How to Protect your Virtual Information

In the technology era information becomes very valuable. We make purchases, check our bank balances and even file taxes online.  The information we input into those sites have been encrypted with a special program to keep us safe, but when it comes to computers, it can be difficult to keep your information safe from potential hackers and other dangers.  That’s why it’s important to have a quality antivirus program; you can find programs that will cost you less than $20 for a 6-month license.

In addition to protecting yourself against viruses, you also need to keep out other threats that virus checkers may or may not cover.  There are several good spy ware programs that are free and effective.  A good rule of thumb is to look up the product and what it protects against.  If you’re not already protected, it’s probably a good idea to buy or download the program.

Hackers aren’t the only danger to your electronic files, however.  While it may be less devastating than having the information stolen, losing it to a computer failure or natural disaster can be very harmful as well.  Be sure to back up your information and keep it somewhere safe.  Just remember if you protect by keeping information on a separate drive, CD, etc, it could still be destroyed in a fire or flood if it’s in the same place as your computer.

While a safe may be great for keeping your documents out of the hands of other people, it may or may not be secure in case of fire, flood, or other disasters.  That’s why it’s important to get a safe that is, or find another way to protect documents.  There are containers that can do this for you that are relatively inexpensive, or you can back up the information securely online.

Remember that no matter what you do, there is no 100% sure way to keep private information private, but you can take major steps to protect it.

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Author: jm

Joan Mullally has been doing business online for more than 20 years and is a pioneer in the fields of online publishing, marketing, and ecommerce. She is the author of more than 200 guides and courses designed to help beginner and intermediate marketers make the most of the opportunities the Internet offers for running a successful business. A student and later teacher trainee of Frank McCourt’s, she has always appreciated the power of the word, and has used her knowledge for successful SEO and PPC campaigns, and powerful marketing copy. One computer science class at NYU was enough to spark her fascination with all things digital. In her spare time, she works with adult literacy, animal fostering and rescue, and teaching computer skills to women.