With the ever-changing state of technological and scientific progress, mobile workstations with touch screens are becoming far easier to carry around. But crime marches hand-in-hand with technological progressand as systems get more complicated, hackers get smarter and more sophisticated. So the obvious question then is what to do to protect your mobile workstation from hackers and people who might pry in a more direct manner into your personal information.

The first and most obvious step to protecting your mobile workstation from intruders would be to password-encode all of your important files and make sure you have your computer set up to require an additional password to enter the desktop screen. Passwords should be 8-16 characters, containing letters, numbers and symbols to ensure that it is virtually impossible for anyone to guess what it might be.Once you choose what your password will be, always be sure to never share it with anyone who you do not trust. Make sure that your passcode is not something obvious about yourself that may be widely known, such as a birthdate, as it can be easily guessed. Write your password down, but never more than once and try to keep the password in a secure location itself.

Secondly, never send sensitive personal information about you or another through email or to websites unless you have checked them for “https” security, as these sites can be trusted. While you are on the internet try to use a proxy server as they will protect your location, and to a lesser extent, protect you from various pop-ups and thus viruses and malware. This is especially important at places like internet cafes and airports. In addition, it is wise to avoid standard email and instant messaging options and instead opt for specially encrypted online mail; ITS is a good option for this.

Open proxies allow you to connect to any computer and can become gateways for malware. It should be noted that though proxies are very valuable, open proxies could be virus transmitters. Finally, never install unknown programs onto your computer in any capacity, especially if they are unsolicited programs that appear in pop-ups as automatic downloads. These are almost invariably viruses which will create a backdoor, which is a hacking term for a hidden connection into another computer. This backdoor can be used by a hacker to acquire access to your computer and siphon out valuable information, such as social security numbers, addresses and phone numbers, as well as your bank account and internet passcodes. This can create more than just a small inconvenience; it can mean complete and utter financial ruin, especially if the bulk of your personal funds are held electronically. Also, when in public places, choose a place where you can avoid shoulder hovering individuals. Follow all of these guidelines and your information should remain relatively safe.