The basics of computer security and how to ensure you protect your data.

Let's talk about computer security. First, let's talk about something called a dictionary attack, which has to do with your passwords. When creating your passwords, some websites require extremely specific and complicated passwords, which is actually a little unnecessary. The type of attacks they want to protect you from are dictionary attacks. Dictionary attacks are programmed to try every word in the dictionary or their own database of common words and passwords as a password for a large number of usernames. If your password is Kangaroo, they're likely to break into your account. Most passwords aren't that simple, but that doesn't matter. They attack such a large number of accounts that they only need a few passwords that are relatively simple. When creating a password, you should use different capitalization, numbers, and symbols, but one of the most effective ways to create a good password is to include some random letters (for example, kangarooSyCA67). Also, avoid sequential numbers. Phishing, another thing to watch out for, are emails or web pages that imitate other valid sites to trick people into entering their personal information, when in reality the site is not connected to the site it is trying to imitate. In general, there are two ways to protect yourself from these attacks: Check the address in the browser and open a new browser and go to the site that is pretending to contact you. Let's also talk about encryption and HTTPS. If you are at Starbucks trying to access your bank account, you have reason to believe that someone could see and steal your information. Look for a green HTTPS at the beginning of the web address instead of HTTP. This means that the site you are sending your data to is encrypting your passwords and other information and scrambling the data according to a code that only it knows. In general, make sure to use HTTPS when giving out private or confidential information. A few more general tips: Don't give out passwords to important accounts. If a site you use is hacked, your password can be compromised regardless of its strength. Also, don't download strange files. If you don't recognize the file type, such as .pdf, .txt or .jpg, be careful. Some of the files you download can be very powerful and can even control your computer from the inside. And finally, keep your software up to date, especially software that interacts with the Internet. One way information can be compromised is when "bad guys" find security flaws and holes in older versions of software. These bugs have been fixed in newer versions, so keeping everything up to date will avoid a lot of problems. These are all very basic things to know to protect your information on your computer.

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