There are so many nasties out there on the internet, how are you ever to manage? Are they all out to get you? The answer is yes and no. It begins with your behavior.
There are different classes of computer user. There is the average person who uses the internet to check their email, surf the internet from their portal of choice (MSN, Yahoo, etc.), and browse the occasional Youtube video. There is the power user who engages in the aforementioned activities as well as manages a blog (or several), watches and listens to netcasts regularly, uses online applications such as Photoshop Express, and follows the latest trends in the industry. This class of user also tends to desktop software more readily than the average user. There is the (for lack of a better term) Teen crowd, who uses their computer to keep track of their friends across different social netork platforms such as Facebook and Myspace, uses Limewire to acquire their media, and uses IM to communicate.
In this article, I will focus on these three types of users. Changing your behavior will do more to keep your PC running in top form moreso than any piece of software on the market. It should also significantly reduce your overall stress levels. So lets dig in shall we?
I will try to avoid any theory (and save that prose for my tech articles) and get right to the point.
Update your browser: If you are using Internet Explorer 6 or earlier, your top priority in life is to download either Internet Explorer 8, Opera 10, or Firefox 3.5. If you are using Safari, just stop. Be aware that no browser is safe however.
Turn on Automatic Updates: Start-->Control Panel-->Windows Update-->Change Settings (left column)-->select Install updates automatically-->Ok. This is important to do as it keeps you up to date on the most critical updates and frees you from having to remember to update your machine. You have enough to remember right?
Install Antivirus: Don't get lured into the yearly subscription model. Your computer likely came with Norton Antivirus. While the 2008 version is a capable program, do you really want to pay $40-$60 a year? You could send it my way! ...I kid, I kid. Give it to the Humane Society instead. You are going to want a free antivirus. There are a few that I recommend. Microsoft recently released its Microsoft Security Essentials program and it is terrific. It scores very well in tests and it doesn't nag you to purchase a free version like some of the other free alternatives. As an alternative to that there is AVG. I used to use AVG on two of my machines and it is a great program. The other free program I would look at is from Avira. Once you have downloaded one of these programs, set them up to automatically scan your system at a time that you are sure to have your computer on.
Install AntiSpyware: Sadly, the threat of viruses is only part of the equation to internet security. Spyware is even more widespread than viral malware and you should protect yourself. I hate to tell you, but the best tools in this category are commercial programs. There are some capable alternatives however. You should use Windows Defender (its built into Vista, you can download it for XP). Unlike Antivirus software, it is a good idea to use two Antispyware programs. The other one that I would recommend is Lavasoft. Before you scan, make sure to update your definitions.
Get behind a Firewall: Is your computer hooked up to a router? If it is, then don't worry about this step. If not, then at the very least you should make sure that Windows Firewall is turned on. Start-->Control Panel-->Windows Firewall-->Turn Windows Firewall on or off (left hand column). Windows Firewall will monitor outgoing traffic (helpful in stopping bots), but if you want a full-featured firewall there is a terrific free one from Comodo.
Now that we have touched on the software that you should have on your computer, we can talk about the most important part of the secure computing equation: YOU!
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