Keeping your PC safe

[DO]

A surprising amount of people I spoke to didn't even know the basics to keeping your computer secure. But I'm pretty sure most of you guys know all this already but after all this is still for the uninformed.

1.) Stay off IE

I can't stress how much IE sucks. Security advisors have found a large number of exploits that can be used to make Internet Explorer launch arbitrary programs or execute any kind of code with local user privileges; there are a whole lot of other security problems as well. Instead start using Firefox: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ Firefox is a great Internet browser mainly because it's open sourced and they have a very fast
bug/security updating team.

2.) Get a firewall

Not having a firewall is like leaving your car unlocked with the keys in and the engine on. You're just asking for it. Sooner or later it'll catch up to you because hackers always look for that one unprotected computer to use for there bidding. Personally I use Zone Alarm:
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...=dbtopnav_zass



3.) Stay Current

Stay updated with window updates a patched system is a secure one. Windows has a Automatic Updates option that you can enable. This will keep your computer updated with all current released patches or you can visit there update site: http://update.microsoft.com/windowsu...&&thankspage=5

4.) Get some antispyware/adware programs

Spyware is software that gathers user information on the computer it infects. It can gather anything from email addresses, passwords and even credit card numbers as well as browsing habits. Spyware is similar to a Trojan horse because it attempts to run in the background processes of your computer. Not only can it eat up bandwith but also RAM.
I find that Spybot S & D works great with spyware infections it can be found here: http://www.safer-networking.org/

Adware is incredibly annoying because it can direct popups to your system and monitor your web useage. A great program to rid yourself of this nuisance is Adware: http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/

5.) Use common sense

Become aware when your surfing the web. Don't click or run programs you have no knowledge of and then wonder why you got a virus.

Be sure to virus scan. I found an awesome Online Virus Scan that works great http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

This is pretty much all I could think of right now. All the programs that were listed are free and work great.

[6Zabuza9]

umm this thread is so random lol but thx for your advice man

[el_boss]

Doesn't this belong in the general support section? Good stuff anyway.

I would recommend using some sort of virus shield. Avast and AVG are free anti-virus programs. Can't say much about them though since I have McAfee.

[xDarkMaster]

Hmmm, not sure if this goes here or not and it's random, but nice info man. This would really have helped me out awhile ago when I didn't know much.

[DO]

Yeah i think it does belong in general support. But I'm going to use this thread to link people who ask stuff on the IRC channel. Plus everyone is getting sick of my security speeches as they put it

[Knives122]

you'd think Common sense and not using IE would be one in the same. I mean everyone should have that knowlege.

[dragonrage]

thanks for the info....

[tabo-trieu3]

A surprising amount of people I spoke to didn't even know the basics to keeping your computer secure. But I'm pretty sure most of you guys know all this already but after all this is still for the uninformed.

1.) Stay off IE

I can't stress how much IE sucks. Security advisors have found a large number of exploits that can be used to make Internet Explorer launch arbitrary programs or execute any kind of code with local user privileges; there are a whole lot of other security problems as well. Instead start using Firefox: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ Firefox is a great Internet browser mainly because it's open sourced and they have a very fast
bug/security updating team.

2.) Get a firewall

Not having a firewall is like leaving your car unlocked with the keys in and the engine on. You're just asking for it. Sooner or later it'll catch up to you because hackers always look for that one unprotected computer to use for there bidding. Personally I use Zone Alarm:
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...=dbtopnav_zass



3.) Stay Current

Stay updated with window updates a patched system is a secure one. Windows has a Automatic Updates option that you can enable. This will keep your computer updated with all current released patches or you can visit there update site: http://update.microsoft.com/windowsu...&&thankspage=5

4.) Get some antispyware/adware programs

Spyware is software that gathers user information on the computer it infects. It can gather anything from email addresses, passwords and even credit card numbers as well as browsing habits. Spyware is similar to a Trojan horse because it attempts to run in the background processes of your computer. Not only can it eat up bandwith but also RAM.
I find that Spybot S & D works great with spyware infections it can be found here: http://www.safer-networking.org/

Adware is incredibly annoying because it can direct popups to your system and monitor your web useage. A great program to rid yourself of this nuisance is Adware: http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/

5.) Use common sense

Become aware when your surfing the web. Don't click or run programs you have no knowledge of and then wonder why you got a virus.

Be sure to virus scan. I found an awesome Online Virus Scan that works great http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

This is pretty much all I could think of right now. All the programs that were listed are free and work great.

The virse guard wont work
When ever its on, the internet turns off.
So I cant Register. What should i do?

[DO]

The virse guard wont work
When ever its on, the internet turns off.
So I cant Register. What should i do?

Do you mean firewall?


I found an awesome site that'll really tell you how safe your computer is.
http://www.pcflank.com/about.htm

Check it out

[Board of Command]

Check for vulnerabilities of your computer system to remote attacks:

Trojan horse check:

Your system successfully defended itself from this attack!

Your computer is invisible to the others on the Internet!

Thank goodness for hardware firewall. For anyone who needs a software firewall and/or doesn't have a hardware firewall, I recommend NOD32. You'll have to find a pirated copy because it was bought out by Symantec and is now discontinued.

[Danad_corps]

I'd say to not get a software firewall at all. Hardware firewall >> software firewall.

For security's (and performance) sake, Opera>>Firefox

Kaspersky AV was rated among the best and its AOL version is free (its essentially AV lite).

Common sense is definitely key to remaining safe. Staying updated is part of common sense so log into a recognized compter-centric forum and look around every once in a while to make sure your PC is well equiped to defend against attacks.

[master_me]

I'll be entirely honest, I haven't had a firewall set up since I last reinstalled Windows XP in September. I've had this computer since mid 2005 and haven't once been the target of any harmful viruses. Of course, a lot of the time I am running Linux and not XP.

Still, with that said, I'll have the hackers all over me.