8/2/2019 HOW TO KEEP YOUR LAPTOP FREE FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES, SPYWARE AND MALWARE

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HOWTOKEEPYOURLAPTOPFREEFROMCOMPUTERVIRUSES,SPYWAREANDMALWARE

byDustinSklavos,CaliforniaUSA

Introduction:

Thisguideisgoingtobealittleunusual,alittlebitoffthepathcomparedtoitspredecessors.BetweenmybriefstintworkingforBestBuy,alltheimpromptutechsupportI'vedone,andarecentconversationwithmyfather,I'veconcludedthatthisguidehasbeenalongtimecoming.Itmayhaveanaloguesoutthereintheinternetworldalready,butIhaven'tseenthemandIhaven'tstumbleduponthem.

Ifyou'renotgoingtoplaysmartwithyourcomputer,I'matleastgoingtoteachyouhowtoplaysafe.Ifyou'regoingtodosomethingstupid,doitsmart.

Thefactofthematteristhattheinternetisnotsafeforyourcomputer.Itcanbe,andwithsomeeducation,youcanhaveaspywareandvirusfreecomputerlikeIdoandmanyotherpeopledo.Mostpeopledon'tapplycommonsensetocomputingbecausetheyassumethatanythingoutthereissafe,andthat'sbad.Bynotthinking,youcandorealdamagetoyourmachine,anditcanbebothcostlyandtime-consumingtorepairit.Andunlessyou'resomeonelikemeoroneoftheothercomputerjunkiesontheNotebookReview.comforums,messingwiththingsyoudon'tunderstandisabadidea.

I'mnottotallytryingtoinstillfearintoyouasareaderandasauser.Yourcomputerisawonderfultoolandformostusersisperfectlysafe.I'malsonottellingyoutogooutandspendmoneyonexpensivesubscription-basedsoftwaretokeepyourcomputersafe.IAMgoingtotellyouhowtosavepotentiallyhundredsofdollarsinservice.Therearesomeverysimplethingsyoucandotoprotectyourself.

ThisguideisprincipallyforWindowsusers,althoughmostofitisjustgoodcomputingsense.MacintoshandLinuxusersaren'tgoingtorunintotheseproblemswithanywherenearthekindoffrequencyWindowsusersare.Whileyouaren'tbulletproofandshouldstillpracticesoundcomputing,you'realsonotatasgreatarisk.

Macintoshusersaren'tatasgreatariskbecauseMacOSXhasexcellentsecuritybuiltintoit,andbecausethepercentageofMacusersonthemarketjustquitehonestlyisn'tprofitabletoattack.That'ssubjecttochangeifAppleBootCamphasamajoreffectonthemarket,however,andpleasenotethatifyou'rerunningWindowsonyourMac-andevenApplewarnsyouaboutthis-you'reatthesameriskasifyouwererunningitonaregularPC.

Linuxusersaren'tatmuchriskbecauseLinuxtendstobeverysecure,andbecauseitsmarketshareforregularconsumersisatleastasminoratMacOSX's.Honestly,Linuxistoocomplicatedtogetrunningfortheaverageuser;thepeoplewhorunitcanusuallyeitherserveastheirowntechsupportorknowsomeonewhocan(usuallythesamepersonthatgotthemintoLinux).

MALWAREANDVIRUSES

Spywareandmalwarearesoftwarethatgetsinstalledonyoursystemwithoutyourconsentorevenyourknowledge,andcostspreciouscomputingcyclesandresources.Whilethesearealmostneverfundamentallyharmfultothecomputeritself(outsideofdraggingitsperformancetoawoefulcrawl),they'remoreofathreattoyou,theuser.Spywarecanlogyouractionsonyourmachine,includingthesitesyouvisit,thee-mailyousend,andsendittounscrupulousparties.Whilem

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ostofitisharmless,oratleasthoweverharmlessyouthinkmeticulouslytrackingsomeone'sinternetusageisandreportingittoadvertiserscanbe,itcanbeanongoingnuisanceandcanseverelyhamperyourenjoymentofyourcomputer.

Virusestakecareofanythingthatspywareandmalwaredon't,anditcandamageyoursystem,possiblyevenirreparably.Theycancorruptyouroperatingsysteminstallation,corruptyourdata,anddamageyourhardware.

Thesetwoclassesofsoftwareareresponsiblefor90%(arbitraryfigure)ofthecomputingproblemsmostusershave.InmypersonalworkandinmyworkatBestBuy,theseweretheculpritsofmostproblems;asmuchsothatmanyshopsdon'tevenhavetoactuallydoanythinginparticulartofixcomputersinfectedwiththese,theycanrunsoftwareandscriptsthatremovetheharmfulsoftwarefromanafflictedmachine.Note,however,thatthedamagedonebythatsoftwarecanhaveapermanenteffectonyouroperatingsystemthatcanreallyonlybefixedbyreformattingthedrive-erasingeverythingonitandreinstallingtheoperatingsystem.Notethatifyoudon'tknowwhatreformattingisanddon'tunderstandEXACTLYtheprocedurefordoingit,don'tmesswithit.I'lltalkmoreaboutitinabit.

NECESSARYSOFTWARE

I'mgoingtotellyousomethingthat'sprobablygoingtoblowyourmind:youdon

'tNEEDsubscriptionbasedspyware/malwaresoftware.

I'mgoingtogofurtherandblowyourmindagain:youdon'tNEEDtospendmoneytoprotectyourself.

Theguysatthecomputerstorearegoingtotryandsellyouonsoftwarepackagesyoudon'tneed.Yourcomputerisgoingtocomewithantivirusandantispywaresoftwareyoudon'tneed.Therearejustthreethingsyoudoneedtokeepyoursystemsafe.

Ingredient#1forkeepingyourcomputersafe:

Usingabasic,freeanti-virusprogramthatrunsinthebackgroundisagoodway

tokeepyoursystemsafefromanyvirus.Whiletryingtoinstillasenseofthedamagethataviruscandotoyoursystem,it'simportantyouunderstandthatantiviralsoftwareislessanactiveprotectorthanitisaninsurancepolicy.Wedon'tkeephomeinsurancebecauseweexpectthehousetoburstintoflames;wekeepitjustincaseitdoes.HereisalistofthreepopularfreeantivirusprogramsforyourPC:

*Avast!HomeEdition.FreeAntivirusSoftware,forhomeusers,probablythemostpopularontheweb,downloadandinformationlink:http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html*AVGFree--Anothergoodfreevirussoftware,youdon'thavetoregistertousethislikeyoudowithAvast,downloadandinformationlink:http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

*AntiVirPersonalEditionClassic-OfferstheeffectiveprotectionagainstcomputervirusesfortheindividualandprivateuseonasinglePC-workstation.Itdetectsandremovesmorethan50,000viruses,downloadandinformationlink:http://www.snapfiles.com/get/antivir.html

Toprotectyoursystemfromspywareandmalware,you'llwanttoperiodicallyrunacombinationoffreeanti-spywareprograms.IrecommendrunningAdAwareANDSpybot;oneprogramcanmissspywaretheotherwilldetect.Notethatthesedon'tneedtorunonstartup;justrunscanswiththemperiodicallytomakesureyoursystemissafe.

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Ingredient#2forkeepingyourcomputersafe:

UseOperaorFirefoxasawebbrowser.Eitherofthesetwoprogramswillimmediatelyremovemostspywareandmalwarefromtheequation.AlotofitgetsintoyoursystemthroughInternetExplorer.BecauseIEissocloselyintegratedwithWindows,itleavesplentyofeasywaysforthesethingstogetintoyoursystem.BynotrunningIE,you'veremovedyourselffromthespywareeatingmajority.Andthey'rebothfree.IpersonallypreferOpera,butactuallyrecommendFirefoxtonewerusers.WhileOperaisnice,itdoesn'thavethecompatibilityofFirefox.Still,trythembothandseewhichoneyoulikebetter.

Runningthesetwopiecesofsoftwareisanexcellentplantokeepyourselfsafeontheinternet.IwanttostressthatyoudoNOTwanttobuycommercialsoftware.Iknowitseemslogicalbecausealarge,money-making,reputablecorporationisbehindthem,butthesubscriptionfeesareridiculous,andthesoftwaretendstobebloatedanddifficulttouse.

Ingredient#3forkeepingyourcomputersafe:

MakesureyouhaveWindowsXPServicePack2installed.Assumingyou'reallWindowsusers,ServicePack2substantiallybolstersthesecurityofWindowsXP.Granted,thatisn'tsayingmuch,butitsaysenough.SomeofwhatI'mtalkingaboutinthisarticleisgoingtoassumeyouhaveServicePack2installed.Ifyoudo

n't,installitbyrunningWindowsUpdate.YoumayhavetoinstallseveralcriticalupdatesfromWindowsUpdatebeforeServicePack2appears.NotealsothatyoumaywanttobackupyourimportantdatabeforeinstallingServicePack2.Whilemostofthetimeit'sanon-issue,everysooften,ServicePack2hasbeenknowntohoseanexistingWindowsinstallation.

SURFINGTHEINTERNET

Websiteswithillegal,illicit,orexplicitcontent-mainlypornographicandwarezsites-areresponsibleforthevastmajorityofthecomputervirusesandmalwareontheinternet.Warez,forthoseuninitiated,isfreesoftware.Byfree,ofcourse,Imeanpirated.Commercialsoftwarepostedtotheinternetandmade

availablefordownloadillegally.

I'mgoingtosaveyouthetroublewithwarezrightnow,assomeonewithexperiencewithit:don'tbother.I'mnotsureawarezsiteactuallyexistswithallthissoftware;it'sbeenmyexperiencethattheyalljustlinktoeachotherforhitsinTop100indexesandnooneactuallyhasanything.Sodon'tlookforitbecauseyouaren'tgoingtofindanything.

Thatleavespornographicwebsites.Manypeoplearegoingtovisitthese,endofdiscussion.Thesearealsositesthattendtoberifewithspywareandcomputerviruses.YoucanguardyourselffromthisbyrunningantivirussoftwareandusingOperaorFirefox.Itreallyisaboutthatsimple.

E-MAIL&SPAM

ManyofusonWindowsuseOutlookExpressasanemailclient.I,personally,stilluseOutlookExpress.I'vetriedotheralternatives-Opera,Thunderbird,evenOutlook2002-andIpreferOutlookExpress.Thatsaid,OutlookExpressiseasilytheleastsecuree-mailclientavailable.

OutlookExpresshasaconvenientbarthatshowsuponthepreviewpanethatyoucanclicktorevealtheimagesinane-mailyoureceive.

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Myadvicetoyouisthis:thatbaristhereforareason.DoNOTopene-mailorattachmentsfrompeopleyoudon'tknow.Oftentimes,youmaynotevenwanttoopene-mailorattachmentsfrompeopleyouDOknowunlessyou'reabsolutelycertainofwhatitisandwhereitcamefrom.AnddoNOTforwardchainletters.Andallofthisappliestothatbaronthepreviewpane.Don'tclickitunlessyouknowexactlywhatthee-mailcontainsandwhoitcomesfrom.Notfollowingthesesuggestionsputsyoursystematseriousriskforcripplingcomputervirusesandworsestill,exposesthepeopleinyouraddressbooktothosesamerisks;manycomputerviruseswillautomaticallymasssendthemselvestoeveryoneinyouraddressbook,whichiswhyyoushouldbecautiousevenwithe-mailfrompeopleyouknow.Especiallyifthosepeoplemaynotbeverycomputerliterate.

Again,runninganti-virussoftwareistherightcallaswell.Andifyou'renervous,justuseweb-basede-mail,whichise-mailyouaccessfromawebsite.ComcastandSBCbothletyouaccessyoure-mailonline;allmajorprovidersdo.Andforextraprotection,accesswebmailfromFirefoxorOpera.

Successfullyavoidingspamrequirestwokeyingredients:

First,submityoure-mailaddressonlytositesyouknowforafactarereputable.Somecommunitiesalsoletyouscrambleyourdisplayede-mailaddress(LiveJournal),orhideitaltogether,whichisreallyideal.IfyouMUSTsubmitane-mailaddresstosomethingyouthinkisgoingtobedisreputable,Isuggestmakinga

seconde-mailaccountusingeitherafreehostoryourowninternetserviceprovider,andusingthatasyour"spam"address.

Second,neverreplytospam.Idon'tcarehowmadyouareatthesenderorhowmuchyoureallydon'twanttoreceiveit,neverreplytospam.Replyingtospamwillresultinconfirmingyoure-mailaddress,andbasicallyopensthefloodgates.Worsestill,thee-mailaddressthatsentyouthespamismorethanlikelynoteventheactualsender,butacomputercolloquiallyreferredtoasa"zombie"-acomputerthathasbeenhijackedbymalwaretosendspam.

FILESHARINGANDPIRACY

Firstofall,thisisbadandyouallknowit.Piratingsoftware,music,andmoviesisillegal.Thatsaid,peoplestilldoit,soI'llatleastmentionwhatnottodoifyoudothisanyway.

BeforeIgetintothat,though,atipforparents:yourkidsareprobablymoreversedandmorecomputerliteratethanyouare.Thisisperfectlynormal.I'mgoingtostandonmysoapboxhereforasecondandremindyou,then,thattheverybestpreventativemeasureyoucantakeistojustbeagoodparentandsuperviseyourchildrens'useoftheinternet.

Thatsaid,thereareSEVERALdifferentpiecesoffilesharingsoftwareoutthere.ProbablytheonesI'veseenhosethemostcomputersareLimeWire,BearShare,andKazaa.Thesoftwareclientsthemselvestendtobefullofspywareandhonestly

,theirtimehaslongsincepassedandtheirusefulnessislimitedatbest.Ifyouseetheseonyoursystemoryouusethemyourself,justgetridofthem.ProbablythesafestpieceoffilesharingsoftwareI'veusedhasbeeneMule.It'sopensourceandit'sclean.Likewise,theuserratingsandcommentsonCnetcanpointyouintherightdirectionandusuallytellyouwhatsoftwareisrifewithspyware.

Piratingsoftwarehasthepotentialtobeextremelydangerousandisnotrecommended.Ifyou'regoingtodoit,you'dbetterknowhowtorecoveryoursystemifyougetavirusorspywareandagain,Idon'thavetoremindyouoftherisksin

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volvedwiththose.Thereasonpiratingsoftwareissodangerousisbecausesoftwareisexecutablecodeandwhenyouopenit/runit,you'reallowingittodowhateveritlikestoyoursystem.

LikeIsaidbefore,thebestwaytoavoidhavingproblemswithfilesharingandpiracyistonotdoitatall,butlikeabstinenceandteenagers,thatapproachdoesn'talwayswork.

ABRIEFWORDONIDENTITYTHEFT

Identitytheftisbecomingahugeproblemthesedays,andthat'slargelyduetotheimpacttheinternethashadonsociety.

Onethingyoucandotominimizeyourriskofidentitytheftistoavoidgivingyourcreditcardnumbertoquestionablesitesforbillinganyhow.I'llbeextremelyblunthere:pornographicsitescanbeextremelyquestionablethisway,andhonestly,mostofthemchargetoomuchforsomethingyoucanfindforfreeandinabundanceontheinternetanyways.Ifyousimplymusthaveyourfix,AVIandMPGfilesoffoffileshareaplicationeMulearethesafestwaytofly.Theriskisjustnotreasonable.

Atacticidentitythieveswillfrequentlyuseisspoofinglegitimatewebsites.WheneBay,PayPal,Amazon,andsoonsaytheywillneveraskyouagainforyourc

reditcardinformation,accountnumbers,socialsecuritynumber,andsoon,theymeanit.Ifyourandomlygetane-mailfromoneofthesesitesthatisaskingtoconfirmanyofthisinformationagain,it'saspoofsite.Aneasywaytodeterminethiswouldbetolookattheaddressofthesite:spoofsitescan'tgeta"www.ebay.com/confirm"URLoranythingsimilar.Allmajorsiteshaveservicesyoucanusetoreportthesespoofsites:doso.Youcanhelpbringidentitythievestojusticethatway,orattheabsoluteleast,makesurethatotherpeopledon'tbecomevictims.

AlsonotethatcommercialwebsiteswillNEVERaskforyoursocialsecuritynumber(ifyou'reAmerican).Onlyservicessuchashealthcare,insurance,orgovernmentrelatedserviceswillaskforit,andeventhenitisinfrequent.Wheneveryoucanavoiddivulgingyoursocialsecuritynumber,don'tgiveitout.

CONCLUSION

Theinternetisn'tsafebyanystretchoftheimagination,butifyoufollowthetipsI'veoutlinedinthisguide,andapplyaliberalamountofcommonsense,youcankeepyourcomputersafeandrunningsmoothlyandavoidcostlyrepairsanddowntime,aswellaslosingvitalinformation.

Justliketherealworld,thereareunsafethingswe'reallgoingtodoontheinternet.Thebestthingwecandoisberesponsibleaboutit.