9 Ways to Secure Online Accounts That Will Still Work Next Year ...

There are programs that protect you against viruses, malware and a whole host of other online threats. Having at least one of these programs is one of the best ways to secure online accounts for now and the long term future. If you buy a branded one, then you have the assurance that they are going to work hard to keep new threats off your computer. After all, if they become known for letting computers become infected, then they will damage their brand and lose millions.

They offer you a free trial or free check, and then they either give you a false positive saying that you have a virus/malware, or they load a virus onto your computer that it then fixes. You start believing that you have had a virus all this time and buy the antivirus software because you do not want to risk living with a virus again in the future. It’s a con and you should be very wary of antivirus/anti-malware software that is supposedly free.

There are hundreds and thousands of users that load nasty things onto Facebook in order to infect your computer. Some antivirus programs will even scan your Facebook wall for you. Treat Facebook with extreme caution because it is a great place to pick up viruses and malware.

The web masters use sharing sites and porn sites as the hook and line that reels you in. People visit them in great numbers and the web masters know this. They have auto-loading and auto-downloading malware and viruses to infect your computer. Use absolute caution with these sites and be wary of the ones you trust. This is especially true if the website allows you to download something but it ends with (.exe).

This means clicking on the ones that show a lawn mower you like, or the ones that feature your favorite band. Do not click the ones that say your computer is infected, or that your computer is running slow. Do not click the ones that say you have a message or that say you have won something. Choosing not to click as opposed to choosing to click is one of the easiest ways to secure online accounts that will still work next year.

Set it to maximum security, and if you come across a website, you trust, such as your bank websites, then manually allow your computer to produce pop-ups on that website. Your popup blocker can stop downloads from occurring and stop you visiting infected websites if you accidentally click a link or ad. You may find it annoying having to open some new pages on new tabs, but it is worth it.

A longer password is harder to crack. Do not use words, just use a mix of characters and numbers, and use uppercase and lowercase if possible. Longer passwords are harder to crack.

As a rule, you should change your passwords every 72 days. This is going to make the life of the hacker and cracker a lot harder. If you also randomly change your passwords in a less uniform manner, such as after 10 days, then after 66 days, etc. it will make a hacker’s/cracker’s job a lot harder too.

Set a password so that others cannot go on your computer or on your user profile. If friends and family drop by, then they cannot secretly go on the websites they are not allowed to go on at home. Furthermore, if your computer is stolen by a thief, then he or she is going to have a hard time getting your information.

These tips will keep your computer secure pretty much whatever technology throws your way. Are you diligent in the security of your devices?