The BIT guide to safe computing
The IT world can be quite scary and intimidating to the casual user. With possible threats lurking around every corner, everyone can make use of a guide when you are uncertain of what to do next.
Treat this guide as your rule book when it comes those uncertainties.
Anti-Virus Software
Always make sure you have a 3rd party local antivirus installed and updated.
Perform regular scans to prevent and remove threats
(Malware infection is a realistic threat in these times and not covered by your warranty or support agreement.)
Unsafe Downloads
The internet is filled with shady sources.
Only download from trusted and verified sources.
Not 100% sure that is the correct website?
Don't download it!
Phishing Emails
We are currently living in the phishing email era.
Thousands of people are scammed each day due to their own negligence and this is an easy threat to avoid
Always confirm the email sender.
Don't recognize the sender? Ignore/Delete it.
These emails usually contain an attachment or a link asking for your personal information, such as login details etc.
Ransomware
The olden days pirates of the high seas have been replaced by a very tech savvy new breed of pirate, or as more modernly called, a hacker.
Ransomware has unfortunately become part of our daily lives.
These "your data has been locked and pay me in x currency" scams are running rampant and usually recovery is very unlikely.
Which leads us to the next section.
The 3-2-1 backup rule
Lackluster backups are one of the easiest ways to give yourself sleepless nights.
The international IT community has set the standard for backups as the 3-2-1 backup rule.
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Always have 1 primary backup of your data and 2 copies thereof
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Always have your backups in 2 different types of media
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Always have one backup file offsite.
Have you tried switching it off and on again?
You would be surprised at the amount of IT issues that can be resolved with a mere restart.
Your IT support's first question will always be "have you tried switching it off and on"
And only one restart is sufficient.
Backup power
One of the easiest ways to cause data corruption is to let Eskom switch off your computer for you.
You might even be unlucky enough and it never switches back on again.
You don't need a state of the art inverter system.
An entry level UPS will give you sufficient time to power down in a healthy manner.