No antivirus program is perfect, not even the most expensive ones so if you are

relying on your software alone to protect you, you are putting yourself severely

at risk. There are common sense practices that everyone should follow to keep

their data and their system safe from attack. There are way too many to list

them all but these are the most important ones for you to follow:


  1. Use an Antivirus


You need one of these whether you like it or not. It doesn’t matter how careful

you think you are, attacks come from all sorts of places. You might get infected

through the Adobe flash plugin, or through the web browser itself and, even if

you keep the browser updated, there could be a brand-new vulnerability on a

web page, one that hasn’t yet been patched. While this isn’t likely to happen

every day, it will happen at some point and an antivirus program, always kept

up to date, is an important protection barrier.

  

  2. Use Malwarebytes


As well as your antivirus program, you should have Malwarebytes running as

well. That’s because the worst and most active threats come from

ransomware, adware, spyware and all sorts of other wares. This is where

Malwarebytes gets to work. Not only does it provide protection to your

computer from this malware and it also cleans your computer up from any

infections much better than any software you could buy. Malwarebytes works

on both Windows and Mac and also includes Anti-Ransomware and Anti-

Exploit features to keep your browser safe from a zero-day vulnerability. This

can stop “drive-by” attacks in their tracks. Best of all, it will run with your

antivirus, providing full protection

  

  3. Don’t Disable UAC


When it was first introduced by Microsoft with Windows Vista, User Account

Control was considered to be a nuisance. However, now it is not so intrusive

and it is incredibly helpful in stopping malware from making changes to your

system without your permission. Like the antivirus software, it is a very

important protection layer.


  4. Don’t Disable Your Firewall


Windows has its own built-in firewall so there is no need to get a third-party

one installed. What you do need to do is make sure the built-in firewall is

enabled and is configured correctly. It is used to stop unsolicited connections

from coming into your network. It also protects Windows and all the other

applications and software you use from malware that is configured to exploit

system services vulnerabilities that have not yet been patched.

In terms of configuration, when you are asked what type of network you are

using – Home, Work or Public – make sure you choose the right answer. An

example – if you pick Home network and then use your tablet or laptop on the

Wi-Fi in your local café, any shared files you may have could be shared on the

same network, making them available to everyone on the café Wi-Fi. In this

situation, choose Public as this prevents anyone else from gaining access to

resources that are shared.


  5. Uninstall Java


It is fair to say that most people will be running a version of Java that is out of

date and not secure. As such, just visiting a single web page could put you at

risk of infection. It is also fair to say that Java is not very secure, having been

faced with risk after risk. The thing is, Java applets are so few and far between

these days you don’t even really need it on your computer!

If you do have Java, head over to your control panel and uninstall it. If you

need it for something you will be prompted to reinstall it but, should you do

this, you must disable the Java plugin to protect yourself.


  6. Update Your Software


Pretty much every piece of software in everyday use is full of security holes

and these are always being found and patched by the software companies.

Sadly, it is the release notes for these patches that give hackers and attackers

the information they need to come up with attacks on machines that haven’t

been patched and, as such, you should install every security update as soon as

it becomes available.

The easiest way to do this is to have Windows set on Automatic Updates or, at

the very least, to alert you when there is a new update – then you should install

it immediately. Browsers like Chrome, Edge, Explorer, and Firefox will all

update automatically, as will Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash so these will

always be up to the minute.


  7. Be Careful About What You Download and Run


This might seem like a bit of an obvious one but a good deal of the malware on

Windows comes from the download and running of bad software, be it by

accident or design. You should only download and run programs from

trustworthy sources – if necessary, go to the official website to get it. Don’t

click on banners on third-party sites because these, more often than not, contain

malware and adware.

 

  8. Avoid Pirated and Cracked Software


This is a follow-on from the last point. When you use torrent sites, peer-to-

peer networks and other shady places to download cracked or pirated


software, you are taking a huge risk. When you execute the .exe file from these

places, you are trusting that the distributor is not going to do anything harmful.

Even worse, the cracks that are needed to make a piece of software work

properly are made by groups that specialize in software cracking and you have

no way of knowing whether there is anything malicious in there or not.

The download of unauthorized software carries a lot more risk than pirated

software or videos. Software is basically machine code that can be changed

while videos are media files that either play or they won’t. Some unscrupulous

individuals will try disguising malware as a video to encourage those with

little experience to run them, thus infecting their systems.


  9. Beware of Phishing and Social Engineering


We’ve all heard of phishing and most email providers and browsers will do

all they can to protect you from it. However, sometimes things slip through the

net. Phishing is the internet equivalent of a person who calls you and claims

they are from your bank, just needing to clarify your credit card details. Banks

never phone for this information and they will never email you to ask for the

information either.

Be very careful when you disclose any personal information on the internet.

Make sure you only do it through trustworthy sites – if you need to get to your

bank, go to their official website, not a link in an email – you don’t know

where that link is sending you


  10. Don’t Reuse Passwords


This is a massive problem. The amount of people that use the same password

for everything are at risk – if just one website suffered a password leak, the

hackers can get into everything that you do, gain access to all your accounts

and all your personal information. Especially never use the same password for

your email, that one should always be different.

Password leaks are happening more and more these days so, using a unique

password on every site you access cuts your risk to the minimum. You can use

a password manager to help you here.

  

  11. Use Secure Passwords


Password managers can also help you with secure passwords, long ones that

contain combinations of numbers, symbols, and letters. Password leaks show

that many people use simple passwords, like “12345” or “letmein”, even

“password” to get into their sites. These are the most insecure passwords ever!



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