6 Timeless Tips to Ensure Maximum Data Security on Your Windows PC

With every passing day, our computers become more and more important in our everyday lives. This goes beyond the running of business and office duties to even personal engagements on the side.
With such growing dependency on computer systems also comes the fear of virus attacks and how they can make our files go away in one fell swoop.
Besides viruses, there are a lot of other malware attacks and attempts to be on the lookout for. With Windows being the most widely-used operating system on PCs right now, we have developed a guide that will ensure your Windows PC is kept as safe and secure against these attacks as possible.

Backup Always
Backups are the first step to take if you want to protect your computer against any form of attack at all.
A backup gives you peace of mind that you have your files stored away safely even if something were to happen. Likewise, you will be less affected by these attacks if you have a backup to fall back on.
The ideal thing to do here is to create two copies of the backup files, storing one online and keeping the other offline.

Update Windows
Your PC might be running the latest version of Windows (Windows 10) and still not be on the recent version of the same software. For those who get updates on their mobile phones, this is the same thing as getting an update on your current OS which doesn’t necessarily bump you up to another OS.
Now that we have that settled, what makes an update important?
Software developers sometimes find vulnerabilities and bugs in their creations which could make it easy for someone with the same knowledge to exploit your system and get access to your data. It would be in your best interests to make sure your PC stays updated at every time.

Get a Firewall
As the name implies, this creates a wall between you (your computer) and an attack that could be coming your way. To put things in context, a firewall is not a physical wall but some lines of code that does the same function within the computer.
With an active firewall, you can be sure of protection against viruses, ransomware attacks, worms, and such other malware.
For those who are running on the latest version of Windows 10, this software comes bundled with its own firewall. Simply look for the Windows Defender and activate your firewall from there.

Install a VPN
Securing your computer takes into account making sure your data is on lockdown not only when you are offline, but when you are online too. In fact, online attacks are the most frequent of the bunch, and you would do well to get some protection against them.
If you don’t believe us, just read up on how much you could be left exposed from man in the middle attacks, browser fingerprinting, traffic monitoring and so much more.
Fortunately, you can get some security against these attacks too. Installing a VPN that has been specially designed for Windows will help encapsulate your internet data whenever you are online, making it nearly impossible to deanonymize you or track your activities around the web.

Download an Antivirus
Many people confuse the functions of antivirus with that of a VPN. If you are one of such people, now might be a good time to know how different they are.
While a VPN will protect you against people looking to track you and your internet traffic, an antivirus is there to ensure your system is rid of the malware. Likewise, an antivirus comes in handy when you are opening links or attachments in your email which might be considered dangerous – but you wouldn’t have known otherwise.
Finally, an antivirus is the best way to get rid of malware which might already be existing on your system without your knowledge.

Be Informed
Above all other things, staying informed yourself is a good measure to keep your Windows PC safe from attacks. Know how a lot of these hacking and information infiltration techniques work, and you will be able to stay ahead of the curve, more times than not.
For example, desist from opening links and attachments in emails that you don’t trust their sending party. The same is applicable for websites that might not have a solid trust rating.
If you feel you have been subjected to these attacks in the past, you might want to back up your computer before wiping everything and starting afresh. Alternatively, run malware scans from time to time with a trusted antivirus to ensure everything is running like it is supposed to.

Wrap Up
Alone, the above tips are great. Together, they are even much better.
If you do care about your privacy and security, you should get started on everything we have stated up there today.


Thanks to Jeff Anderson
Communications @TechWarn.com

Cyber Attack Is Here To Stay. But You Can Survive It.

Last Friday, the largest
cyber attack ever affected more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries. The attack used a virus that locked the computer's data. The attackers then demanded payment to unlock the computers.

The virus, called WannaCry, infected computers in organizations including the British healthcare system, the American company FedEx and Russia’s Interior Ministry.

Although Friday's cyber attack was stopped, the virus may soon return in a different form, or even an upgraded version. Thus It is apparent to learn about the virus and the steps you should take to protect your data and system from future versions of WannaCry.

Functionality of the virus and how it works:

WannaCry is known to attack computers that were connected to the Internet and used Windows operating systems. The systems affected were yet to be updated with a security patch that Microsoft released in March.

Saving Grace on wannacry

A developer by accident discovered a way to prevent WannaCry from spreading. He looked at the computer code and noticed that the virus was directing computers to a domain name . He checked on the domain name and discovered that it was available, so he bought it for less than $11. That simple move enabled a "kill switch" that prevented WannaCry from spreading further.

Unfortunately, the kill switch does not unlock computers that were already infected by the virus.
The developer has chosen to remain nameless but uses the Twitter account
@malwaretechblog . He wrote a blog post that explains in detail how he happened to discover the kill switch for WannaCry. The post is called How to Accidentally Stop a Global Cyber Attacks.

But we are not safe yet, no we are not!!

This cyber attack used a security hole that still exists for computers running older versions of Windows. It is note worthy that Computers running Windows 10 that have not yet installed the update are also at risk.
The virus may attack again!! All the hackers have to do to launch a new cyber attack is to change the domain name in WannaCry, then release the updated virus.

PROTECT YOURSELF!!!!!

You can protect yourself against future cyber attacks. Make sure to download the latest Windows security patch to your computer. Microsoft, the maker of Windows, has now released
security patches for older versions of Windows that give protection against WannaCry.

For help, visit Microsoft’s page called “How to Keep Your Windows Computer Up-to-date.”
Permit automatic Windows updates if you do not want to worry about keeping your computer updated.
Also, make sure that you save, or back up, your data. Do regular backups of your data, both locally with an external drive and in the Cloud. That way you can protect your data when another cyber attack occurs.

Importantly

Be sure not to click on links or download attachments in emails unless you are sure that they are not " phishing" emails from hackers. Although the WannaCry virus attack did not happen this way, others have happened this way in the past.

Thanks to Caty Weaver

Undo sent Mail

How to undo sent mail on Google.

Click the Gear (Settings) icon on the top right hand corner of Gmail, then mouse down to “ Settings .”
Then click to “ Labs.” Search for the lab feature titled “ Undo Send.” Enable it, and click “Save changes.” The page should refresh after you save your changes.
Still navigate tp “ Settings ,” go to “ General ,” and scroll down to the “ Undo Send” section. Enable it there too if it's not already enabled. From there also, you can set how long it would take for your accidental emails to be undone. The default is 10 seconds.
Every time you send an email, a yellow bar will pop up and give you the chance to click undo as shown in the image above.
So the next time you accidentally send out an email, you’ve got a few seconds to fix your mistake.
Good luck peeps as you apply for your jobs via email!
If you find this useful, why not share with friends on facebook.

Victor Uwaifo Condemns Computer

Do you agree that computer has done more harm than good to Nigeria?  Victor Uwaifo thinks so.
Recently Victor Uwaifo has expressed his hate for the use of computer in the music industry. He compared music of the then 60s and now and made open disdain of current artists methods.
In his statement,
“They are completely two worlds, you go to the studio and record, when you make a mistake you repeat all over again but over time they started introducing small gadgets until we got to the age of computer.
“In computer you don’t need to have a band, one man can record, he goes to the studio, lay down the track, play the other instrument, get the other musician to lay down his track differently, just like a tailor making a shirt.
“He cuts them into pieces and sews them together. So, for our young ones today, it is not that they understand music but they play music and the computer is arranging it for them.
“The computer will concise the bad voice and put it in line and shape and the producer helps a lot. The producer has an idea but the computer is supposed to be a model to have an idea of what a song should sound like but it is not music itself.
“You still have musical instrument. People must learn how to play musical instrument because once you know the rudiments of music, you can play several instruments.
“I play almost all musical instruments, from piano to sax, to bass guitar, guitar, clarinet, xylophone and a lot of other instruments. I didn’t want to play trumpet because I didn’t want any mark on my lips, that is the only one I avoided."

The “Joromi” “Guitar Boy” and “Mummy Water" singer is a prove that the modern world is difficult for the old school artist.

How to Stop Receiving Unwanted Messages

IMPORTANT INFORMATION!!!

The Nigeria Communications Commission NCC has ordered all telecoms services providers in Nigeria to implement the DO NOT DISTURB directive it gave them or face the full wrought of the law.

Do Not Disturb (DND) means that once you send

STOP to 2442 on any network 

you will never receive unsolicited calls and sms from advertising companies asking you to subscribe for one thing or the other.

NCC ordered them to broadcast this code to all their customers so they will be aware of it. But trust them na...they refused.

I've already blocked those useless unsolicited calls and sms from my lines. All I did was to send

STOP to 2442

Please let's help spread this info since they don't want people to know.

If I have taken the pain to type this lengthy message just to help others, you have no reason not to send this to all your contact and even post it on Facebook and Twitter.

Don't be selfish. Please rebroadcast.  IMPORTANT INFORMATION!!!

Don't Give up

This link has been on for months now. Some say it's better than mmm, h2i, zarfund etc. In our period of economic dwindling, I just hope someone out there doesn't give up. You can join those who are making money from this.

what you need to know about mmm

A Must watch Video for all those who wish to participate in MMM.