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In spite of its unbelievable wide
facilities, The Internet has also its dark side. This means the ever increasing
threat of viruses, spyware, Trojans and many such malware, which always try to
harm you, your machine and your identity. But it has been seen that most of
these Internet threats can be avoided if you take a few precautionary measures.
You have to be careful, vigilant and exercise restraint while you are online. It
is a jungle out there, you have to be careful on this safari.
The below-given guidelines
introduce important security information that you need to know to protect your
computer, your files and your money.
Important Note: Apply the
below-given guidelines starting from the bottom. That is, do not install a
firewall on an infected system; do not install an anti-virus program on a
spyware infected system; do not install an anti-spyware program on an unclean
system. Clean your system, install the anti-spyware program, install the
anti-virus program and finally the firewall. Good Luck :)
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You can think of a firewall as a
sort of shell around your computer that identifies and filters out threats,
while letting secure information pass through it and reach your computer.
Because a firewall serves this all-important filtering role between your
computer and the internet, using a firewall is the very first step on the path
to computer security.
It does not matter what system you
have (Windows 95 or Windows Vista), you should always use a firewall. The newer
versions of Windows (Windows XP & Windows Vista), do have some very nice safety
features including Windows Defender, which is built in to Vista and available
for download for XP which has a built in firewall. These security features
should only be turned off if you are intending to use some other third-party
programs.
When you first install your
firewall you will have to take the time to set it up correctly. Many times you
will be asked on your first visit to certain web pages, and first usage of some
software installed on your PC, if you want to “allow” or “deny” access to them.
This process can be a little bothersome at first, but once you have the pages
set up you will not have to do it again. A firewall will prevent many intruders
from gaining access to your system and causing you any troubles.
Note 1: Never use two
firewalls simultaneously. Having two firewalls installed not only slows down
your Internet connection since both software systems have to check each inbound
and outbound packet, but can also cause conflicts with one another in other
ways.
Note 2: It is important
that you test the firewall to see how well it works and to make sure that you
installed and configured it correctly. I recommend that you use GRC|ShielsUp! (Click
Here), Audit My PC (Click
Here) or Comodo Parent Injection Leak (CPIL) Test Suite (Click
Here).
My Recommendation:
Comodo Internet Security (Click
Here)
The Comodo Internet Security
integrates Comodo Antivirus, Comodo Firewall and Comodo Defense+ in a seamless
manner. Comodo Firewall or Comodo Antivirus can be installed as standalone
products by using the same setup. I recommend that you ONLY install the Comodo
Firewall.
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A good firewall will filter out
many of the threats facing your computer, however, some malware is always going
to find its way onto your PC. For example, viruses, worms, Trojan horses and
other forms of malware can find their way onto your computer by various means a
firewall cannot detect, including downloading malicious email attachments and
files from the internet. So to protect your PC you'll also need strong regularly
updated anti-virus software. While a firewall protects your computer from the
outside, an anti-virus program will work from the inside of your computer,
hunting down hidden viruses and deleting them, while also scanning attachments
and downloads before they can infect your computer.
Anti-virus software depends on
using signature files to recognize viruses, and since new ones are appearing on
a daily basis it is important that these signature files are kept up to date.
Any effective anti-virus software will have a facility to update these
signatures, and in most cases you can set it so that this occurs automatically.
To ensure that you are getting effective protection from all viruses you need to
be sure that your anti-virus software is updated regularly (at lease once a
week, although nowadays it is common for the protection to be updated daily).
Note 1: Never use two
anti-virus programs simultaneously. Having two anti-virus programs installed not
only slows down your Internet connection since both software systems have to
check each process, but can also cause conflicts with one another in other ways.
Note 2: If you are going to
use the above-recommended firewall (Comodo Internet Security), and since it
already has a built-in anti-virus, either you don't use a second anti-virus or
you disable it in order to use the below recommended tool.
My Recommendation:
avast! Free Antivirus (Click
Here)
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Even though firewalls and
anti-virus programs are more well-known when it comes to basic security steps
than installing anti-spyware software, it may actually be your anti-spyware
program that provides your computer with the most significant increase in
security.
Today, the most common form of malware that internet users encounter is spyware.
In fact, recent studies estimated that 9 out of 10 computers connected to the
Internet are currently infected with some form of spyware. Spyware can take a
variety of forms, however, some of the most common effects are that it causes
unsolicited pop-ups to appear, steals personal information, monitors internet
activity for marketing purposes, or routes your website requests to other spammy
advertising sites.
Like anti-virus programs,
anti-spyware software depends on using signature files to recognize spyware, and
since new ones are appearing on a daily basis it is important that these
signature files are kept up to date. To ensure that you are getting effective
protection from all spyware you need to be sure that your anti-spyware software
is updated regularly (at lease once a week, although nowadays it is common for
the protection to be updated daily).
My Recommendation:
For Real-Time Monitoring: avast!
Free Antivirus has a perfect built-in anti-spyware and anti-rootkit. The best mate
I recommend is:
IObit Security 360 (Click
Here)
For On-Demand Scanning:
a-squared Free (Click
Here)
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Hackers are constantly developing
new types of malware, some of which try to exploit weaknesses in an operating
system to get into your computer. Therefore, it is important to always install
the latest Windows OS Service Pack (SP) updates in order to keep your computer
ecure.
Download patches only directly from the official Windows site and never from
anywhere else, no matter how official the site looks. Spammers often cleverly
create fake infected patches and post them on their own or other people's
websites in order to trick people into infecting their own computers by
downloading them. Thus, by downloading your patches exclusively from the
official Windows site, you can minimize the chances of ever encountering a fake
patch in the first place.
You should be aware that Microsoft
consider Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME to be old systems and no longer
support them. You will not be able to download updates for these systems and so
they may be more at risk to vulnerabilities.
My Recommendation:
Microsoft provides an excellent
automatic update tool that will patch your software as soon as a flaw is
identified and a solution is ready. Go to "Automatic Updates" in the "Control
Panel" and be sure that it is set to receive updated automatically. You can also
manually check updates from Microsoft Update Home (Click
Here)
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Over time the number of programs
on your computer builds up. While this is unlikely to cause any major problems
they do use up space on your Hard Disk Drive. Also, depending on the programs
there is a possibility that they will slow down your computer and impact on it's
performance.
When programs are installed on
your computer, the process of installing does more than just copying files onto
your hard disk drive. As well as copying the relevant files, the operating
system (OS) is updated to incorporate the new software (the main changes are to
a database called the system registry, which is the core of the Windows
operating system and holds all the information that Windows needs to operate).
Understanding that installing a program is more than just copying files is very
important in understanding that removing a program needs to be more than just
deleting files.
If you try to remove a Windows program by deleting the folder that contains it's
files, you are likely to cause problems that could result in annoying error
messages when using your computer. In the worst case it could result in problems
such as your computer being unable to boot or other programs not running
properly. This is all because Windows will still think the program is installed
on your computer.
My Recommendation: Although
you may use the built-in uninstall utility that is available in almost all
programs installed on your PC, or the Windows Add/Remove Programs utility, there
exist a much more effective tool that does the job comprehensively. I recommend:
Revo Uninstaller (Click
Here)
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Problems with the Windows Registry
are a common cause of Windows crashes and error messages. Registry problems can
occur for many reasons, including references left behind after uninstallation;
incorrect removal of software; missing or corrupt hardware drivers; or orphaned
start-up programs. This will significantly increase the Registry size and slow
down your computer, because Windows will need more time to load, search, and
read data from the Registry.
The Registry is at the heart of
every Windows computer. The older your PC is, the more junked-up its Registry
becomes. Badly written programs (and there are plenty of those around) don't
bother to clean the Registry when you uninstall them, and some programs add
unnecessary junk to the Registry. The more junked-up your Registry, the more
likely it is to crash or to slow down your PC.
My Recommendation: There
are a host of registry cleaning programs. You need to be careful when choosing
because some may harm your operating system (OS). I recommend:
RegSeeker (Click
Here)
Vit Registry Fix (Click
Here)
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As you use your computer you will
collect a lot of files on your hard disk that aren't required. These might be
the files that are downloaded when you visit websites that enable you to view
their content or temporary files that are used by other programs.
Windows built-in disk-cleaning
tool is a good start at removing useless or outdated flotsam and jetsam from
your hard drives: Choose Start -- All Programs -- Accessories -- System Tools --
Disk Cleanup. But the program fails to empty some key temporary files, and
doesn't protect your privacy as well as it could.
Sometimes, users need a tool of more complete control for removing un-useful
files from the disk, or remove internet visiting tracks from the system, or
completely wipe the disk before PC donation or transferring.
My Recommendation:
There are a host of
disk cleaning programs. You need to be careful when choosing because some may
harm your operating system (OS). I recommend:
IObit Advanced SystemCare Free
(Click
Here)
PrivacyRoot Wipe
(Click
Here)
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The Registry is very much like
hard disk drives. Programs on your computer access the Registry thousands of
times per second. That means that the Registry, just like disk drives, gets
bloated and fragmented with time.
Most of you already know that a fragmented registry slows down computer speed
(same as hard disks). But few are aware that the registry is fully kept in the
memory when your PC is running. Memory on your PC is much smaller than disk
space and the more bloated the Registry becomes, the less space there is for
other programs to run. Knowing that, it should not come as a surprise to you
that Windows Vista or XP runs noticeably slower after a few months of work.
During the normal operation of a
Windows system, registry data is constantly being written to and removed from
the registry. Over time this data becomes scattered within the registry file and
when information is deleted from the registry holes are left which fragment the
data within the registry. Registry compacting optimizes your registry by
removing gaps and wasted space, thus improves the whole system performance.
My Recommendation:
There are a host of
registry defragmentation programs. You need to be careful when choosing because
some may harm your operating system (OS). I recommend:
Qicksys RegDefrag (Click
Here)
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Hard disks are by far the slowest
component in your computer. CPU and memory work much faster than hard disks
because they do not have moving parts. Therefore fragmented disks often become a
bottleneck of the system performance.
Besides causing slowdowns, fragmentation makes the disk drive heads move too
much when reading files which leads to freeze-ups and system crashes. It is
important to keep your disks defragmented and optimized as much as possible.
My Recommendation:
There are a host of
disk defragmentation programs. You need to be careful when choosing because some
may harm your operating system (OS). I recommend:
Qicksys DiskDefrag (Click
Here)
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While not all freeware is bad, the
old saying that nothing worthwhile in life is free is generally true when it
comes to free internet downloads. Spammers often hide dangerous malware in
computer programs that they then offer for free on the internet. When you choose
to download these free programs, not knowing they are infected, you circumvent
your firewall and anti-virus protection, and as a result often open yourself up
a serious malware infestation.
Downloading music, video and
software files is one of the biggest advantages of having a broadband
connection. It’s important to know the risks if you want to make the most of
downloading opportunities, as downloadable files are one of the main sources of
dangerous computer viruses.
My Recommendation:
Never download a file
-- including pictures and music -- unless you know the source is trustworthy.
Download software only from well-known companies or from other trustworthy
sources.
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This used to be the first rule of
email, and you should already know this. The vast majority of viruses arrive as
attachments to emails. Most of them are harmless until they are opened. Do not
trust any attachment to be what it claims to be or the message it comes with
claims it to be. All of the information in the header of the email, including
the identity of the sender, can be forged and the true identity of the attached
file may also be disguised, so until you have scanned them and are sure they are
safe it is best to treat all incoming attachments as suspicious.
Do not trust an email to be from who it says it's from. Most viruses spread by
automatically (and invisibly) forwarding themselves to addresses they find in
the address book or in messages stored in the inbox of an infected machine, so
you cannot assume that just because a message comes from a friend it is
innocent. Even 'innocent' files which you are expecting from known senders may
be infected either by a virus residing unidentified in their machine or even
(theoretically) en route.
My Recommendation: Never
open any attachments unless you are expecting them, know who they are from and
have scanned them for viruses first. Never open any attachments directly from
within your email client. Always save attachments to disk first and then scan
them before opening them. It is best not to assume that your virus scanner is
set up to scan incoming email correctly. Doing it manually, so you can see that
it is working, is the safest way.
