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Guide to PC Security

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How Safe Is Your PC, and What Can You Do About Security?

By now it should be clear to any sober mind: with every step we take to advance society and the technology we depend on, those with criminal intent also develop new ways to exploit these advances for their own malicious profit.

More people become more dependent on computers in more ways every day. People use their computers to communicate with friends, family and colleagues, to stay in touch with ever widening social networks, for entertainment, research, online banking as well as shopping. But the more we use our computers, the more we become vulnerable to malicious threats. These threats can be a virus that deletes all the content on your hard drive, it can be a program that renders your computer useful to a criminal enterprise, or it can enable people to steal your personal information including credit card numbers, usernames and password.

Are you destined to become a victim? Is there something you can do to protect yourself against ever-evolving, ever-changing threats including viruses, spam, phishing, adware, malware and other attempts at taking over your machine? This lens explores the possibilities and offers some advice.

New Table of Contents

  1. Basic Steps to Protecting Your System
  2. Spam Attack! Keeping Your Inbox Clean
  3. When Your Machine Falls Ill: Protection Against Viruses and Trojan Horses
  4. Free and (relatively) Low-cost Solutions to Security Threats
  5. It's Simple Enough...
  6. Spot for Reader Feedback

Basic Steps to Protecting Your System

  1. Make regular and even multiple backups of important information and files on your computer. Also important: keep the backups in a safe place, preferably away from your computer.
  2. Make sure you have all the latest patches and updates for your operating system (the same applies to your browser and software applications).
  3. A reliable firewall will protect your system against a wide variety of threats, including viruses, trojans, worms, adware and malware. Make sure you have a firewall installed on your machine, and that it is turned on.
  4. Consider changing your browser and email settings to disallow automatic downloads and to prompt you for action if there is a security concern.
  5. Check that you have the latest anti-virus software, and that it is set to download and install updates on a daily basis.
  6. If you are unsure about an attachment you receive via email, don't open it. This also counts for email from trusted sources. Many people have been misled by email sent from a hacked email account belonging to a friend or family member.
  7. As an extension to the previous point, don't forward email containing suspicious attachments because on the surface it contains an amusing message. You may unwittingly be distributing a trojan that will infect computers belonging to people close to you.
  8. Many viruses and trojans are spread in an .exe file. Make sure that you can see the extension of files on your computer, especially those you download, by selecting to display file extensions in your folders (in Windows, Tools - Folder Options - View, then disable "Hide extensions for known file types").
  9. When you are not using your computer, or if you are planning to step away from your computer for a few hours, make sure to disconnect from the network. Nobody can access your computer if you are not connected to the network or if your computer is turned off.
  10. It's always useful to have a boot disk you can use in case your computer becomes compromised by a virus or some other malicious program.

Spam Attack! Keeping Your Inbox Clean

The US used to be a top source for junk mail, but since the CAN-SPAM Act was signed in 2003, spam has been hatched in other countries in increasingly impressive numbers. This is more difficult to combat because the originators operate outside US jurisdiction.

Besides relying on US law and regulations, what can you do to fight spam and lessen the possibility of infection from malicious threats?
  1. Try not to distribute your email address too widely on the Internet, or make it easily accessible to spammers. You can use simple JavaScript to encode your email address on a webpage to make it nearly impossible for spambots to harvest, or use an image with your email address on.
  2. Check if your anti-virus program includes a spam blocking feature. In some cases you might have to upgrade to the professional version, and although it's almost never 100% spam-proof, it will save you a lot of time.
  3. Consider using a free email address (or even a few addresses) if you sign up for a lot of newsletters. This will provide you with an alternative to using your personal or business address.
  4. Be careful of attachments that arrive as part of emails. A good rule of thumb is to never open any attachments from people you don't know; even if you know the person, if you're unsure of what the attachment contain, don't open it. The reason is that hackers and others with criminal intent often use email attachments as a way to spread their malware.
  5. Almost all email providers provide a junk mail folder, as well as the option to add certain people to a safe list, or contact list. Make use of these features to separate emails from strangers from emails from people you know. This should send most emails with malicious content to your junk mail folder. Two things to remember, though: it is possible that your friend's email account can be hacked. Email with malicious content can then be sent using their email address. Consider this when you open an email from a friend and something doesn't look right. The other thing is to still check your junk mail folder from time to time, because legitimate emails sometimes end up on the wrong side of a spam filter.

When Your Machine Falls Ill: Protection Against Viruses and Trojan Horses

Ill MachineAccording to Wikipedia, "a computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user." A trojan horse (besides it being a part of Greek mythology) is a program bent on destruction but cloaked in the robes of a harmless application. Unlike their evil cousin, the virus, a trojan horse doesn't have the capability to replicate itself. It can, nevertheless, be equally destructive.

What happens when a trojan horse is activated?

There are cases of trojans simply changing your desktop settings or adding annoying but probably not desctructive icons to your start menu.

The more malicious variety should not be underestimated. They can:

  • corrupt files,

  • erase or overwrite data on your computer,

  • spy on how you use your computer and secretly report data like browsing habits to other people,

  • log keystrokes to steal information such as passwords and credit card numbers,

  • phish for bank account details (which can be used for criminal activities),

  • install a backdoor into your computer system so that the people behind the trojan can come and go as they please, and

  • spread other malware such as viruses.


What can you do to lessen the probability of encountering a trojan?

Here are some guidelines:

  • Be aware of what you download and from where. Trojans originate from malicious websites, instant messaging and attachments delivered via email. Think twice before opening a file, even it is from a trusted source. It doesn't do any harm to at least scan the file with an anti-virus scanner before opening it.

  • Make sure your operating system always has the latest patches and updates installed.

  • Do you have anti-virus software installed on your computer? Are the settings set to update automatically and as often as necessary? Can the program scan emails and downloaded files? If not, it should be a top priority to get this done as soon as possible.

  • Does your computer have a firewall installed and is it active? A firewall can prevent unauthorized access to your machine. In conjunction with some of the above-mentioned tips, a firewall can provide extra protection, and additional peace of mind.


Remember that nothing can ever provide 100% protection. You can, however, do your best to improve the protection and security of your computer and seriously lessen the chances of damage.

Free and (relatively) Low-cost Solutions to Security Threats

The SelfGeek Manifesto: Computer Secrets Unleashed
What The SelfGeek Manifesto teaches: How to know when it's time for a new computer, and exactly how to tell; an inexpensive upgrade and some tweaks that will turbo-charge the performance of your computer; the exact maintenance tips to do on a monthly basis to keep your computer running at top speed; the best free tools to banish spyware, viruses, trojans, bots, adware, worms and popups from your computer; how to do an inexpensive, automatic backup of your system to prevent against data loss, and a lot more.
McAfee VirusScan
McAfee produces the McAfee VirusScan line of antivirus software, as well as various specialized products for home and business users.
Kaspersky Lab
Antivirus software for home or business. The world's fastest anti-virus updates. Free virus scan and anti-virus trial downloads.
Avast
Avast! Antivirus v4.8 is a multi-award winning solution to virus protection, with anti-spyware and anti-rootkit software built in for added security. It's available free for non-commercial, home use.
Trend Micro
Powerful online security solutions for home computers and networks, mobile devices and personal information. Other solutions also available for businesses.
Important!

It's Simple Enough...

Regularly make back-ups of your files, photos, spreadsheets... and most definitely, any kind of work that might cost you dearly if you were to lose it!

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