Miniguide - Basic PC Security

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A lot of people here I see don't even have the very basic applications installed on their PC to protect them from common online threats. You wouldn't go to bed leaving your front door open or leave your car unlocked on the street. Why should it be different for your computer? I've spent 5 minutes writing you all a very brief guide on basic PC security; I hope some find it useful. There are 3 types of application I recommend everyone have installed on their computer. These are: - Anti-virus - Anti-Spyware - Firewall Viruses and spyware will often do things to your PC that you don't want happening and most do this without your approval. They can perform tasks as harmless as changing your wallpaper and displaying a random popup, to deleting personal files and crippling essential files needed to run your computer. Without these 3 types of application above, you're PC is at much greater risk than is necessary. Get yourself a good, free anti-virus application. I recommend Avira Anti-virus. It was voted one of the best anti-virus in 2009 on a popular PC review website beating even subscription based anti-virus applications. This will keep your PC safe from viruses, Trojans and other similar harm. Install a firewall. This is a piece of software that acts as a gate keeper between your PC and the Internet. If something or someone wants to access your PC, the firewall will popup asking for your response. I recommend COMODO firewall, although the default Windows firewall will do for most users. Install an independent spyware scanner! I recommend Malwarebytes. Once installed, run it, update it then run a full system scan. Anything it finds, delete. For dangerous websites and popup protection, I recommend installing Spyware Blaster. When clicking "Enable All Protection", this application will program common Internet browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer with knowledge of harmful websites and known popups and add these to the blocked list. It doesn't need to remain open to be working but update it every week and click "Enable All Protection" to give your browser intelligence on harmful websites. * All applications mentioned here are free to use. Just use a search engine like Google to find each piece of software, it's very easy! Things to remember: Update these applications often - There are new threats every day so if you want to remain as safe as you can, update! Don't install two anti-virus or firewalls - If you have two anti-virus applications installed or two firewalls installed, these will conflict causing more harm than good. You only need one! Since the anti-spyware applications I mentioned above do not run all the time, you can safely install more than one without any problem. Your PC isn’t invincible - Having these applications installed is sufficient for a typical home computer and will greatly improve your PC security if you update them often. You aren’t invincible though but you’ve definitely taken the correct steps! If you have any questions, please ask away