From personal correspondence to sensitive financial documentation, a wide range of valuable possessions can now be found on our home computers. We need to protect them just as we would our physical belongings. Secure your digital assets with a little work and some positive habits.
Our assets reside in various places on our computers, and even on different computers, external drives, and PDAs. Keeping all assets organized, secured, backed up, and available requires a comprehensive approach. To do the job right, you need a wide range of tools and a solid set of computing practices.
Passwords might be the most common and most essential protection for our digital possessions. They protect our desktops, PDAs, online accounts, and our most important folders and files.
If there's password protection available, use it. Here are some valuable tips:
- Set up accounts for your home network and for each of your PCs and PDAs.
- Use your operating system's file-level password protection to limit access to your most vital files.
- Password protect any directory where with digital assets.
- Use the second layer of password protection if available.
- Avoid weak, easy-to-guess passwords, change them often, and store them in a secure, easily accessible place. To learn more about building strong passwords, read our password security and management article.
If passwords are padlocks, then firewalls and other security software are the safes, dead bolts, window bars, and alarms of a well-protected online residence. The Internet is rife with threats that have unique ways to compromise your digital possessions.
To keep these threats at bay, you need a complete security system which includes:
- Antivirus software. Guarding against viruses, Trojan horses, and worms is essential.
- Firewall. Keep intruders out and private information in, with a tool such as Norton Personal Firewall.
- Spam filter. Minimize exposure to phishing scams.
- Spyware monitor. Control the spyware that makes it onto your system. We strongly recommend Norton Internet Security.
Wireless networks at home or in public hotspots require extra precautions to protect your assets. When you're connected, your computer is exposed to anyone who can join the network. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to keep intruders out.
- Do not broadcast defaults. When you set up your wireless network, change your network's name, change its default passwords, and turn off the automatic broadcast function. Broadcasting defaults is a red flag that your network is probably not well-protected.
- Prevent leakage. Place your router in a central location in your home. If your device allows it, reduce wireless signal strength.
- Disable file sharing in public.
- Turn off your wireless card when you're not using it.
- Install a dependable firewall. Monitor and control wireless network traffic.
Disasters happen. Whether the next disaster is an earthquake or a wayward latte, it's vital to create a disaster recovery plan for your digital assets.
- Make sure you know the location of important digital assets. Be sure their file and directory names are clearly labeled.
- Schedule regular backups. While you can back up your assets manually, a reliable backup tool can be much more convenient. Good backup tools allow you to automatically back up your entire system to a removable media of your choice—be it CDs, external drives, or remote network servers. And should a disaster occur, they make it easy to restore your system and files to a pre-disaster state. Two strong backup and recovery programs are Norton GoBack and Norton Ghost.
- Regardless of how you back up your assets, store your backups at a location far removed from your home computer.
