7 Tips to Keep Your Computer Safe

Learning and applying all kinds of ways to keep your computer safe is, indeed, a wise decision since the significant computer data will be in protection to certain extent. And seven practical tips to help you keep your Windows computer secure are provided in this article.

Tip 1: Set up Startup Key.

This way requires a password to be entered during the system start, which plays the role of first-layer protection and can be realized by the following steps.

Step 1: Open the Run dialog with Windows Logo Key+R, type syskey in the blank box and click OK.

Step 2: In User Account Control dialog box, type the administrator password if you have created one and click Yes. If there’s no administrator password, directly tap Yes to continue.

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Step 3: In the Securing the Windows Account Database window, select Update.

Step 4: As the Startup Key dialog box opens, choose Password Startup, enter a new password, reenter the code to confirm it and click OK.

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As shown by the picture below, the Startup Password dialog box shows up during the system start process, requiring the right password to be input.

Tip 2: Set up user password.

This method requests anyone who wants to log in your computer to enter the correct user password first, which forms the second-layer protection. Moreover, the steps to set up a user code may differ from system to system, and the procedures to realize this method in

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Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 are respectively illustrated below.

1. Windows 7: Control Panel/User Accounts and Family Safety/User Accounts/Create a password for your account/Create a new password as required

2. Windows 8/8.1: PC settings/Users/Create a password/Create a new password as requested

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Tip 3: Use the built-in BitLocker Drive Encryption to encrypt your hard disks.

By means of this method, the hard disks in your PC will be encrypted so that anyone who would like to open them can only achieve the goal by entering the correct passwords. Besides, as for how to use the BitLocker Drive Encryption to encrypt a hard disk, you can refer to the following steps.

Step 1: Find and open BitLocker Drive Encryption.

Follow the path of Control Panel/System and Security/BitLocker Drive Encryption, and you can locate and open it instantly.

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Step 2: Click Turn on BitLocker beside the hard drive you want to encrypt.

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Step 3: Select Use a password to unlock the drive, enter a password consisted of at least 8 characters which could contain letters, numbers, spaces and symbols, reenter the password and click Next.

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Step 4: Choose a way from Save to your Microsoft account, Save to a file and Print the recovery key to back up your recovery key, make related settings accordingly and tap Next to move on.

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Step 5: Select Encrypt used disk space only or Encrypt entire drive, and tap Next.

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Step 6: Choose Start encrypting to begin the encrypting process.

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Step 7: Wait for the encrypting process to complete.

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Tip 4: Download, install and update antivirus program.

Antivirus programs (e.g. Rising Antivirus, 360 Antivirus Software, ESET NOD32 Antivirus, etc.) can help you detect, block and remove malware, computer virus, Trojan horse programs and so on, which protects your computer data from being destroyed or stolen. Thus, it is strongly recommended for you to download and install at least one effective antivirus program in your PC and keep it up-to-date.

Tip 5: Download, install and update genuine software.

Genuine software ensures the software security, which makes you free from worrying about whether the software you download is bundled with unwanted or harmful programs. Moreover, don’t forget to upgrade the software in your computer, because they can be better improved though update.

Tip 6: Set password to important files.

To protect important files, setting password to them may be the simplest and the most immediate method. Now, the steps to set a password to a MS Office Word 2007/2010/2013 document are illustrated below for your reference.

1. MS Office Word 2007/2010 file: Office Button/Save As/Word Document/Tools/General Options/Set up a password according to the requirements

2. MS Office Word 2013 document: File/Info/Protect Document/Encrypt with Password/Create a password as requested.

Tip 7: Hide significant documents and folders.

If some documents and folders are hidden in your computer, those who access your PC without your permission may not know the existence of these files and folders. Regarding to how to hide a document or a folder, you can follow the two steps below.

Step 1: Right-click a file or folder and select Properties in the context menu.

Step 2: In General settings, check the small box before Hidden and click OK.

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Note: If you want to show the hidden files and folders, you can open Folder Options in your PC, and select Show hidden files, folders and drives in the View settings.

In a word, hope you find these seven tips helpful in keeping your Windows computer safe.

Reference:http://www.isunshare.com/windows-8/which-way-is-the-best-to-keep-windows-8-computer-safer.html

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