Computer security has become a more prominent issue in recent years due to the increased number of breaches and related cyberattacks. For the most part, third party bad actors tend to focus on larger businesses, but there are plenty of horror stories of individuals being targeted.

One of the most common ways for a person to have their computer accessed by an outside, malicious party is a lack of good security practises, which is something that they generally don’t teach in school. Luckily, it’s relatively easy to secure a home computer by using the following tricks.

1. Avoid Antivirus Software

While they may have had a place at one time, most popular antivirus suites have largely become completely obsolete, and depend on fear marketing to get as many people to buy them as possible. For those people using Windows 10 or 11, the operating system comes with Windows Defender built right in, which has everything that the user needs to keep their computer safe.

This includes the right antivirus signatures and other tools that are designed to ensure no malicious software can take hold of a computer. Linux users, on the other hand, don’t have to worry too much about antivirus software thanks to the robust firewalls and permissions systems.

2. Be Wary Of Downloads

Downloads from a well-known and reputable website are usually not the issue. The problem arises when the user isn’t fully aware of what they have downloaded, and it leads to a malicious piece of software being installed on the computer. Try and avoid downloading files from unknown sites where possible and avoiding torrenting any kind of data is a good idea.

Another thing to keep an eye out for is the format of the file being downloaded. For example, if a user is attempting to download an .mp3 music file from a website, but the file that is downloaded on to the computer has an “.exe” file format, it’s a good idea to delete that file as soon as possible. Any file format with “.exe” at the end is an executable file, meaning that it’s installed directly into Windows, and from there can infect the rest of the computer.

Thanks to high speed internet, it’s usually just easier to play a game or a enjoy the latest mega casino bonuses NZ has to offer without having to make any downloads.

3. Encryption

Not all threats to the user are software-related, sometimes they can be in the form of a physical attack, such as theft. Theft is hard to avoid, especially in certain parts of the world, which is why it often falls on the user to protect their own data from theft. One of the best ways of doing this is by using encryption. There is lots of good encryption software out there, with Cryptomator being an excellent example. Sensitive files can be added to a special folded that’s then locked with military-grade encryption, meaning that even if the device is stolen, no one will ever be able to open the locked folder without the password.