Computer security was something that once upon a time you'd only ever hear computer geeks talking about.
Usually because they were the only people who actually understood it.
But times have changed.
Every single computer user who spends any amount of time online should be familiar with the basics of keeping a computer secure.
If you're not security aware you're going to get stung by some nasty piece of malware - believe me.
Here's 5 quick tips to help you keep your computer secure.
1.
Don't install any software that you're not familiar with.
Especially anything you've downloaded from a pirated software site.
A lot of the time these programs (even movies) are infected with viruses and spyware.
2.
Make sure your computer is physically secure.
When the computer isn't being used make sure it's switched off.
Make sure you're using a secure password or even better a biometric scanner.
If it comes to it then just lock the computer in a room.
3.
Create strong passwords.
This is the single biggest flaw in most home computer security systems.
The amount of people who use a pets name for a password or their date of birth also.
That's crazy.
Passwords should be alphanumeric (a mixture of numbers, letters and symbols).
Here's a quick example of that "pa55w0rd?".
Make sure to change your password roughly every 3 months too - the longer you keep the same password the easier it's going to be for people to guess.
Oh and never, ever, ever write your password down and put it someplace safe.
Somebody will find it.
4.
Keep your operating system updated with all the latest security patches.
Remember it takes just one single security hole for your computer to be compromised and for you to lose all your personal and financial information.
Windows normally reminds you when new security patches are available so watch out for those warnings.
New security threats are created every single day so make sure your operating system is updated to counter them.
5.
Backup.
Backup.
Backup.
If I had a dollar for every time I hear a friend saying "Oh no my laptop just crashed and I lost everything.
All my kids pictures are gone.
What do I do?" I'd be a very rich young man.
I just find it amazing that having a backup of those important pictures never even crossed their minds? There's no excuse for not making regular backups of your date.
New external USB drives have backup software built in.
You can even get a free online backup tool that automatically does the backups for you - even when you forget.
Just follow those 5 short tips and you'll be ahead of 90% of the average computer users out there.
Oh and if you want to know more about online file backups check out the resource section at the end of this article.