Credit Professional 2018 Spring_2018_magazine | Page 19

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software, and even your digital
photography applications,”
Weatherby said.
perhaps as an attachment to
an email, a downloaded file
from an infected website, or
from a contaminated thumb
drive or disk. Fight back by
installing anti-virus software
that periodically runs in
the background of your
computer to search for and
remove malware.
Only use security products
from reputable companies.
Some anti-virus software and
firewalls can be purchased,
“A vulnerability in one piece
while others are available free.
of software, no matter how
Either way, it's a good idea to
insignificant it may seem, can
check out these products by
be exploited by a hacker and
reading reviews from computer
used as a pathway into your
and consumer publications.
whole computer."
Look for products that have
high ratings for
Some software manufacturers
Also be sure to set the software detecting problems and for
may issue "patches" that you
to update automatically so that providing tech support if your
need to install to update a
it can protect you from the
computer becomes infected.
program. Others may simply
latest malware.
provide you with a completely
Other ways to select the right
new version of the software.
Use a firewall program to
protection products for your
prevent unauthorized access computer are to consult with
"Before installing any update
to your PC. A firewall is a
the manufacturer of your
you receive, make sure it is
combination of hardware and
computer or operating system,
legitimate, especially if it is
software that establishes a
or to ask someone you know
emailed to you," said
barrier between your personal
who is a computer expert.
Benardo. "Check the software
computer and an external
manufacturer's website or
network, such as the Internet, Take advantage of Internet
contact the company directly to and then monitors and controls safety features. When you are
verify the update's validity.
incoming and outgoing network banking online, shopping on
traffic. In simple terms,
the Internet or filling out an
Criminals have been known to a firewall acts as a gatekeeper
application that requests
imitate software vendors
that helps screen out hackers, sensitive personal information
providing a security update
malware and other intruders
such as credit card, debit card
when, in fact, they are
who try to access your
and bank account numbers,
distributing malware. Once you computer from the Internet.
make sure you are doing
confirm that an update is
business with reputable
legitimate, install it as soon as
companies. You also can have
possible to correct whatever
greater confidence in a website
security flaw might exist."
Install anti-virus software
that prevents, detects
and removes malicious
programs. Crooks and
computer hackers are always
developing new malware that
can access computers and steal
information, such as account
passwords or credit or debit
card numbers. These programs
also may be able to destroy
data from the infected
computer's hard drive.
Malware can enter your
computer in a variety of ways,
The Credit Professional
18
Spring 2018