Computer security is becoming a very familiar topic around the Internet as of late because of the fact that hackers are much more advanced in computer hacking then they were 10 years ago. Most people in this day and age also have some sort of virus defender. Well let’s just say that this post is directed more towards people without such software. Remember that these tips are not set in stone, and there are other ways in which someone can get access into your computer.

1-Know the link you’re opening- Links are a very common form of accessing a website. Unfortunately a portion of those websites aren’t that safe. So how do you prevent yourself from accessing these websites? Well first off it’s important that you don’t click links sent via email. This also applies to emails sent from family and friends including forward and/or replies. Please note that it’s not necessarily a members fault if you receive one of these types of emails, as hackers in the present time are very smart  and are able to defy even the best of security software. If you absolutely must open a link, it’s important that you know where the link is going to take you, and how the website reacts.

Limewire

Limewire

2- Don’t use Limewire- This one is a rather obvious tip. Hackers and “Internet Extremists” can use this program to send virus’s to your computer causing you to lose some if not all control of your PC. Hackers hide the virus in a file(usually a music or video file) and when you download your favorite song, you mightalso be downloading the latest in spyware. It’s also important to notice thatvirus’s aren’t obvious, and in most incidents give no warning whatsoever of it’s intrusion. So again don’t bother downloading Limwire unless your interested in filling your computer with unwanted “stuff”.

3-Stay away from random files- Unfortunately some people just don’t understand this. If a file’s on your favorite website doesn’t mean it’s legit. Some people post these files to social networks and services to hack into others computers using password encoding software. Once you click download on one of these files there’s no telling in whats going to happen next. In some cases you won’t even noticed that some sort of malicious software has been downloaded(some go for months without ever noticing). So again unless your 100 percent sure that the file being downloaded is legit, you should stay away from it. I know this tip is a bit of a stretch as computers in this modern age require files downloaded from websites to run smoothly and efficiently.

4-Install Updates- This is extremely important in a windows PC. What these updates do is protect your computer from the latest in virus’s, spyware, and other malicious software. Also if you’re getting a new computer make sure that it’s up to date with these updates. If not it’s important that you install updates immediately. Most people however are unaware of how to install these updates so I’ll give a quick tutorial.

  • Open your start menu.
  • Click Control Panel.
  • Click the security icon in the window that pops up.
  • Then click “Turn Automatic Updating On or Off”.
  • From there you will see a new screen. On the new screen you will see a list of security options. I recommend setting it to automatically update.

I also recommend that you look around the Windows control panel making sure that all of your security options are set in a safer more secure manner. Once again updating your PC is very important in regards to keeping your computer as safe and secure as possible.

AVG

AVG

5-Get virus protection- Before i get deeper into this tip i should point out that this won’t protect you from all virus’s and or spyware but will give you a first line of defense. This first line of defense can be very critical when being attacked and may help warn you in certain venerable situations. There are plenty of options available to the consumer today like Norton, Mcafee, and much more. However there is also free alternatives available like AVG. Unfortunately some of these virus defenders slow your computer down dramatically. An example of this would be AVG: When i downloaded the software about a week ago my computer stopped responding and became slower than a snail. So just to warn you that when you do decide to download protection it does come with a cost of either price, or speed.

There is no one hundred percent defense on virus’s, or spyware but there are definatly ways in which you can protect yourself. It really depends on how you use your computer, and what programs/websites you use during your day. I hope these tips helped you out, and i surely hope that you don’t get attacked with any type of Virus. I personally have had it happen to myself, and it is no walk in the park. I’ll have another blog post coming up in the next little while on what to do if you have a virus already installed onto your computer and things you can do to attempt to destroy it. If you have any tips and tricks on how to defend your computer please feel free to comment below. If you would like to contact me the best way is to follow my Twitter account.