The data you create while working on your computer is the most valuable thing stored in your PC. Other computer applications and operating systems can be installed again and again, but if you lose your data, you cannot get it back. You also want to protect data for other reasons, apart from the fear of losing it, such as preventing others from accessing or misusing it. This is more so in the case of securing private and confidential information such as bank account, credit card and social security numbers, which could give away your identity and lead to identity theft.
Follow these simple steps if you want to know how to protect data on your computer:
- Back-up
- The first and most important thing to do if you want to protect data is to keep a back-up of all your files and folders. How frequently you create and update your back up folder depends on how much data you create.
- You can use Windows backup utility for creating basic backups. You can use the Wizard to create and restore your data automatically; you can also do this process yourself manually.
- There are several third-party backup programs too that will offer you more sophisticated options for backups.
- Password protection
- Adobe acrobat and some of the Microsoft Office applications allow you to protect data by setting passwords to your documents or folders.
- They can be accessed only if you enter the correct password while opening them.
- You can set password by going to the Security options under Tools menu.
- There are more powerful password setting tools such as AOPR (Advanced Office Password Recovery) developed by Elcomsoft, which are hard to hack and will prevent casual intruders from getting into your computer.
- Share-level and file-level security
- If you are using a shared computer and your data is stored in network shares, you can control which users can or cannot access your folder by setting share permissions across the network.
- In Windows XP and 2000 operating systems, you can do this by clicking on the Permissions button under the Sharing tab in Properties menu.
- You can also use file-level permissions (NTFS permissions) to protect data from others.
- Disk encryption
- You can encrypt your entire disk using third-party software and thus protect data by locking down the disk’s entire contents and making it transparent to others.
- Data is encrypted as soon as it is written and then decrypted before it is loaded in the memory.
- Some programs also create a “hidden” disk within the disk, so that other users are only able to see the outer disk and your data remains hidden.
- You can use these products for encrypting memory cards, USB drives and also create more than one password for your documents.
- EFS encryption
- The Encrypting File System tool is a built-in certificate based encryption method, compatible with Windows XP Pro and 2000, which can be used to secure data on NTFS formatted drives.
- The process is very simple as it only involves checking a box in the Properties menu.
- However, keep in mind that EFS encrypts data in only on the disk. If you send the EFS file to another network, other users can read the data easily.
- Secure wireless transfers
- Data that is sent from one network to another through a wireless transfer is more prone to being hacked and thus compromised.
- It doesn’t need a hacker to capture data; anyone who has access to a wireless-enabled PC and high gain antenna can get into your data files easily, especially so if the wireless access point has not been configured securely.
- Therefore, always remember that you must send and/or store data only on WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) which is a stronger wireless network.
- Public Key Infrastructure
- A PKI or Public Key Infrastructure is a system used for managing public and/or private keys and digital certificates.
- Keys and certificates are issued by a third part and thus are stronger.
- If you want to protect data that you want to share with others, you just have to encrypt it with the intended recipient’ public key. Only the holder of the key will be able to decrypt the folder and view the contents.
- IP Security
- Your data is at risk while it is traveling across networks as it can be hacked using sniffer software.
- To protect data in this case, you could use IPsec, Internet Protocol Security, and ensure that both the receiving as well as sending systems support it.
- You can use this on Windows by creating an IPSec policy and choosing the IP filters and authentication methods that it uses.
- Steganography
- A steganography program can also be used if you want to protect data by hiding it in some other data.
- For example, you can hide text messages in music files or JPEG files or maybe sometimes in other text files.
- Steganography has to be used with other encryption software that will first encrypt all your data and then hide it in some other files.
- StegoMagic is a popular software used for Steganography which hides your data in .WAV, .TXT, or .BMP files. You can download it freely from the internet.
- Rights Management
- You can also use the Windows Rights Management Service if you are unsure about the safety of sending your data across networks.
- This will enable you to control what the recipient of the data does with it and thus help you in protecting data.
- For example, you can set the rights in such a manner that the recipient is only able to read the document but not alter it in any way.
- You can also disable the mails you send from being forwarded to others and can also set messages and documents to expire after a certain period of time.
- Widows RMS can be used on Windows Server 2003.
Tips on how to protect data
- Keep saving all your work on a regular basis and activate the auto-save application on your computer.
- Always remember that you must never open email attachments from unknown senders. There are chances that they may contain virus, which could harm your computer.
- Keep all your data recorded offsite in a CD or a memory card etc.
- Protect your passwords and keep changing them frequently.
- Install good quality anti-virus and anti-spam software to ward-off any virus attacks on your computer.
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