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A lot of people think that if they simply have anti-virus software installed on their PC that they are safe from any threats out there....and believe me there are a ton of them.
Fact is, anti-virus software is only a piece of the puzzle.
To ensure that your PC is safe from all threats you need a four-pronged approach which includes updating your Operating System Software (Windows) on a regular basis, anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and a firewall. The most important part of all of this is that if you do not keep these 4 pieces of software up to date, you might as well not have them installed at all. Everyday there are new threats that appear, and companies that provide protection such as this have to constantly update their software in order to keep you safe. If you are not diligent about updating your software to their latest rev, you are not keeping your PC safe. Fortunately, most come with an auto-update feature that will constantly query the company to see if there is a new release and download it and install it in the background while you are working. While this may take some of your connectivity bandwidth at times, its best to always leave the auto-update features turned on. Keeping Windows Up to Date: I am constantly amazed by how few people know that they have to maintain software after they purchase and install it. ALL software that you buy you must maintain. When software is released, the engineers very often find bugs and holes in security which they issue a patch for. These patches are available at each and every software vendor's website. They usually come in the form of an executable file that you download to your PC then execute. The patch takes care of the rest. Your Operating system is a number one priority. Microsoft has a very easy to use online feature where they scan your current installation and verify if you have all current patch releases. If in fact you do not, they will give you a list of critical patches along with a host of optional software updates and hardware driver updates that they detect are no up to current revision. Visit the Windows Update site often. With a live internet connection, XP users simply click START>All Programs>Windows Update (at the top). This will automatically launch a new browser window. First they will scan if you have the most recent version of their update software installed. If you do not they will ask you to install it. This may require a reboot after installation. If it does, reboot and visit the update site again. and scan your computer. Be sure to select ALL critical updates. The rest is up to you. AVOIDING THE XP SP2 (SERVICEPACK 2) UPDATE: I'll be honest....I AM! When this release first came out there were plenty of woes about it. Completely crashing peoples PCs, blue screens, you name it. Truly you are supposed to back up everything before you install this update, just in case. I don't have the time and I cant afford to loose the data right now, so I'm waiting until I start hearing some good news about it before I jump in. If you want to update your Windows Software and AVOID SP2, be sure to choose the CUSTOM INSTALLATION! Anti-Virus Software: There are a ton of companies that make anti-virus software. Norton (Symantec) and McAfee being probably the 2 Big Dogs in the arena. I personally use Norton, but recently there have been complaints about the speed in which they release protection from new threats in the wild. McAfee has been beating them to the punch by weeks. There are also a number of FREE online scans that you can perform. My favorite being Trend Micro's Housecall. Anti-Spyware: This is the most dangerous and unknown threat to most PC owners. To give you an idea of the horrors, pcwebopedia.com defines spyware as "Any software that covertly gathers user information through the user's Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes.....Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers. Spyware is similar to a Trojan horse in that users unwittingly install the product when they install something else. A common way to become a victim of spyware is to download certain peer-to-peer file swapping products that are available today. Aside from the questions of ethics and privacy, spyware steals from the user by using the computer's memory resources and also by eating bandwidth as it sends information back to the spyware's home base via the user's Internet connection. Because spyware is using memory and system resources, the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes or general system instability. Because spyware exists as independent executable programs, they have the ability to monitor keystrokes, scan files on the hard drive, snoop other applications, such as chat programs or word processors, install other spyware programs, read cookies, change the default home page on the Web browser, consistently relaying this information back to the spyware author who will either use it for advertising/marketing purposes or sell the information to another party." All those little pop-up ads that appear out of nowhere are driven by spywear, and the more your PC is infected the slower its performance becomes. Some customers I visit have upwards of 500 pieces of unknown spyware on their PC. When I visited my sister recently she had 1400 pieces. Her PC performance had slowed to a crawl and she had no idea why. It is IMPERATIVE that you have some sort of search and destroy mechanism installed on your PC to prevent infections from this type of threat. The best I've found so far is SpyBot. ITS FREE, but be kind and make a small donation to the programmer. This does not have an auto-update feature, you have to manually enter the program and check for updates. Do this and run a scan at least once a month. Also note the IMMUNIZATION feature. This will add information to your browser that will refuse the download an installation of any known threat so you can surf safely without worrying about infection. Currently it blocks almost 2300 different threats. STILL, the meanies out there are always creating new spyware, so make sure you update your definitions and immunize again when appropriate. Firewalls: The last and probably most important is Firewalls. A Firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from your PC. It is at the entry point for the PC that it protects, and controls all incoming and outgoing traffic. Firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software, or a combination of both. If you have a broadband connection and your PC is directly linked to the modem, you are at risk. Even if you use AOL you re at risk. When If irst installed my firewall I was an AOL customer and I was horrified by the amount of attempts to access my PC. It was upwards of 500 times an hour. The only way to protect you with a direct internet connection through a modem is via software. XP SP2?? NO! Dont be fooled. Is widely under reported that this is a BETA (meaning is test software and not in final release form)!!! Turn it off and use a company that has been doing this for a LONG time. Try ZoneAlarm. If you are connected to the internet through a router, most routers come with a built in firewall to prevent unauthorized access. Check your documentation, or visit the manufacturers website. Personally I use a router AND Zone Alarm. This article is a part of our online KnowledgeBase Series Written by: Andrea L Piro www.bigtimewebdesign.com |