Top 10 Computer safety tips YOU need
Computer Safety Tips
Everybody by now knows how dangerous the internet can be. Maybe you know someone that has had their computer infected or maybe your own computer has had infections. Safety is a must. Let's go over the following 10 tips to keep your computer,email, and Internet safe.
These tips will help you (if followed) prevent malware infections such as viruses, trojans, worms,spyware,adware etc..These types of infections are known to slow down and even crash your computer, delete or corrupt data, and use your computer to infect other computers.
We will break the 10 tips up into three sections
2: Email
3. Browsing
Computer Maintenance
A properly maintained computer can dramatically reduce the risk of infection. Below are a few tips to help you maintain your computer.
1. Install a good antivirus software
While the most common PC antivirus softwares are Symantec (Norton) and McAfee usually run about $49/year there a several FREE alternatives that work well
A. AVG is free for personal use (fee based for businesses) can be downloaded from http://free.avg.com/
B. ClamWin is an Open Source antivirus that is free for all to use as long as you follow the GNU General Public License. http://www.clamwin.com/content/view/18/46/
C. Avast and Avira are free for personal use as well
2. Install a good anti-spyware software
Some antivirus software will help with spyware as well but we recommend installing specialized antispyware software as well. Below are a couple of free ones that work well.
A. Windows Defender (free if you own a legal copy of Window XP or higher) http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx
B. SpyBot SD http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
C. Ad-Aware http://lavasoft.com/single/trialpay.php
3. Set up a user account for you to use that cannot install software
One of the biggest security holes anywhere is that almost everyone runs their computer with full rights (administrator, root, etc...) While this makes it more convenient to install software and patches it also makes it easier to install viruses and other malware. The safer way to operate your computer is to create an "everyday" user that doesn't have excessive rights. Log on as that user to do your day to day computer stuff. When you need to install an update or a new software log in as the administrator, do the update or software install then log back in as the standard user before you continue. This minimizes the time available for the bad stuff to access your computer.
4. Set OS updates to download and install automatically
While some techs do not like this, I have found that overall it is better to let the computer update itself every day. This occasionally causes other errors but at least you will be protected against newly found exploits that could be used to access your computer.
5. Set up antivirus and antispyware software to perform automatic scans periodically
Almost all antivirus and antispyware programs have both an auto update and an auto scan feature. I recommend letting it update several times a day, if possible, and setting them up to scan your entire computer at least once a week.
Email Safety
Email is probably the most common transport for infections today. Following a couple of simple rules can stop those malwares in their tracks.
1. Never open an attachment unless you know the person sending it AND they have informed you they are sending it.
2. Always save any attachment to the hard drive before opening. Once saved use your antivirus software to scan the attachment before opening.
3. Turn off any auto preview. Though they are convenient they can open some bad files without you even knowing it.
Safe Internet Browsing
Another common way for the nasties to get into your computer is through your internet browser. Hackers and even some malware can take over a legitimate internet site or redirect your traffic to their site while appearing to go to your chosen destination.
The most common theme is for them to pop up a window that look like a valid antivirus or antispyware software window saying that you have thousands of infections but not to worry just click here and I will save the day.
WRONG. When you click is when the true infection occurs. Below are a couple of suggestions to prevent this type of infection on your computer.
1. Do NOT respond to unexpected popups. Use the red "X" in the upper corner to close the popup. Some are even getting tricky enough to not allow the closing of the window using the "X". For these you need to open task manager (Windows) and close the program from there. If you are using Mac or Linux look up online how to "kill" a program and follow those instructions on the suspicious window.
2. Assume ANY site can be hacked or redirected. Use your common sense to decide whether to go there or not.
I hope you enjoyed this article. Stay safe and Happy upgrading!
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