Simple steps that you can take to improve your computer security at home or at the office.

1. Courtesy of Hybrid IT Solutions
www.hybriditworks.com

2.  Change your passwords
frequently.
 Always reset default passwords
on your computer and peripheral
devices (especially your wireless
router!).
 Don’t use your e‐mail
passwords for any other
accounts.
Courtesy of Hybrid IT Solutions
www.hybriditworks.com

3.  Don’t ever share your account
login information with anyone else;
this includes your friends and family
members.
 Friends may not intend to cause
you any damage, but simply
forgetting to log out of your account
while using a public computer is all
it takes for a hacker to compromise
your personal security.
Courtesy of Hybrid IT Solutions
www.hybriditworks.com

4.  Always select “log off”
when you are finished using
a web‐based application,
even if you are using your
personal computer.
Courtesy of Hybrid IT Solutions
www.hybriditworks.com

5.  Apply updates to all your
devices.
 These updates not only increase
your software and hardware
functionality, but oftentimes they
are intended to fix security holes
that have been discovered.
 Anti‐virus updates are
particularly critical. Your anti‐virus
software provider needs to
communicate the new virus
definitions to your computer,
which is done via a software
update.
Courtesy of Hybrid IT Solutions
www.hybriditworks.com

6.  Password protect your
computer.
 Always lock your computer
when you walk away from it.
 Set your computer to
automatically lock after it has
been unused for 15 minutes (in
case you forget to log out).
Courtesy of Hybrid IT Solutions
www.hybriditworks.com

7.  Do not enter your primary
e‐mail address into web
forms.
 Create a secondary account
that you only use for web
forms. This will protect you
from receiving spam and
other unsolicited e‐mails.
Courtesy of Hybrid IT Solutions
www.hybriditworks.com

8.  Never click on “free gift” links
embedded in an e‐mail or when
surfing the net.
 No one is going to give you a free
iPhone, iPod, or iPad.
 These ads are designed for
phishing, or worse, to infect your
computer with spyware or other
malware.
Courtesy of Hybrid IT Solutions
www.hybriditworks.com

9.  Do not open attachments from
unfamiliar people.
 Ideally, you should avoid even
viewing an e‐mail from an
unknown sender.
 If you are using MS Outlook, be
sure to turn off your preview pane
to ensure that you have control
over the e‐mails you are choosing
to view.
Courtesy of Hybrid IT Solutions
www.hybriditworks.com

10.  Clear your Internet cache and
temporary files frequently.
 Spyware and malware can lurk
in these folders and may be
activated when you revisit the
infected web site.
Courtesy of Hybrid IT Solutions
www.hybriditworks.com

11.  Schedule full system anti‐virus and
malware scans weekly.
 Anti‐virus software isn’t foolproof
and depending on your configuration,
it may not be scanning every file that
enters your system.
 A regular full system scan will also
give your anti‐virus software a second
chance to combat newly defined
viruses that may be discovered after
the latest software update.
Courtesy of Hybrid IT Solutions
www.hybriditworks.com