different password for everything! We cannot stress that enough, just like Yahoo got hacked not so long ago, all of the user names, email addresses and passwords got leaked. All this personal data is added to a database anyone  can go on these sites and search for people’s names.. You can pay to have your personal data removed from the database and even pay to see other people’s data. use this data together with tools known as “bots” to hack into personal accounts by trying the email address and passwords with hundreds  of different websites.

If you think your safe because you use 2 step verification method think again! This makes it even easier for people to gain access. Network providers for UK mobiles are currently terrible at security. Hackers can easily get a new SIM card with your phone number sent to their address. We would recommend not using the 2 step verification until they get hotter on security.

The Evil Cold Calls/Scam Calls.

We, personally have seen this happen too many times! People losing their entire savings. Scam Callers phone  pretending to be from major companies E.g Microsoft, BT, TalkTalk etc… One of our customers had a call from someone pretending to be Microsoft and had no idea how,  but managed to get them to turn their phone off (so she couldn’t see the bank was attempting to contact her to alert her that the scammers were withdrawing money). They took control of her computer and took her money and her kids’ savings! Scammers are very clever!

Microsoft will never ever call you, and generally your broadband provider will only call you if you owe them money.

Disposing of old computers

End of life computers still contain personal data, like passwords and banking keystrokes. We recommend that for safety’s sake a call to any competent computer repairer (we would prefer it to be us) where a data wipe could be actioned to close off this loophole. Believe it or not a top UK bank didn’t follow this advice and a computer along with customer data was sold on Ebay. Just for fun we have included the link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7581540.stm

Summary:

Much of what we recommend here is the basic ABC of computing and will go a long way to keeping people safer. However if you are keen to take the next steps in keeping the “baddies” away, we can always help with encryption and closing off other vulnerabilities. A quick call is all it takes to start increasing your security. We always say that security is like insurance. Who would live without insurance?

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