The Ultimate Guide To Protecting Your Computer Efficiently
Having a virus in your computer is the nightmare of any user or programmer. To boot your computer one day only to have it not start, or to have to format it and lose all your precious data is the worst thing you can face as a computer user. Worse, having a virus free in your computer may endanger your personal information.That’s why it’s necessary not to wait until the worst happens and to take all the possible precautions to find the best protection for your computer against any viruses or malware.
There are a lot of ways to protect our computers but using just one or two of them won’t do the job quite efficiently. To ensure the maximum protection, it’s best to have as many guards as possible. After all, one can’t have too much protection.
- Install an Anti-Virus:
This is the number one program you must have installed on your computer. An anti-virus helps ensure that viruses remain away from your data, thus protecting your files from any spammers or harmful viruses that may destroy or corrupt them. By regularly scanning your computer for viruses and deleting them, you can be less worried about your computer as long as you have one installed. It’s best to find an anti-virus that can update itself automatically, as anti-viruses need to regularly updated to ensure the maximum protection against the latest viruses and bugs. Keep it always on especially when you’re using the internet or downloading any files and have a through scan at least twice a month.
- Have A Firewall:
You know how telemarketers do their job, don’t you? By dialing random telephone numbers, your phone sometimes falls between their hands. This is exactly how hackers may reach your computer, except that they don’t use telephone numbers, of course. But likewise, they send pings to thousands of computers, and unless your computer is protected, it will automatically respond to their pings. Here comes in the firewall’s job-it prevents your computer from responding to unknown ‘calls,’ the ones you don’t permit, so you can see how useful and essential it is to have one installed. Make sure that your firewall is always updated and set up properly in the first place.
- Make Sure You Have An Anti-Spyware Software Installed:
Spyware can be quite annoying when they infect your computer, because aside from their many dangers, they cause your computer to behave in a very strange manner. Popping up unwanted ads and taking you to websites you never wanted to visit-if you have one or two of these signs, you can be sure that your computer has been infected with dangerous spyware. We call it dangerous because it puts your personal information at risk, including everything you ‘key in,’ such as your passwords or financial information.
To protect yourself against them, you need to have a trustworthy anti-spyware program installed. This can be a stand-alone program or a feature of your anti-virus, as many anti-viruses include protection from spyware in their abilities.
- General Tips To Help Protect Your Computer To The Maximum:
As you can see, each program does a part of the job and it’s necessary to have one of each kind installed to protect your computer against all types of threats. However, depending only on software won’t get you anywhere, as hackers are always trying to find flaws and holes through all protection programs to reach our computers. Therefore, it’s essential that we keep our guard up all the time by following a few tips:
- Only Download From Trustworthy Sites:
Many spywares come hidden in other programs or software. Download only from websites you absolutely trust and be especially careful around .exe files-don’t run any unknown files that your computer warns you from.
- Block Pop-Up Ads:
Other than being annoying and frustration, these pop-up ads can be a gateway to many uninvited guests. Install a pop-up blocker in your browser to protect yourself from the headache. There are plenty of free extensions, such as AdBlock for Firefox. If you’re still using Windows XP, this is a built-in feature which you can reach from Internet Options > Privacy > Block Pop Ups.
- Ensure Parental Control:
If you’re a parent, limit the internet access of your children so they can’t reach websites that may potentially harm your computer. There are many programs that help with this, and Windows does come with built-in Parental Controls.
- Keep Your Computer Healthy:
A healthy, updated computer is less prone to viruses, malware or harmful connections. Run fragmentation regularly, keep necessary protection programs installed and regularly updated and make sure that your Windows is also regularly updated. Furthermore, install a program to clean your registry from errors and clear up space by deleting unnecessary data and temporary files.
To sum it up, no one wants his computer dangerously infected by some program. If you follow these tips carefully, and install strong programs that can keep you secure, you can find the best protection for your computer easily against all the harms.