How You Can Protect Yourself

Set up your operating system and applications in a way that minimizes the attack surface for malware and attackers. Always install only the services you actually need.

Configure network applications such as internet browsers and email clients to prevent hidden programs on web pages or in emails from being executed unintentionally and unnoticed.

Every day, personal identity data is stolen through criminal cyberattacks.

A large portion of the stolen information is subsequently published in online databases and serves as a basis for further illegal activities.

With the  HPI Identity Leak Checker, you can use your email address to check if your personal identity data has already been published on the internet. Through data comparison, it is verified whether your email address, along with other personal data (e.g., phone number, date of birth, or address), has been exposed online and could be subject to misuse.

Follow the guidelines for password security.

Modern operating systems offer a tiered security concept in user management.

If you are administering a computer, always assign other users only the rights they explicitly need to perform their tasks.

By default, log in as a user without administrator rights. Only use administrator privileges when necessary for specific tasks (e.g., software installation). Permanently logging in as an administrator reduces security, as it allows malware introduced from the internet to access your PC with administrator rights.

Numerous viruses are distributed through mass emails. Therefore, be cautious with email attachments. Only open them if you are certain of their origin and content. Note that not only attached programs pose a risk—seemingly harmless attachments such as documents or images can also contain viruses.

Worms have the ability to spread independently via address books of already infected computers. Be cautious even with emails from personally known senders, as this alone does not guarantee that the emails are virus-free! The sender’s address could be forged, or the sender may have unintentionally sent you an email with a virus attached.

Not all websites are trustworthy, and even reputable sites can be hacked and temporarily spread malicious code.

A browser configured with a low-security level increases the risk of Trojan horses and other malware infiltrating your system. While regular virus scans can detect many of these unwelcome guests, by then, it may already be too late. Therefore, it’s more important to use a securely configured browser to prevent malware from entering your computer in the first place.

Use an up-to-date antivirus program and enable its real-time monitoring features.

Since viruses can also enter your computer through interfaces not monitored by the antivirus software, or because new viruses may not yet be detected by the scanner, you should regularly run a complete virus scan of your hard drive.

As new malware is released daily, it is especially important to keep your antivirus software consistently updated. Whenever possible, use an automatic update service. However, periodically check if the automatic update of virus definitions via the internet is actually taking place. Incorrect configurations or a local desktop firewall can sometimes prevent updates from being executed.

Attackers from the internet often strike faster than users can download the necessary software patches.

This also applies to newly installed computers that can become infected upon first connecting to the internet before essential updates are installed. Here— and generally as an additional line of defense— a filter program known as a “personal firewall” helps to block unauthorized access from the internet.

The latest Windows operating systems already include such a firewall. Ensure that it is activated. While it effectively blocks internet access to your computer, malware already present on your PC can still establish connections to the internet.