Given the threat to your Internet connected computer from viruses, spyware, and Trojan horses, worms, and bots, you can take many precautions to considerably reduce the risk.
A majority of computer users that use the Internet to download music, movies, and for e-mailing are laymen. They hardly understand what risks their computers can fall prey to from the Internet.
They need to understand that the Internet, while being a source of information and entertainment, can also turn your unprotected computer into a zombie. In other words your computer will then be used by remote hackers to further propagate malicious threats to other computer users that are connected to the Internet. To avoid your computer being turned into a tool by hackers with malicious intentions, you can take the following precautions.
Equip your Internet connected computer with the latest edition of a good anti-virus program such as Norton Internet Security. It will protect your computer from almost all threats from viruses. Remember to configure your anti-virus program to automatically update virus definitions and program updates. Do not subscribe to substandard anti-virus software as it will not be able to protect you from all viruses.
Upgrade your operating system to either Linux or Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista Service Pack 1. All the three operating systems have built-in security measures against malware. Linux of course is best protected against viruses, but the other two operating systems also provide firewalls such as Windows Firewall and Windows Defender. Configure these programs to protect your computers from incoming requests that may compromise the data on your computer. Also, ensure that Windows Update is configured to automatically download the latest updates to your computer.
Stop using your POP (Post Office Protocol) e-mail clients such as Outlook Express or Outlook. Use instead free Web mail programs such as Gmail or Hotmail to store all your e-mail messages. These Web e-mail programs are equipped with the state of the art security features against viruses and spam or phishing attacks. However, you also need to remember to not respond at all to e-mail messages requesting you to part with sensitive data pertaining to your credit cards or Internet accessed bank accounts.
Install some good free anti-spyware programs such as Spyware Doctor, ThreatFire, and Spybot-Search and Destroy on your computer using the Internet. In fact install all three of them and configure them to update their spyware definitions automatically. Do not go in for some vague anti-spyware programs that only masquerade as anti-spyware, whereas they are actually spyware. Scan all pendrives for viruses and spyware before you copy any files from them on your computer. Further, never use the Auto file opening feature of the pen drive. It can introduce Kinza.exe or other such malware into your computer.
I would also recommend you to use the Internet browser Firefox from Mozilla in its latest version in comparison to Internet Explorer. Firefox is better protected and you can also install many good extensions such as NoScript that do not let Javasript run on your computer from malafide Web pages. Further, use the services of a good ISP (Internet Service Provider) which has built-in security features in it.
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