Just about everyone that owns a computer has at one point or another dealt with a cyber security issue, whether it be something as benign as a pesky computer virus or something as serious as someone stealing an entire computer. Like driving a car, there are some measures one can take to increase safety when using computers and prevent disasters from happening.

• Backups – Do it all and do it often. A backup is a copy of your data (pictures, papers, programs, etc.) in case something should happen to the originals. Under copyright laws, you are allowed to make copies of your programs for archival purposes. (You can burn a copy of your software installation CD or DVD for a backup, but it does not give you the right to distribute the CD or DVD) . It is also wise to make copies of important file too. Usually, this requires that you purchase some sort of external medium (such as and external hard drive, writeable DVD’s, or flash drive) so you can copy your data from your computers hard drive to the medium.
  • CD’s and DVD’s -- Most computers nowadays come equipped with at least a CD burner. A spindle of CD’s or DVD’s can usually be purchased for a nominal amount of money. Most CD’s and DVD’s however are not rewriteable, so you will have to buy another spindle sooner or later if you back up often. Second you will have to learn how to use your recording software, but this is usually not a big deal.
  • Flash drives are fairly inexpensive and generally more portable than external hard drives, but are usually not as reliable as external hard drives. They usually attach or USB port.
  • External hard drives are perhaps the safest way to protect your data. They attach through a FireWire port or USB port.
• Virus Protection – Most new computers come installed with some sort of virus protection installed. Despite popular opinion, no computer is completely immune to viruses, as there have been documented virus for virtually every popular computing platform on the market. There are plenty of virus protection programs available for free such as Avast Antivirus, AVG, PC-Tools, and Clam AV and paid subscription such as Norton Antivirus, McAffee v Antivirus, Romanian Antivirus, Computer Associates Antivirus . For more information on how to obtain free virus software, click here.
• Firewalls provide security when a computer is attached to a network. Firewalls block malicious attempts to compromise a computer. Like virus protection software, most all computers nowadays come with a firewall installed on the computer. There are also a number of third-party firewalls, paid and free, that offer enhanced protection. For more information about firewalls and how to obtain free firewall software, click here.
• Secure your computer
  • to prevent your computer from being stolen:
    • Do not leave your computer unattended, even for a moment. Although NOBTS is a Christian environment, there is no guarantee that your computer will not be stolen.
    • Do not leave your computer in your car. Car break ins are common in New Orleans. If you must leave your computer in your car, make sure it is not visible.
    • Do not broadcast the fact you have a computer.
  • You may want to encrypt your hard drive in the event that your computer is stolen. Microsoft Window Vista Premium and Business editions come with BitLocker. Mac OSX comes with FileVault. Windows XP users can install and run TrueCrypt for free. For more information about drive encryption, click here.
• Passwords -- Do not give away password for your user accounts such as logon accounts, email, IQ Web, Blackboard, or any other system you may use. Do not store this information on your computer in a file.
  • Change your passwords often
  • Make sure your passwords are not something that is easily guessed. Use a mixture of upper and lower case letters, punctuation marks, and numbers. A simple password like “dog” is easy to guess. A password like “L@brad0R” is not easy to guess.
• Browsing the Internet
  • The best way to stay safe on the Internet is to visit only reputable sites.
  • Avoid downloading or registering on sites that you do not know anything about.
  • If you have questions about a site, run a search on the site through a search engine to see what others say about it.
  • Never click a link in an email. For instance, suppose you get an email from presumably from PayPal that wants you to logon in, manually type in the URL for PayPal and logon that way. This way you avoid phishing scams.
  • Content Filtering blocks distasteful and malicious web pages from being displayed on your computer. The seminary network wireless network provides content filtering, but there is no guarantee it will clock everything. There are content filtering services for free and paid service.