Keeping your fancy computers safe.

[Chakramx]

I'm sorry if there is another topic like this. I have not been able to find any though.

Also any software i mention in this topic i am not advertising but only giving feedback based on my experience with them.

 

Keeping your computer and your files safe from the internet

 

Why should you read this?

Because I am a computer engineer and i have been for 3 years, in my time i have fixed many computers and removed many of Trojans, Malware, Spybots and general viruses.

 

To start off with no computer is truly safe. (sorry)

 

There are viruses pored into the internet everyday which have never been discovered before and so non treatable. However Anti virus software tend to update their definition daily to help reduce infection.

 

First thing you should do.

Check to see if you Operating system is up to date.

I'll use windows as an example as most people run it.

If you are on Windows 7, click the Windows Button-All Programs then find Windows Update

If Windows 8, press the windows button and type "Windows Update" and you should find it.

 

 

After fully confirming you operating is updated (After 1 update reboot and look again and continue until no updates are available)

You should now check your fire wall.

 

Checking your firewall sounds complicated, but it really isn't. On windows, goto Control Panel an type "Firewall". If it says it is ON or CONNECTED your fine, if not make sure it is, and... there you go. DONE. Make sure that you share some of your folders on the home network, if you don't really need your files to be visible, disable file and media sharing completely

 

Now is you do not know which one to choose i can help.

Firstly, and obviously, Free antivirus software's are not going to protect you that well.

However it is better than nothing.

 

I use AVAST Anti virus program and i have never got any infections, plus it updates usually every day.

However there are some other good softwares such as Kaspersky and Sophos.

 

When you have your anti virus don't forget to scan the computer regularly, I scan every week!!!

 

​Now if you are a big gamer, i don't recommend getting Norton or McAfee as they require a lot from your processor.

 

Ok now that you have a running Anti virus software you should now look into creating a external Hard drive.

This is used to backup to on regular intervals, just in case you do get hit, you software cannot get rid and you need to erase everything.

It has happened to a lot of my customers.

 

My advice is to buy a 1TB Hard drive to keep a copy of all your files. When backing up, you should be disconnected from internet.

 

Ok now you are protected and you can now go on your daily routine.

 

OMG you have an email from a company, you open it and it has an attachment!!!

Stop!

You should never open any attachments unless you know what it is, you know the sender and you are positive that whatever that attachment is, is safe.

 

Recently you may have heard of a virus called GAMEOVER ZEUS.

That infected millions of computer from email attachments.

 

My friend got infected and he got a Crypto locker, OH how i laughed

Basically a crypto locker, locks all your files and demands a ransom in order to get them back

 

When browsing the internet never click any adverts you see, that usually causes malware to infect your computer.

 

Personally i would advise not to use your bank card online but i understand many people have to.

 

Other points of consideration.

1. Do not use Internet Explorer, try others like Firefox and Chrome. IE exploits are common, easy to distribute through ads, and are extremely prevalent on social media sites. Chrome and Firefox offer higher security features and not to mention faster.

 

2.Have layered security. Don't rely on a single anti virus to catch everything since no software is perfect. However some might not work together. Mostly use your brain as an antivirus and the software will clear anything which is suspicious. Spy bot and MalwareBytes work well for last line defence as they route you whole computer for anything which may be malware, torjans or other sorts of worms which wriggle their way onto your computer.

 

3. If a site you're looking at is connected to anything illegal, stay clear, as it is probably swarming with malware, and other harsh programs. If you are on a site you think may be bad, leave it as it will serve you no good. Examples are Gold Sellers, Torrents, or anything which is peppered with ads everywhere.

 

Another thing i would like to bring up is MACs.

Mac's can get viruses, why do people say they don't? Because no one bothers to program a virus to attack Mac Operating system. Yes some people have but there are way more for Windows. This is the same with Linus based operating system such as Ubuntu and CentOS.

 

Windows takes up about 95% of all computers, so why create a virus which will only attack that 5%?

 

 

 

To end with i have four very simple rules you should always remember.

 

1. Back up your data

2. Avoid deals which are too good to be true

3. Avoid opening suspicious emails

4. Don't rely on AVG Free (It's not very good)

 

 

​If you have any questions about internet security, please ask me, and I'll be happy to help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common questions

 

Q. How do i know if i have a virus?

A. You will notice programs not opening or running really slowly or even in some cases the OS not working properly.

 

Q. How do i know if i have Malware?

A. Malware is usually an internet thing and so if one day you notice a rogue toolbar has been added you may have malware.

 

Q. There is an email from a well known company with an attachment, should i open it?

A. Usually companies don't send you attachments, and it most likely a phishing email, and email which pretend to have come from a well known company, such as HSBC and LLOYDS BANK. It is usually banks for some reason...

Contact that company to see if they have sent an email to their customers with an attachment.

Edited July 1, 2014 by Chakramx

[Vagrant0]

Good information, but would add the following:

 

1. Do not use Internet Explorer for anything other than secure business sites. IE exploits are common, easy to distribute through ads, and are especially prevalent on social media sites. It is strongly suggested to use another browser like Chrome or Firefox that is not only updated more frequently, but can also support additional security add-ons that can stop harmful scripts, cookies, or just alert you to a questionable site.

 

2. Have multi-layered security. Don't rely on a single antivirus to catch everything since no antivirus software is ever perfect. Use your brain first and formost, use your antivirus to check suspicions when something feels off, use additional software to serve as a last-line safety net for when the first two fail. Spybot and MalwareBytes work well for this last line as they are smaller programs which can be powerful when used right. For Malwarebytes, you can even run it from a USB drive so that it can be run and maintained even if you get hit with something that attacks security software.

 

3. If a site you're looking at is connected with anything illegal or sketchy, it is probably swarming with malware, viruses, or other bad things. This includes things like gold sellers for MMOs, sites that let you download no-cd patches, torrent sites, ect. Even beyond the obvious moral issues related with these sites, these sites prey upon the gullibility of those who want to get something for nothing. Most of these threats are not something that will prevent your system from working so much as they are something that will try to obtain personal data from your computer, passwords, or just hijack your computer as part of a bot-net.

[hoofhearted4]

i understand i could be lucky, but ive never gotten virus using free software. i personally dont see the point in buying Anti Virus software, when free options are just as good. I use Spy Bot, Malwarebytes and MSE. i update weekly and scan monthly. i also make sure my OS is updated weekly. and I use Chrome with Adblock and Ghostery and a few other things.

 

as such i honestly go against this and recommend to people NOT to BUY software, and to use freeware instead. AFAIK, no one ive recommended this to, whos done it, has had any problems. again i understand and would fully admit, no scenario is a catch all. you could use all Freeware and get viruses, and you could buy software and never get any, or vice versa.

 

 

also MACs get get viruses!. had to put that out there for any MAC user who wants to come on here and say that MACs are virus immune.

[Chakramx]

i understand i could be lucky, but ive never gotten virus using free software. i personally dont see the point in buying Anti Virus software,

Your probably not as stupid as everyone else. You'll be surprised but people are not aware of the dangers and so click anything they see.

Your internet clever as i would like to put it, you understand there is bad out there, and do not chase it.

 

Free software works, but not from everything.

Example - most free software's do not cover emails

Edited July 1, 2014 by Chakramx

[Chakramx]

Good information, but would add the following:

 

1. Do not use Internet Explorer for anything other than secure business sites. IE exploits are common, easy to distribute through ads, and are especially prevalent on social media sites. It is strongly suggested to use another browser like Chrome or Firefox that is not only updated more frequently, but can also support additional security add-ons that can stop harmful scripts, cookies, or just alert you to a questionable site.

 

2. Have multi-layered security. Don't rely on a single antivirus to catch everything since no antivirus software is ever perfect. Use your brain first and formost, use your antivirus to check suspicions when something feels off, use additional software to serve as a last-line safety net for when the first two fail. Spybot and MalwareBytes work well for this last line as they are smaller programs which can be powerful when used right. For Malwarebytes, you can even run it from a USB drive so that it can be run and maintained even if you get hit with something that attacks security software.

 

3. If a site you're looking at is connected with anything illegal or sketchy, it is probably swarming with malware, viruses, or other bad things. This includes things like gold sellers for MMOs, sites that let you download no-cd patches, torrent sites, ect. Even beyond the obvious moral issues related with these sites, these sites prey upon the gullibility of those who want to get something for nothing. Most of these threats are not something that will prevent your system from working so much as they are something that will try to obtain personal data from your computer, passwords, or just hijack your computer as part of a bot-net.

 

I have had bad experiences with multi layered security, but i will include it.

Since one had involvement with deleting files e.g virus files, the other thought it was a virus itself. Funny tbh

 

TY though i will include it

[JimboUK]

Common sense, something not that common with many users.

[Vagrant0]

 

i understand i could be lucky, but ive never gotten virus using free software. i personally dont see the point in buying Anti Virus software,

Example - most free software's do not cover emails

 

Reason #1 why you should not use Outlook or similar programs that collects everything that is sent to you and saves it to a local drive. If you need the convenience of something like this for work... Don't use those e-mails for any reason other than internal communications.

 

The better webmail hosts (Google, Yahoo, Hotmail) have their own internal scanners, which while generally useless, when paired with addons like WOT (Web of Trust) or script blocking software, can usually prevent accidental exposure unless you fail the initial sanity check and download everything.

 

When talking about free antivirus scanners, you should really only be talking about Avast, Comodo, or Microsoft Security Essentials. Of those, Avast free only works on-demand (when you tell it to scan), meaning that while it uses few resources when inactive, it generally doesn't do very much. Comodo has passive scanning as well as on-demand, so that as soon as things are executed or downloaded it usually scans them automatically; while this is good for protection, it also means higher resource demand at all times and especially when going to launch anything. MSE is somewhere between those two, with some passive scanning, but being mostly an on-demand tool. Most other free antivirus scanners tend to either be rubbish, slow to update, resource hogs, or malware.

 

Layered security is good, but also means configuring it so that those programs function around eachother. It's easier to layer things with an on-demand scanner like Avast than it is with Comodo since you don't have as deep of application control, but it still isn't that hard to accomplish as long as you can look at advanced settings and know how to add exclusions or whitelisted processes. You should still however research all additional applications you might be using so that you aren't installing malware disguising itself as security software.

[padmaus]

if you choose chrome as your browser (i would recommend it as it is fully customizable and low-resource) it would be very smart to go to the chrome store and download AD BLOCK PLUS. this little app for chrome will keep away 99% of unwanted ads from even loading on your browser, including pop-ups. :smile:

 

 

 

here is a bit about safely downloading from the internet:

 

USE YOUR BRAIN : when downloading files from the internet, it is important to be savvy. get the file you seek from the official site, whenever possible. many third party websites will try to trick you into clicking on links which will download viruses or unwanted programs. you must be very careful and look at every link to be able to determine which is the one you want to download. its almost NEVER the big green DOWNLOAD button!!! if a link seems like its trying particularly hard to get your attention, it might be a fake. look for a link that has the exact file name you are looking for. also many times when you search for a file online, there will be engines that generate links with your exact search term. that is why i always search in all lower case letters, because then if i see some links with a capitalized title i know its legit. also NEVER click on anything that says "sponsored" result.

 

KNOW WHAT YOURE LOOKING FOR : always be certain of the type of file you are trying to get. the suffix, or extension of a file name will usually reveal the type of file, such as .jpg .exe .pdf, etc. files with the extention .EXE are called executable files--basically they are a program. so unless you are trying to download a program, steer clear of any .exes. and if you do accidentally download one, PLEASE dont click on it. just right click it and delete it, then empty your recycle bin.

 

INSTALL CAREFULLY : when installing programs, always uncheck any add-on applications such as toolbars and miscellaneous programs. sometimes it will ask you if you want to install any additional programs, always click decline. go through the setup slowly and carefully so you dont accidentally agree to anything you dont want. if the file you are trying to download tried to make you give out your personal information or fill out a survey, its a fake, dont bother with it. surveys and crap like that are just scams hiding more scams.

 

the internet is like a city, with safe areas and shady areas. be smart and follow chakramx's advice! and when in doubt, dont click it.

Edited July 9, 2014 by padmaus