![]() ![]() Anything you can lose that would cause you suffering, back it up. Data comes in the form of documents, bookmarks, email, photos, music, video, and tax files. In the event of hardware malfunction or a hacker compromise, you will want a back-up of your data. If you wish for more guidance, you can refer to the University of Arizona’s password policy at: īacking up your work and home computer data is critical to avoid major loss. Try not to use personal information such as your birthday, the name of your partner or child, and especially not your phone number. Use numbers, punctuation marks, symbols, upper and lower case letters.ĭon’t use single dictionary words especially without numbers and symbols for hackers are using dictionary attack applications. That’s a much safer location than under your mouse pad or in your desk drawer. To make it easy to remember, choose a passphrase like:īecause of the length, write it down on a piece of paper and carry it in your wallet or purse next to your credit cards. Passwords of 14 characters or more is recommended. The longer the password, the harder it is to guess or to find by trying all possible combinations, (i.e., a brute force attack on your password). With the speed of today’s computers and the sophistication of password cracking applications, a strong password is critical. I can’t over emphasis using a strong password. ![]() The dog barks a warning and gives you a pop-up window anytime something is trying to make a change to your system. There is a little Scotty dog in the taskbar that remains running in the background at all times to help protect your computer. (It also catches legitimate code but it’s up to you to decide). WinPatrol monitors changes on your computer and catches malicious code. One other application for Windows users that is a must is called WinPatrol. For those of you running “Redhat” you can download the install package of ClamAV at Install Malwarebytes at home and update and run it at least once a week.įor Mac users, you can purchase MacScan for $29.ĬlamAV comes with the Ubuntu Linux product. Personally I feel Malwarebytes is the best “free” spyware software that doesn’t constantly remind you to buy the pro version. The highest rated Windows spyware software is Spy Sweeper but it will cost you $20. Sophos has built in spyware capabilities however, it’s best to have at least two antispyware apps. Most likely you are running antivirus software but NOT antispyware. Sophos is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris and it is available at no cost to UA faculty, staff, and students, both for use on campus systems and personal workstations at home. If you don’t have a technical support person, follow this link: download and install the correct version of Sophos on your computer. If you don’t have Sophos, Nortons Antivirus, McAfee or another antivirus application on your work computer, contact your technical support person and make install arrangements. TIP 2: USE ANTIVIRUS AND ANTISPYWARE SOFTWAREĪs an employee of the University you are most likely running “Sophos Endpoint Security and Control” on your work station. You will need to enter an Administrator account name and password. Mac users go to the “Apple” menu and then select “Software Update”. ![]() Linux users can use the “apt-get” command line tool for software updates. Better yet, configure your computer to receive automatic updates every Tuesday evening. Make sure you check for updates on your work and home computers at least once per week. ![]() Windows users, Microsoft usually releases security patches the second Tuesday of every month and this is known as “Patch Tuesday”. Software patches are then released within a few days of notification. A majority of the time exploits are publicized before hackers know about them. Whether you are a Mac, Windows, or Linux user, installing operating system updates and patches is critical. TIP 1: UPDATE YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM AND OTHER SOFTWARE ![]()
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