Is Your Windows PC Easy To Hack? Let’s Find Out

There’s no denying the fact that Windows is an incredible operating system. However, there are miscreants out there who are ready to pounce on your PC’s vulnerabilities. However, you can’t always put everything down on your PC. In this post, we are going to discuss some habits which may let a hacker hack your Windows PC.

A Hacker May Hack Your Windows Computer

– If It’s Been Ages Since you Last Updated Your PC

If you have been ignoring your PC’s humble prompts to update Windows, then you are making it super simple for a hacker to hack your Windows computer.  The reason  – You are also ignoring the various bugs that the updates patch, the vulnerabilities that an update rectifies, and not to mention the sophisticated malware by the way of which a hacker can hack into your computer. Apart from that, you are even ignoring some great features that Microsoft rolls out via frequent updates.

To update your computer –

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings

2. From the left-hand pane, click on Windows Update

3. On the right-hand, click on Check for updates if you have switched off Automatic updates and fetch any pending updates

– In Case Your Apps Are Outdated

App developers are constantly on their feet to track and remove any security vulnerabilities through which a hacker could steal your private data. They do this by strengthening their codes and designs.

But, if you haven’t updated the various apps on your computer once in a while, you are inviting hackers to hack your computer and further serving them your precious data on a platter. Here are some ways to update all your apps on Windows PC.

3. If You Disabled UAC or User Account Control

If you have, please enable it right away. Consider UAC as a second line of defense. When a program tries to make changes that may further affect the whole system, it has to go through UAC. If the UAC finds it inappropriate to give the program system-wide access, it will stop it right there. To enable it –

1. In the Windows search bar, type UAC

2. Click on Open from the right-hand side of screen

3. If you have disabled it, drag the slider from Never Notify to your desired level

What’s the first line of defense? Read on –

4. When You Don’t Have An Antivirus Protection

You never know, malware could barge into your PC. And, trust us an Antivirus mostly grabs and throws the malware out of your computer, immaterial of how it made its way into your computer. For example, if a hacker tries to hack into your computer via a malicious link you clicked on, your Antivirus will vigilantly remove the threat, or the least it would do is warn you.

Worried that you may forget to scan your computer? Needn’t jitter, you can always automate the task, and here’s how –

1. In the Windows search bar, type Task Scheduler

2. Click on Run as administrator from the right-hand side

3. From the left-hand side follow this path –

Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > Windows Defender

4. From the middle pane, double-click on Windows Defender Scheduled Scan which will further open Windows Defender Scheduled Scan Properties (Local Computer)

5. In the section just below, click on Triggers, click on New, and then under Settings select the day and date you want the scan to occur

Also, enable Microsoft Defender Firewall if not already enabled. For that –

1. In the Windows search bar, enter Windows Security

2. From the left-hand pane, click on Firewall & network protection

3. From the right-hand side, click on Domain network and toggle on the Microsoft Defender Firewall switch. Do the same for Private and Public networks as well

5. When You Are Not Careful With Your Passwords

Not being careful with your passwords can be hazardous and possible the biggest blunder you could make. To exemplify this, let’s have some common notions people have. This is not an all-inclusive list but this should give you an idea of what we are trying to establish here –

• I do not share passwords with anyone so even if I choose a slightly easy-to-remember password, what’s wrong with that?

A weak or easy to guess password is something that hackers thrive on. If a hacker can crack a password to one of your accounts, we needn’t even mention what bad can happen. A password manager can help you create secure passwords every single time and here’s how.

• I have separate passwords for all my online accounts. So why should I use a tool like VPN when accessing online accounts at a cafe’ or an airport and what has that got to do with my passwords?

A tool like VPN conceals your online identity while you are surfing the web especially on a public network where hackers look for opportunities to carry out man-in-the-middle attacks.

• I have only shared my password with a dear friend, family member, or colleague (big no!)

We highly urge you to not disclose your password to anyone. If the need arises and you can’t avoid sharing a password, do it via a password manager like LastPass which, in simplest words, only lets you share the password with the intended person.

Wrapping Up

Let’s strive hard and join hands in thwarting any hacker’s intention of hacking PCs. If you found the blog of value, do give it a thumbs up and if you have more such points that you want us to add to cement Windows security, the comments section is all yours.