There are many things you can do to make sure your computer is safe. These include preventative measures, monitoring, and a plan when an incident occurs. Some preventative measures include firewalls (hardware and software), antivirus software that blocks intrusions, consistently and expeditiously updating and patching software when there are new versions, and using encryption methods for sensitive data like passwords. Another important preventative measure is to ensure proper and effective training for all people that use the network in safe cybersecurity behaviors and good cyber hygiene methods. Monitoring techniques can include malware scanners or other antivirus software that runs in the background checking for breaches, logging software that can detect when abnormal activities occur or normal activities are occurring at abnormal times, or people manually checking for intrusions and vulnerabilities. The final part of keeping your computer safe is having a plan to enact when an incident occurs or vulnerability has been exploited. It is important to take quick action in the event of a breach because it can potentially keep repercussions from becoming more severe. If actions taken are quick enough, it can keep damage limited to a single computer or device instead of spreading to the whole network. This plan can include backups of all important data and methods to restore systems back to their original, uncorrupted versions. Having a plan for isolation and restoration of the compromised device already in place can help to resume normal operations more quickly and keep damages limited.

There is a saying that there are two types of companies: those that have experienced a security breach and those that don’t know they have experienced a security breach. The same, I believe, holds true for personal computers as well, so it is imperative that people have systems in place to prevent a breach, are regularly monitoring for that breach, and have plans to restore their computer/network. All of these things can help ensure the safety and reliability of your computer.