What Everyone Should Know About Computer Security

If you are keeping up with current events, you will know that the number of computer attacks through viruses, worms and identity thefts is on the rise. With the large number of you who now use your home computer more than even your toaster, you need to be aware that the threats of these attacks is very real. They are not just something that other people get or that happen at businesses or colleges and universities. They actually occur more frequently against home users and are more often spread by home users due to poor computing practices or a lack of knowledge. These attacks can range from the irritating virus that makes your computer shut down in 60 seconds, causing you to lose a document it took two hours to create, to obtaining valuable private information that will assist a hacker in stealing your identity. Understand, there is no fool proof method for ensuring these things won't happen, but you can take steps to improve your odds. Below I have provided links to four documents on the website of the CERT^® Coordination Center. The CERT^® Coordination Center (CERT/CC) was established in 1988, and is a center of Internet security expertise, located at the Software Engineering Institute, a federally funded research and development center operated by Carnegie Mellon University. Please feel free to check out these links and use the information to assist yourself in protecting your home computer assets. If you ever want more information about a virus threat, you can access the CERT main page at www.cert.org. There you will find considerable information regarding viruses both new and old. There is also a wealth of other information to assist you in combating these threats.