Whether you are Microsoft, the Federal Government, VISA, a small business or an Individual, without proper planning, you can be a victim of a security compromise. While you always hear about the high profile cases, there are daily network security failures taking place in today’s networked environments that never get reported. According to the 2004 Computer Crime and Security Survey conducted by The Computer Security Institute and FBI, companies sustained losses of $141,496,560 in 2004 from computer security incidents.

There was a time when only large companies worried about network security breaches. However, in this new world where everyone from the home user to the large corporation relies on technology for functions that range from email to the storage of sensitive data, it seems no one is immune to the havoc that viruses, worms, spyware and hackers can wreak.

So, what are you to do? How do you keep your computer secure?

There is no fool-proof method to ensure total security without unplugging your connection to the Internet.

Given the frequency with which new viruses are introduced, it seems impossible to keep up 100% with the constantly changing threats. Symantec’s semi-annual Internet Security Threat Report for the first half of 2004, found over 10,000 malicious programs that could infect a Windows PC. There will always be new threats. The important thing is to have a plan in place for dealing with them. .

Back to the basics: What every Computer should have for a more secure experience.