Archive for the ‘How To’ Category
How to protect your PC
It seems a number of people have fallen foul of the recent MSN Messenger virus that’s been doing the rounds, so I thought I’d give you some tips when it comes to protecting your PC from viruses and other malicious programs.
- Use common sense. Never accept file transfers or open files that could contain malicious code. Even if the person sending the file is a friend, it doesn’t mean it’s safe. Many viruses will access a person’s address book or contact list and automatically send the virus to all those people. Some of the most common file types that contain viruses have the extension .exe .zip .pif. Never accept these types of files unless you have a virus scanner installed and updated regularly.
- Install a firewall. If you have a broadband internet connection (and even if you don’t), get a firewall. Anyone using broadband without a firewall is insane. You’ll soon notice after installing the firewall how many attempts to access your PC are being made from the outside world. If you don’t have a firewall right now and are using Windows XP, do the following immediately:
- Enable the Windows XP firewall. Note: The Windows XP firewall is a VERY basic firewall and will not protect you from everything. It will however help you while you do the rest of these steps.
- Run Windows Update to ensure your PC has the latest Service Pack (currently SP2) and install all recommended security updates.
- Download a more complete firewall. ZoneAlarm is currently the recommended freeware firewall. It can be downloaded here: http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp
- Install a virus scanner. Every PC should have a virus scanner installed. It doesn’t matter how careful you think you are or how clever you think you are, install a virus scanner. The best free virus scanner available is AVG, which can be downloaded from here: http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/
For more info, check out this article for internet security beginners: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1450
