Did you ever have your car broken into? Your house? Your stuff rifled through? Anyone ever read your Hello Kitty diary? Ok, so I’m throwing it back to childhood, but what about having your computer hacked at least in the form of scareware? (if not, we’ll get to that) The point is, if you have, you know how much it sucks and how it makes you feel vulnerable, violated, disrespected and downright angry. Because we’re all entitled to our privacy and our personal life. At least, that’s how all of us feel. And we’re not wrong. We SHOULD feel that way. We should have some things that are private and personal and not have to worry about it and feel safe. But, the reality is, in order to ensure that blanket of safety, it’s on us to provide the blanket.
In the world of technology, it’s become more and more important to add those layers of protection. I was given a harsh lesson a few years ago on this matter. I was working on my computer, plugging along and out of nowhere a window popped up. It was pretty dramatic. A loud audio alarm was attached to it and it was telling me that I had to do updates immediately and to call the number provided. I knew it wasn’t right, completely panicked and shut it down. When I turned it back on, all was well, but I was terrified my computer had been forever compromised. While I got lucky, the more accurate way to handle a situation like this is to contact your IT professional before you do anything. In my example, what happened to me was Scareware. Essentially, it’s a malicious software program designed to scare you into buying and downloading potentially dangerous software. And while an actual attempt was done on me, WE’VE all heard the warnings throughout the years when it comes to our computers. Make sure you have anti-virus. Do your updates. Be careful what info you put out there- because once it’s out there, it’s out there. It’s one thing to heed those warnings and nod in acknowledgment, but it’s another to know exactly HOW to do it. How do you put the pieces in place to know you’re protected? In Nate’s previous Tech Talk, “Asset Monitoring, Breaking Down the Importance”, he does an excellent job in opening up that discussion and the areas that need to be paid attention to and how it all can be monitored. Knowing I have these guys in my back pocket monitoring my computer likens me to Linus from Peanuts with his blanket. Always there providing the comfort of protection I now know I have.