What you should do to keep malware out of your system? Cybersecurity has become very important, especially in these times, where almost all the devices we use are connected to the Internet and with all the cases of cyber-attacks and espionage that have occurred. Therefore, we are going to give you some tips to get rid of most of the cyber threats.
We are going to mention 10 fundamental cybersecurity rules that you must follow if you want to keep your cybersecurity at the highest level avoiding most common cyber threats such as ransomware. As you can see, cybersecurity solutions are quite simple to follow even if you do not have computer knowledge, so you should not worry about this.
Keys to protect your IT system against malware
We begin with our 10 keys to keep a high level of cybersecurity:
Keep your network security
Any IT system connected to the Internet is no longer secure, therefore, whatever the operating system, you must also take measures to protect your servers as well as all your networks. There are very simple apps for our mobile devices such as WiFi Protection apps that we can install on our smartphone or tablet and get a complete report of whether our wireless network has cybersecurity vulnerabilities and, if so, it will tell us how to solve the problems. It would also be interesting to use well-configured Firewall software, parental control if we have children at home.
Install anti-virus or anti-malware software.
This is the first and most important cybersecurity service you should use to prevent ransomware and viruses from infecting your computer. The detection, blocking and neutralization of malware will depend on this software. So, we do not recommend you to install pirated antivirus, since the cracks or activators of many pirated programs can also contain hidden malware… If you can afford to buy a license, purchase the license of the best antivirus you will find. But if you can’t afford to buy the license, then opt for free antivirus like Avast, AVG or Avira, whose Free versions are decent.
Keep your software up to date.
This is not a guarantee, but if you keep your antivirus, operating system and other software up to date, you will be able to prevent some types of cyber threats, as some rely on known vulnerabilities in the software to exploit them and infect or damage your IT system. So again, keep all your software up to date.
Run regular antivirus scans
Do not wait for your computer firewall to show you an alert, it is interesting that from time to time, at least once a week, you schedule a complete scan of your computer. Sometimes, protection systems do not detect certain malware or they are introduced when they were disconnected, etc., so it is important that you also be pro-active in malware detection. Also, if you doubt any file, you can analyze it with online tools, and if it is a cyber threat it will be reported to the antivirus companies.
Access websites with SSL certificate installed
Sometimes this rule is the best ally for an excellent cybersecurity. Do not enter strange websites, or websites that lack TLS/SSL certificates, do not download and install software from websites that are not official stores, do not pay attention to certain pop-up windows that warn of possible infections of our system and inviting you to install a specific software, etc. Sometimes, many programs that we download and are apparently harmless contain hidden ransomware and what we are installing is a virus. Other times, certain messages alert us of a possible virus that has infected us and makes us download a software or antivirus that solves it, but that is when we are really infected. Therefore, be careful
Keep your personal information safe to guarantee your data privacy
Make backups of all your data. Some types of viruses or malware known as ransomware encrypt our data so that we cannot access them and we will lose them if we do not pay a ransom for them. On other occasions they can infect them and make them corrupt, so we will still lose important personal information. Therefore, I always recommend making regular system backups, if possible on external media such as external hard drives. Especially your most important files containing data like sensitive information : passwords, bank data, or private things… Be careful with it!
Always use strong passwords
Sometimes, we may be infected by certain malware or we may be attacked by certain services, but if we have a secure password we will make it much more complicated or even impossible in some cases. For it to be secure, it should always have more than 8 characters and should never be known words that appear in a dictionary, but that combine lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers and symbols. For example: @UyEMX5_er-S
Avoid the default configuration
Many times we leave the default configuration of software or services out of laziness, but spending a moment properly configuring our networks and services will be vital to prevent certain malware from exploiting some vulnerabilities that can only be exploited with default configurations.
Beware of external devices
To avoid getting viruses, be wary of flash drives, memory cards, DVDs, etc., that you may find apparently abandoned.
Avoid public WiFi
While trying to access the internet, do not connect to open or pubic WiFi networks, in some cases they are used to compromise connected devices or infect them by cyber criminals.
By following these simple cybersecurity solutions, you can be a little more relaxed about keeping malware out of your computer.