Research has shown that users are unlikely (as in €you are not likely to be struck by lightning€) to be the victim of an Internet security attack. They are, however, vulnerable to computer virus infections, hardware failures, and to inquisitive students and co-workers. Statistics show that most security breaches are the result of insider misconduct, as opposed to hacking by outsiders. Often this insider misconduct is the result of ignorance rather than malfeasance.
Users should take reasonable precautions to protect the files on their computers, and to protect data as it transits the Internet. For each user of the Rhodes network, the reasonable level of precautions may be different, and it depends on that user's needs.
All users should take the following basic security precautions:
Back up important files.
Use a virus scanner on your PC.
Regularly check for, download, and INSTALL security patches from the vendors of the software on your PC.
Use a secure password for network access controls.
Ensure permissions are set properly on files that can be accessed by others.
If your files are being stored on a server that you do not control, for example a web or ftp server, and you expect there to be access restrictions (such as your files not being visible outside Rhodes or visible only to you) it would be wise to periodically check that these access restrictions are functioning as intended.
More advanced precautions would include:
Encrypt, or store off-line, files that are particularly sensitive.
Do not send sensitive user identifications, such as address, phone number, personal data, or credit card number across the Internet unless it is encrypted at the source (prior to being sent across the Internet).
Use an encryption program, such as Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), if you want e-mail to be private.
An additional recommendation for individuals using the Internet for e-commerce or online purchasing or banking transactions is to:
Conduct some form of risk analysis to determine the cost effective level of security. At the very least this would be to establish what recourse you have, and what procedures you would follow, were you to discover that your credit card number has been compromised and is being abused.

Backing up files
The first basic precaution a user should take is to back up important files. This will not prevent a security incident or hardware failure, but it may reduce the impact if a user is involved in such an incident. On a different level, remember that data stored on your computer would probably be lost if the machine was stolen or destroyed by fire.
Which files should be backed up can easily be determined if a user imagines losing the original files. For example, if a user's files are stored on the local hard drive, what would the user lose that is important if the hard drive files were lost or there was a hardware failure?
Software can usually be reloaded, but a user's personal files may be lost permanently if they are not stored elsewhere.
How many backups a user should make and where they should be stored depends on how important the files are. For most users, one backup to floppy disks or to a hard drive on a separate computer is probably sufficient.
It should be noted that user files stored on central servers managed by the IT Division are backed up to tape on a regular and ongoing basis. Some of these servers make use of RAID technology and/or disk mirroring in order to eliminate problems associated with catastrophic hardware failure.
However, it would be foolish and risky to assume that such automated backups work properly at all times, or have taken place just before an important file is lost and just after it has been extensively modified. System backups concentrate on the bigger picture of how to recover an entire disk partition rather than on up to the minute versions of user files.

Anti-virus scanning
Users should exercise reasonable precautions in order to minimize the introduction and spread of computer viruses onto the Rhodes networks. Virus scanning software should be used to check any software downloaded from the Internet or obtained from any questionable source.
Using virus protection software means three things: having it installed on your computer; checking frequently for virus signature updates; and actually scanning the files on your PC.
Attachments received by email should be treated with caution. This means do not open email attachments from strangers no matter how interesting they may be. Be equally suspicious about any unexpected email attachment from somebody you do know-it might have been sent without that persons knowledge from an infected machine.
File and email encryption
Other types of information traveling across the Internet are sensitive user identifications, and files whose content is sensitive to the user.
Users should take one of two precautions, either encrypt the information or don't send it across the Internet.
Examples of sensitive user identifications are address, phone number, personal data, and perhaps most sensitive of all, credit card numbers.
In general, none of these data should be sent across the Internet unless they are encrypted at the source (prior to being sent across the Internet).
An example of a file that would possibly be sensitive to the user is e-mail containing personal information or sensitive work related information such as a newly set examination paper. If a user wants to ensure this information is kept confidential, then it must either be encrypted, or sent some other way (such as through old fashioned SAPO registered mail in a sealed envelope, or by courier). Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is an e-mail encryption program available on the Internet that can provide encrypted e-mail.
With these, you can secure your data. You can get more details about data recovery on our official website: http://www.uflysoft.com