Now a days hackers have become more advanced than ever before. So you have to follow many steps to save yourself from hacking.
This is not a step but a very important thing you should know. There are 2 things commonly used by small hackers (Let's not call them hacker, because they knew nothing about hacking but only some little tricks)
Phishing is a technique in which hackers make a fake page and uses it to get your password mostly of your email id or your account on social networking site
You can save yourself from this kind of hacking only by looking at the URL of the website. For example if you are at Yahoo, just check the URL if it is like this https://login.yahoo.com then it is CORRECT
But BEWARE if the link is like http://loginn.yahho.com, STOP THERE. DO NOT type your email id and password there. Because this is a fake page and all your personal information is passed to the person who has created and published this fake page.
- Binding a virus (Key-loggers or Trojan with any file like a song or movie)
In this technique hacker bind a virus with a usable file in such a way that when you double click on file, both file and virus will open simultaneously. Now this virus is usually a Trojan and hacker will now control your whole computer just like your control it
You can save yourself from this attack by just seeing the extension of the file. For example if you have downloaded a song it's extension must be .mp3 .rm .amr. If its extension is like this .exe STOP THERE. DO NOT open it. Most probably there will be virus present in it.
A good anti-virus or up-to-dated antivirus catch this file and inform you of the virus present in it. So keep an eye on extension if you have not up-to-dated antivirus otherwise install an up-to-dated antivirus in your computer.
1. Install Anti-Virus Software
This should not even have to be listed, if you don’t have anti-virus software installed, you’re asking for trouble! And if your reason for not installing anti-virus software is because it’s too expensive, then that can reason can be shot down because there are several free anti-virus programs out there that are considered better than commercial software packages. Here are two of the most popular ones:
AVG Anti-Virus – Very good and completely free.
Avast Anti-Virus – Almost on par with AVG.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus – Not free, but one of the best detection rates.
2. Update All Software
Installing an anti-virus program by itself is not enough. There are hundreds of new threats that are found daily and the anti-virus programs release updates regularly to combat the new threats. Make sure you anti-virus program is set to update automatically so that you don’t have to rely on your memory to do it. Also, this goes for all the software on your computer. The most important software to keep up to date is your Windows operating system. It is essential to have Automatic Updates turned on and set to download and install updates automatically.
3. Install only Trusted Software
If you’re not sure what a piece of software does from it’s name, then don’t install it. Also, don’t install anything you didn’t intend to install in the first place. Sometimes programs will ask you to install other programs during the install of the first application. Be careful of that because it’s usually spyware. Install software from big names sites only, such as Microsoft or Adobe.
4. Avoid P2P File Sharing Software
If used with great caution, P2P software is quite useful for movies, songs and software, but if you’re not very technically savvy, you might end up downloading a song that has a keystroke logger attached to it that will send anything you type to some other computer over the Internet. It’s almost impossible to tell that this is occurring unless your anti-virus or anti-spyware programs pick it up in their scans.
5. Delete Unknown Emails
If you receive emails from random people’s names, do not bother to open the email, just delete it. If you have any doubts after reading the name and the subject, it’s probably not someone you know. Never download or open attachments unless you are sure it’s from someone you know. Give the person a call quickly and ask them if you’re not sure. Most large companies that you create online accounts with will not send you attachments unless you specifically ask for them through their web site. Also, be wary of any emails from sites pretending to be banks, auction sites, etc asking for you to verify bank account info or address info. No bank ever does that
6. Use a Complex Password for Login
This means that you should already have a password to login to your computer. Not having a password at all is not a good idea. Create a password for all user accounts and make sure it’s complex. Complex means it should have numbers, upper case characters, lower case characters, and symbols. This makes it way more difficult for a hacker to get into your computer.
7. Run Virus Scans Regularly
If you’re not in the mood to scan every day, at least run a scan once a week. Actually, setup a schedule for your computer in your anti-virus software to run a scan late at night or whenever you don’t use your computer and that way you won’t be bothered with a slow computer.
8. Be careful what you attach to your computer
This is a more common way to transfer viruses than you might think. Everyone now has a USB flash stick that they carry around on their key chains, ready to snap into any computer. But who knows what your viruses are on your friends computers and what accidentally got transferred to their USB stick. A lot of virus programs will auto launch right when the USB stick is put into the computer, so you don’t even have to open or download any of the files to be infected.
9. Avoid Shady Web Sites
If you need to look at porn, then make sure you do it in a virtual environment. You are DEFINITELY going to get some virus or spyware if you browse porn sites on your computer. Virtualization basically allows you to run programs like Internet Explorer in a virtual environment that does not effect your current operating system. If you want to find out more, search for “Virtual PC” or “VM Ware” in Google. Otherwise, simply avoid going to shady web sites!
10. Turn On or Install a Firewall
If you’re running Windows XP, make sure Windows Firewall is turned on. A firewall prevents hackers from gaining access to your computer by limiting the number of ports that are open to the public. Also, when buying a wireless router, make sure it has a built in firewall. Having a software and hardware firewall is better than just having one or the other.
11. Secure Your Wireless Network
Most wireless routers are set to no security when you install them. Be sure to log into the router and at least set the basic security that requires a password. There are stronger encryption options, but if you don’t understand those, then simply set a password on the router, otherwise anyone can connect to your home network and access everything.
12. Only open email attachments from people you know
DO NOT open email from of those persons or companies who are stranger to you. Also don't open any spam mail, because there might be a virus in the attached mail. So only open email attachments from a trusted source.
