Is Your Computer Healthy?
Online Safety Study, conducted by Microsoft back in 2009, shows that the biggest security threat online comes from worms. The study specifically refers to the worm Conficker that caused more than five million computers to become infected over the course of first 6 months of 2009. Interestingly enough, the study also shows that those countries with higher number of pirate copying of software are typically hit hardest by the security problems.
Every computer connected to the Internet becomes vulnerable to fraud and viruses that are disguised under funky names, but are together known as malicious software. The main types are:
- Viruses - they can be transmitted via websites, email attachments and straight from the Internet. They are in fact hidden programs that are hiding in files and spread from one infected computer to another.
- Trojans - Trojan horses are hiding within a file that itself looks harmless (for example, a photograph). Their aim is to trick the users to install the infected software (eg. Spyware) onto computer.
- Worms - they take advantage of an open Internet connection and attempt to sneak in and replicate at a fast speed on the PC. Once successful, worms often start sending spam emails from your computer (from your email) without your knowledge.
The purpose of the viruses is to steal your personal information (including bank details, IDs) for ID fraud; get hold of your email contacts in order to send spam mail to; and also to use your computer to create DDOS attacks. In the latter case, the website (in some cases whole country`s domain) can close down due to stimulated use by billions of simultaneous users.
Given the seriousness of the issue of PC protection, you absolutely MUST think carefully how you are protecting your computer and whether your computer is safe. There are numerous paid-for anti-virus programs such as McAfee, Symantec/Norton but also a few good and reliable free programs. Here, we are going to highlight a few free programs to help you keep your computer healthy.
- 1. Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft's security essentials package is free of charge to the owners of genuine Windows computers and has 3 versions: for XP, Vista, and Windows 7. This software provides good protection from viruses, trojans, rootkits, and spyware.
- 2. Avira Antivir
This anti-virus software (Antivir), even though slightly less user-friendly than Microsoft Security Essentials, had won many tech publications' free antivirus round-ups by providing the most thorough software protection. In order to get most out of it, the user must ideally possess some technical knowledge to get certain settings right.
- 3. AVG Free.
AVG 9 (AVG`s current version) has a reasonable protection but does not offer any real tech support. It does not use too many resources and will also regularly auto-update. AVG includes LinkScanner that is a real-time threat detection scanner that checks links when you are surfing the web (note: Firefox and IE only) and marks unsafe links with red flags so you know not to click them. If you are already using another anti-virus software, you are welcome to download LinkScanner 1MB sized plugin.
Do not forget that as new viruses are developed and spread in the market daily, you need to update your anti-virus software with the most recent updates, otherwise your PC would be in high risk of being infected!
Unfortunately, this is not where it stops. Anti-virus is not the only protection for your computer. You need a Firewall to protect your files and sensitive information on your PC. First and the easiest way would be to simply get a router to connect to Internet. If you did not know, routers include a built-in firewalls. Ensure you set the security level of the router to high and if uncertain how to check, search online for the model number/make.
Windows XP, Vista and 7, all have built-in firewalls too. One must ensure though that Windows is up to date and the protection of firewall is set to high.
If your computer has become infected with Ad/Spyware, you can download a free ad/spyware software removal program. For example, EMSI Software's A-squared free edition includes almost all its most useful functions. It is simple to use, has daily auto-updates and has received excellent user feedback.
- A few more tips:
- Check that your software is latest: http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/online/?task=load
- Test suspicious links: http://www.avg.com.au/resources/web-page-scanner/
FamiliarHosting wishes you and your PC a long and healthy life!
