Keeping Your Computer Safe From Crippling Pop-ups, Viruses, Spyware, & Spam To Avoid Paying Expensive Computer Repair Bills
If your computer has access to the internet and e-mail, then it may be only a matter of time before you fall victim to a malicious spyware program, virus, worm, or hacker. Every day we get customers coming in who are experiencing computer problems due to these threats, and it is only getting worse.
What’s even more worrying is that several of my customers keeps coming back to my office a couple days or weeks later complaining about the EXACT same computer problems and ends up paying for ANOTHER repair just to get their computer up and running again.
Now imagine having these kinds of difficulty with your restaurant. Your POS systems being infiltrated and destroyed by viruses and worms. You absolutely have no way of protecting your restaurant POS system if you do not take extra precautions.
The Three Dangerous Threats You Must Be Aware Of
One of the deadly aspects of online threats is their ability hide their existence and penetrate your system without your knowledge. Hackers and the authors of malicious spyware and malware programs go to great lengths to create programs that are difficult to identify and remove.
That means a malicious program can be downloaded and do its dirty work on your computer long before you are able to identify them. Below are the two most common threats you’ll need to guard against with a brief explanation of what they {are|are and how you acquire them}:
Spyware: Spyware is a type of computer program that is secretly installed on your pc, it gather data and other activities you do on the interenet without your permission, then reports such data back to a third party. Sometimes advertisers uses this sneaky program to secretly monitor their customers’ activities. So Better becareful on what website you visit before clicking on that “download” button.
Most spywares are secretly attached to files you download over the internet, like free programs, music files, and screen savers. While you think you are only downloading a legitimate program to add smileys to your e-mails, you are unknowingly also downloading a truck full of spyware programs.
Malware: A portmanteau of the words malicious and software. This type of computer program is designed specifically to infiltrate and disrupt your system, this include viruses, worms and Trojans. Malware is harder to remove and will try to fight back when you try to clean it from your system. In some extreme cases, we had to wipe out the hard disk and start with a complete re-install of the operating system. Frequently, malware is also designed to send itself from your e-mail account to all the friends and colleagues in your address book without your knowledge or consent.
Hackers: Hackers are computer programmers turned evil. They are the people who design the spyware and malware programs that attack your computer.
So if you’re a restaurant or any other retail establishment owner, having no protection for your POS systems at all, then your system is surely one of the easy targets.
Some of them may have criminal intent and use these programs to steal money from individuals and companies. Some have a grudge against the big software vendors and take their revenge by attacking their customers. Others does it purely for fun. Whatever the reason, these evil programmers are getting more intelligent and sophisticated in their ability to penetrate computer systems and networks.
4 Simple Steps To Secure Your Computer From Malicious Attacks
1. Do not forget to keep your antivirus software updated at all times. You will want to make sure it has an auto scan and update feature that will make sure your computer is running the most current protection available and regularly scanning for threats.
2. You may want to consider using an alternative browser to Internet Explorer like the Mozilla Firefox. Hackers have figured out ways to access and easily download malicious programs to your computer via a security hole in Internet Explorer. What’s more disappointing about this is that you don’t even have to click on anything or download a program to get infected. You are especially vulnerable if you’re using an older version of Windows such as Windows 98.
Though Mozilla Firefox is a free browser, it doesn’t have the same security problem as IE. A few of our clients saying that they like their Mozilla Firefox browser better than Internet Explorer. Migrating from IE to Firefox is a simple and a cost-free way to add another layer of defense to your computer. To download this free browser, go to www.mozilla.org.
3. Don’t] open suspicious looking e-mails or attachments, especially from email addresses who are not listed on your address book. Because most viruses are distributed through e-mails you receive from anonymous accounts, and even from your friends. If you feel it’s suspicious, delete it immediately!
4. Using s firewall. A firewall is a computer program that acts as a security barrier, protecting files and programs on one network from users on another network. many computer users will get a DSL or cable Internet connection and plug it directly using no firewall.
The one thing you have to remember about the Internet is that it is a big open field. You have access to the world, but on the other side, the world has access to YOU. Hackers have programs that automatically scan the Internet for computers connected via a cable or DSL connection without a firewall. And once they find one, they they’ll immediately access your computer, download vicious programs, and may even use YOUR computer to distribute viruses to your friends and other computers, all without your knowledge or consent.
It only takes one click of a mouse to gain easy access to your restaurant POS system, collect all customer and employee data, destroy your computer system, and sends out virus-infected emails to your customers and friends using your email account! It will surely be the end of your hard work, a huge waste of money on the restaurant POS solutions you’ve bought, and possibly the downfall of your business if you let this things happen to you.
Michael Tash of POS-For-Restaurants, is the author and Vice President of Customer Relations for POS-For-Restaurants.com. With over 20 years of restaurant experience, POS-For-Restaurants.com helps you use your technology to be more efficient and more profitable.
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