Secure Your Windows XP Computer

With viruses, spyware and hackers round the corner, there could be many ways by which your PC would be prone to attacks. My PC, which is installed with XP, had to be formatted 2-3 times recently due to virus attack and I had to reinstall the XP on all the occasions. Here are few simple steps to make your Windows XP more secure. Turn on Automatic Updates: Update is a Windows XP utility which helps to download the latest updates from Microsoft website. With this your PC will have the latest security updates. But one of the disadvantages of using Automatic updates is that it consumes a lot hard disk space.

Turn on Windows Firewall: If you have Service Pack 2 installed in your PC, you can turn on the free Firewall provided by Windows. Although the firewall will not give you a 100% protection, it does give some protection. 

Install an Anti-virus Software: There are lot of anti-virus softwares available. Make sure you install one as viruses are the most common type of attack. Not only you install the anti-virus, update it with the latest security updates once in a while.

Protect from Spywares and Adwares: Spywares and Adwares are other common types of attacks on your PC. There are lot of free Spyware and Adware removal tools. Install one and scan your computer once in a while.

Be Careful while using Internet: Do not click on any malicious links and also do not download any attachments or softwares without scanning them. If you use a floppy drive or a CD drive, scan the files before you open or copy to the system.

These are fews steps to make your PC more secure. Although with these steps, it may not be 100% secure, but as wisely said-”Prevention is better than cure”

ADVANCED SECURITY Do you work in a corporate environment where you don't appreciate your co-workers or boss having access to your comp and private files when you are not around? You can provide added level of security to your WINDOWS XP System. This is called securing your Windows XP accounts database. You can store all information related to your accounts in a encrypted form on a floppy disk. What this would do is that if You do not have access to your floppy disk, You can not access the system. I am not sure You realized what I just said ! Even if You know your userid/password, You will not be able to access the system unless and until You have this startup disk.

The process of generating this secure startup floppy disk is simple. Go to START-RUN and type syskey. You will see a window come up. Click on Upgrade command button. You would see another window popping up which will give You the option of storing the encrypted accounts database either locally or on your floppy disk. Choose floppy disk and click OK and let the process complete. You are done.

Next time You reboot the computer and get to the logon prompt, make sure that You have the floppy disk available in A: drive else You can not log on.