A GUIDE TO PROTECTING YOUR COMPUTER & YOUR IDENTITY


MINIMIZE UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO YOUR ACCOUNTS OR COMPUTER

1. Never share your login ids and/or passwords
   Remember you are responsible for any activities associated with your login ID and password.
   
   
2. Use strong passwords
   Be creative. Make up your own word.
   Do not use simple, obvious or predictable passwords such as names or nicknames of people, pets, places, or personal information that can be easily found out, such as your address, birthday or hobbies.
   Use 8 to 16 characters including at least one number and one special character.
   
   
3. Protect your security codes and passwords
   Do not share your passwords with anyone
   Do not write down your passwords or store them on your computer
   Always change the password provided by a vendor or other system provider
   Change your password frequently—At least once every 90 days
   If you think your password has been compromised, change it immediately. Don’t reuse your previous passwords
   
   
4. Enable screen saver password protection
   If you’re concerned about others accessing your computer while you are away from your desk, you should enable your password protected screen saver.
   
   
5. Prevent sharing of your hard drive
   Believe it or not, your hard drive may be wide open to those who’d like to use it as a server. Do not share any files there or place files on it that are accessible by the Internet. Windows actually makes it easy to share hard drives and printers over a network. While it is a convenience and efficiency for those who need it, it compromises your computer’s safety.
   
   
6. Limit the use of Administrative privileges on you computer
   
   
7. Do not allow your network administrator to map drive connections to other computers
   
   

PROTECT AGAINST SPYWARE