How to protect your privacy online and offline

Data breaches are a potent threat to the average computer user and incidents of ID fraud and data theft are growing. So you may naturally think that people are taking every measure to secure their data and privacy, right? Wrong, unfortunately data security is one of the most ignored matters, as people pay little attention to this mounting dilemma or fail to believe that would ever become victims. Becoming aware of the imminent threats to your privacy and data security requires vigilance and knowledge. Therefore, doing research and reading up on how your private data could be compromised helps one become more watchful of suspicious activities.
Therefore, it makes sense to keep yourself informed about what measures you can take to protect yourself from hackers and e-criminals. First you should check to see if your computer’s antivirus is updated. Majority of the computers aren’t sold with preinstalled antivirus software, in this case, you’ll need to purchase one ASAP. Though some computers do come with pre-installed antivirus software, nonetheless, you may need to take additional steps to ensure your data security. Do not presuppose you’re in the clear simply because someone labeled your brand new PC with a security vendor sticker. You’ll need to make sure the following things before you know you are safe: first, you need to make sure that if the antivirus software is active? Is it updating automatically? Does it have an auto update feature?
Although it’s true, many antivirus software fall under the category of “fire and forget”, nevertheless, it worth checking up on the status of antivirus software. To be sure, you need to ask yourself the following questions: When did you last update your antivirus? Are you running a full scan on your computer and not cutting corners by running a smart scan? Have other users on your computer disabled your computer’s antivirus, so that they may be able to play a game or install some software? Conducting these mini investigations really lets figure out any loopholes that may be hidden from your eyes.
Second, is your computer’s firewall working properly? Think of your computer’s firewall as a virtual border patrol, a compromised firewall is like an open invitation for malware and hackers. Though, some may argue that Firewalls aren’t unassailable, but they are considered your first line of resistance against malware and or e-criminals determined on attacking your computer; consequently, turning off your computer’s firewall, whether gaming or simply browsing the web, is preposterous.
Perhaps one of the biggest questions you should be asking yourself: Have I been storing private data on my computer? Does my computer’s hard-drive contain information such social security numbers, tax returns, bank and credit card statements? If you answered yes, you identity may already be stolen and there’s no definite way of knowing if you are by now a victim of ID fraud. As a result, it would be dim-witted of you to store such information on your PC. However, if you are left with no alte
ative, and need to store such data on your PC, Then you should do it wisely and Password Protect Folder containing such sensitive information.
For more information please visit
http://www.newsoftwares.net/folder-protect/