Introduction
In my critical essay, I criticize the current state of most people’s security features on their computers. It is my contention that current security measures people take are simply not good enough, and I suggest better security protocols that people may use.
People use passwords on the Internet
This is because people are asked by online accounts and websites to install passwords, but many people do it incorrectly. They use words instead of jumbles of letters and numbers, and they use the same password across different websites.
My suggestion would be to create passwords of at least ten characters, and to create passwords that are a mix of upper case and lower case letters, as well as a mixture of number too. I would also suggest changing the password to a new one as often as every 72 days.
People do not delete their temporary files often enough
There are some people the delete their temporary Internet files, cookies and such on a regular basis, but there are many people that do not do it at all. This is an error as it is a breeding ground for viruses and malware to spring up and take hold before your virus/malware checker/blocker can stop them.
My suggestion is to delete your temporary Internet files after every use of your computer before you turn it off so that any hidden viruses find it harder to take hold when you restart your computer. I also suggest using the disk cleanup function once per week in order to clear out old files you do not need.
People use free virus checkers
There is a chance that the virus checker you are using is both free and very effective, but there is no incentive for a company to keep your virus and malware checker up to date if they are not being paid a yearly subscription. It is possible to make money from advertising on free virus and malware checker, but the money is not enough to fund a team of programmers and hackers to keep your software up to date on the most recent malware and viruses.
My suggestion is to use a trusted and brand-name virus and malware checker. If they have a brand to protect and are looking to stay in business, they are going to have to make sure they do not let viruses and malware onto your computer. This means paying people to check for new viruses and make sure new infectious or damaging programs get onto your computer.
Conclusion
There are too few people that correctly protect their computers. Too many people leave it to chance and trust in numbers. Too many people trust in numbers and think that out of the billions of people on the Internet, they will not be the one affected. What people fail to realize is that the people with poor security are the ones that hackers and nefarious software creators are looking for. By leaving things to chance and hoping for the best, they are actually making themselves targets.
