2020 has not been a good year for cybersecurity (nor for many other things). Computer attacks, digital hijackings, vulnerabilities and data theft are just some of the problems that we have had to face throughout this year. And unfortunately, 2021 does not look better in this regard. Therefore, now more than ever, it is vitally important to have our computer correctly configured to guarantee our security and privacy when we use Windows 10 and surf the Internet.
Check that the antivirus is installed, activated and updated
Although viruses can arrive by any means, not just the Internet, the latter route is usually the main source of infection. A virus that arrives on a USB stick (for example) is not going to be a new variant of it, since its distribution takes a long time. In contrast, a newly created virus can reach thousands of computers in an instant via the Internet .
Therefore, the best way to protect our security is to have an antivirus installed on the computer. It does not need to be a paid antivirus , or a great security suite. It is enough to have good security software, such as Windows Defender that comes installed as standard in Windows 10, to protect us.
We also have to make sure that the antivirus is up to date. Updates are usually automatic, so we generally don’t have to worry about them. If something goes wrong with our security (the antivirus does not work, or it is not updated) a warning will appear here, in the Windows 10 security center.
Keep Windows, and programs, always up to date
One of the avenues through which hackers often distribute malware is through vulnerabilities. Every month, Microsoft fixes several dozen security flaws found in its operating system and products. And the same happens with all kinds of software (Chrome, Adobe Reader, Firefox, VLC, etc.), and it is very easy that, through a vulnerability , they can endanger our PC even without realizing it.
Therefore, it is very important to make sure that we have all the software updated. If we are one of those who still use Windows XP, or Windows 7, we remember that they are two operating systems that are not supported, and their use seriously endangers our security. Windows 10 is updated every month (the second Tuesday of each month), solving all kinds of vulnerabilities detected in the previous month. And the programs, well when they need it. But generally, either they update automatically, or they notify us when there are new versions. Therefore, it is necessary to make sure that our PC is always up to date.
Protect your data in Windows 10
What if someone has access to our data? That our level of privacy becomes zero, in the best of cases. At worst, they will have absolute control over us. Therefore, it is essential to correctly protect our session, and all the data on the hard drive, to avoid problems.
The first thing we must do is configure Windows Hello to be able to protect our session and prevent that if someone has access to our PC from being able to connect to it and access the data. We can configure a password, a PIN and even opt for a biometric system, such as fingerprint or webcam, to protect the session and be able to authenticate quickly.
If we already have a little more knowledge, surely we are interested in encrypting the data , or the hard drive completely. We can use programs like VeraCrypt or BitLocker itself, to be able to carry out the encryption of the data so that nobody can access them without the password. Not even if our hard drive is stolen and connected to another PC.
Check the privacy of Windows 10
Generally we do not usually give it much importance, but privacy is also another of the most important aspects, one of the things that we must take care of the most. Our tastes and interests are very valuable to companies like Microsoft, Google or Amazon. And they are for hackers too.
With them, they can use them to show us personalized advertisements according to our interests, or, in the case of hackers, easily trick us into getting our data.
To have the greatest possible privacy, it is necessary to completely turn away from social networks, and use specialized software to block trackers. In addition, we must also take care of each of the words that we write on the Internet, and block many of the functions of our mobile. All of this is unfeasible today, especially doing it all at once. Therefore, as a new purpose for 2021 we can take the review of all the privacy options that Windows 10 itself offers us.
In the Settings menu (Windows + I), in the ” Privacy ” section we will find a large number of options that will help us to make the use of the PC as private as possible.
Use common sense, now more than ever
Of course, hackers are going to continue to use social engineering to carry out phishing attacks . Therefore, it is vital to take care to recognize these attacks easily and protect ourselves from them. For example, we may receive emails posing as the bank, or through one of the streaming platforms to which we are subscribed, to obtain our data.
We will also see ads on the webs, and social networks, that will invite us to click. Some may take advantage of Flash’s end of support, and others, as always, clicbait. We must be very careful with all this. Distrust by default emails with attachments will also improve our security.
