Secure pc software is crucial to protecting your computer, mobile device and your data from hackers. Hackers (also known as cybercriminals) break into your computer or other device for a variety of reasons, including stealing, altering and deleting information you consider important. Hackers have malicious motives unlike other thieves who may use stolen goods for legitimate reasons. They are most concerned about the unauthorized access to sensitive information. This could occur before you realize that something isn’t right.

Passwords, a virus prevention program and a firewall are the three main steps to secure your PC software. If you adhere to these best practices, your computer will be much less vulnerable to being hacked by malware, hackers, or ransomware (software that locks your data and demands payment to unlock it).

Change the name of the administrator account. Be sure to select an effective password that has lower and uppercase numbers, letters and computer symbols www.pcinfoblog.com/nordvpn-vs-expressvpn. Avoid using a short password like 1234 as hackers can use automated tools to break passwords that are easy to guess in a matter of minutes.

Update your operating system and other programs. The majority of software updates contain security fixes to help protect against hacking. Install all patches and enable automatic updates when available, to reduce the amount of time you’re vulnerable to hackers.

If you own a laptop or another portable device, ensure that the drive is secure even when it’s not in use. This is particularly important for UF students. Windows allows you to enable encryption by clicking Settings > Update & Security > Device encryption. This will encrypt your entire internal drive as well as most external drives, like SD cards.