Online security
Many people ask me about computer security – How do viruses work? Why people make viruses? How can I protect against online threats?
The answer for the last question is the most important for average users. I’ll try to write some “best practices” for a safer computer experience and to give you few links to free (for home use) security software.
- Never, ever, use a computer without an anti-virus software installed and kept up-to-date. At home I use AVG Free Edition. It only needs a small amount of system memory, so it doesn’t slow the system down noticeably.
- Use anti-spyware software. You can try Spybot-S&D or Ad-aware.
- Use a firewall. If your operating system doesn’t include one, get a separate software firewall. My personal favorite is Comodo.
- Keep you operating system up to date. Install security patches provided by your operating system’s manufacturer.
- Do not send sensitive information as a result from an unsolicited mail from your bank, service provider or government. So you will not become a phishing victim.
This are only basic things to do (or not to do) regarding online security. Feel free to post your best practices and what you consider to be important about online security.
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June 30th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
[...] I said in my very first post, never use a Windows based computer without an antivirus software installed and kept [...]
October 18th, 2009 at 6:47 am
Yeah, phishing scenario has hit quit many people few days ago and Hotmail and Gmail’s accounts were posted online.
Not sure how hackers fool the users, anyways. I do use antivirus + firewall but no anti-spyware.
I also love Comodo for taking less resources and keeping it free.
December 15th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Thanks! I have been looking for this info all day now. My computer is not running like used to and I need to figure out how to fix it soon. I have bookmarked your post so others can find it to on delicious.
June 16th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
As a computer technician, getting rid of threats is pretty normal thing for me. You really have to make sure not to visit sites that have threats in the first place