Prompt:  How can you tell if your computer is safe?

Computer safety is of the utmost importance, because without it, livelihoods can be lost, reputations could be ruined, and identities stolen. There a few preventative ways to ensure that your computer is safe. Firstly, passwords used on the device and on the internet should be complex and unique. Passwords should not contain personal information, and should contain multiple letters, numbers, and special characters to prevent brute force attacks. Passwords should be placed within a password manager so they are all documented and easy to obtain. Another way to tell if your computer is safe is by regular updates. Hackers, con-men, and scammers are always developing new methods of breaching a computer’s security setup. Apple, Windows, and Linux distributors send out frequent updates to patch vulnerabilities, turning on automatic updates in settings is highly recommended to keep computers secured. One could go a step further and download a reputable 3rd party driver updating service, keeping all drivers on an operating system “up to speed”. If this computer is to be used by friends and family, configuring their accounts to ensure that only you, the administrator, have the privilege to download applications and change critical settings on the device is a must. This can reduce common mistakes made by those who are not well versed in internet safety. Another obvious way to defend your computer is to educate users on fishy links and scams they may come across while browsing the web. Downloading virus protection for the computer will also safeguard against other insidious threats. Virus protection software keeps a large database of known attack signatures and compares user code to decide if the file or software being downloaded onto the computer is harmful. If the computer is a laptop and uses public wi-fi, a VPN could be purchased to guarantee browsing data and personal information is kept private to prying eyes.