You’ve probably heard it in the news over and over again about how easy it is for internet hackers to access your computer to steal personal information or leave horrible viruses…well I think it’s time we put a stop to it and educated ourselves! An anti-virus program is not enough but you can get a suite and use your common sense to make sure your not a victim.
How you may ask? Well first you must understand some of the threats you face, a few are:
- Viruses – malicious programs which try to harm your computer and usually spread from computer to computer.
- Trojans – programs which can be embedded in something as simple as a picture.
- Worm – a self replicating program and is different to a Virus as it does not attach to another program.
- Spyware – These can have devastating affects as the can be used to steal personal information but it is not a virus so may not be caught by anti-virus siftware.
- Hackers – Unauthorised use of another persons computer.
- Spam & Phishing – They use your bandwidth to email as many people as they can who may buy their wares or try to steal personal details by telling you that they need to know your account details or they will shut down your account.
The second measure is to invest in a security suite. Why a suite?
Well, In order to protect all of the above you need an anti-virus program to stop any viruses, you need a inbound and outbound firewall to prevent your computer sending information over the internet and prevent unauthorised access to your computer over the internet, and finally signature protection which can detect common patterns and behaviors of Malware (This is the term for Viruses, trojans and worms).
There are a few free programs you can use like AVG, Zone Alarm and Windows Defender, however they don’t provide a full solution.
I did a little searching on the internet myself and found some really good reviews about the ZoneAlarm internet security suite(Check out this review at PC World).
What’s even better about it is that I’ve been sent some discounted offers to help you fight against those awful web nasties. My favourite is ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite – Save $20!
Alterntively try:
McAfee Security Suite
Again once you have a suite use some common sense, password protect your PC, don’t give out your passwords or sensitive information and don’t go and install untrusted internet downloads. Also be careful which programs are trying to access the internet and don’t just open any ports on your firewall. If you have any questions then post a comment as I have been reading deep into the subject.
One final message is the internet is don’t be put off but all crap you hear too be sensible and the net is an amazing place.