With how often we use our computers one would think that it would be easy to tell if our systems are safe. This is not the case. Safety for ones own computer doesn’t take much skill but it does take some basic education. You can check your computers safety by checking on a regular basis your most used online accounts for starters. Other ways you can tell is how up to date your software is, including (if running a particularly vulnerable operating system such as Microsoft Windows) checking to see if your antivirus software is up to date. (hp.com)

In a way, having computers is both a good and a bad thing for the world. This is speaking in general of course. One way that computers have made the world more safe is in something such as a traffic control system. The lights at traffic intersections are all computer controlled and they have multiple failure modes to keep people driving safe even during a power outage or an emergency. Another thing is that computers make it more difficult for criminals to get away with crimes. This is through remote tv circuits and things like home door cameras. Finally one really great item for safety is through automating safety training, thus making it more appealing and easy for companies to ensure their contractors or employees are well trained.

It’s not all sunshine and roses however. In ways, computers have made it less safe for people as well. One way is in those same traffic signals mentioned earlier. Those computer systems are vulnerable to bad actors coming along and overriding lights to cause accidents. Other ways include making it easier for someone to completely destroy someone’s life through disseminating slanderous material far easier than they otherwise would. All in all though, it’s debatable whether the advent of computers has really made the world a safer place.

Works Cited

“How to Tell If Your Computer Has Been Hacked and How to Fix It: HP® Tech Takes.” How To Tell If Your Computer Has Been Hacked and How To Fix It | HP® Tech Takes, www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/how-to-tell-if-your-computer-has-been-hacked. Accessed 25 June 2023.