Tip #8 Let NAT Protect Your PC

Unknowingly allowing someone to access your PC remotely can not only lead to a huge headache, it will most assuredly turn a good day into a bad one quickly. One of the first methods that bad guys out on the Internet will use to access your PC is to perform a port scan of your Internet IP address range from the safety of their home.

To elaborate, in order to access the Internet, you have to be issued a public IP address from your Internet Service Provider (Time Warner, Windstream, Cox, etc.). This uniquely identifies your PC on the Internet and allows you to communicate with all the other devices in the world that also require a unique IP address. The downside is that your IP address is essentially reachable from anywhere and by anyone.

So, how do you protect yourself while still freely surfing the web safely? Enter NAT, or Network Address Translation. This is a process that is built into hardware devices, aka routers and firewalls, that sit between you and the Internet. These devices, when using NAT, will take your public IP address and mask it into a private IP address that is not known to the Internet. This means that when a bad guy tries to scan your IP address for vulnerabilities your router or firewall is protecting you.

All this talk of routers, firewalls, IPs, and NAT can be confusing and daunting, even for the most seasoned IT veteran. Let Level Seven Computers take the guess work out of the process! We'll ensure that you're properly protected at the right price.

Stay tuned next week for tip #9!

Tip #7 Watch Your Perimeter

One of the simplest and low-tech methods for breaking into a computer system is to gain physical access to the computer. This could be a visitor to your home or business sneaking away from authorized areas and into your computer room, or an actual thief breaking into your building and accessing your computer console while you're on vacation. With access to your computer, somebody could do something like installing a key logger to record your passwords, obtain a password document that you keep, or browse your Internet account sites that you may be logged into.

Protecting your computer desktop, or even the room in which your computer is kept, is an extremely important part of keeping safe on the Internet. Locking your room or putting a password on your computer is a great start. These preventive steps can further be automated by configuring a short activation period for your screensaver (with password prompt), in case you forget to lock your computer while heading out for the night.

Keep in mind, to the experienced thief these safe-guards can be negotiated with relative ease, which is why it's a good idea to create multiple road-blocks into accessing your computer. Putting a BIOS password on your computer and ensuring you shut your computer down at the end of the day can be helpful. This also guarantees that you close out any Internet account sites your logged into, and any password documents you have open. Just be sure you don't forget your password! You'll also want to save any sensitive documents, such as a password document, into a non-traditional location so that it's more difficult to find for a stranger.

Negotiating your computer security can be a daunting task, even for a seasoned computer guru, so don't hesitate to contact Level Seven Computers for advice or help!

Stay tuned next week for tip #8!