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7 Ways To Avoid Viruses And
Spyware
To have a fighting chance against today’s rampant security threats,
end users have to be informed and proactive. Here are some practical
guidelines they can follow to minimize the risk of infection and attack.
1: Install quality antivirus
Many computer users believe free antivirus applications, such as those
included with an Internet service provider’s bundled service offering,
are sufficient to protect a computer from virus or spyware infection.
However, such free anti-malware programs typically don’t provide
adequate protection from the ever-growing list of threats.
All Windows users should install professional, business-grade antivirus
software on their PCs.
2: Install real-time anti-spyware protection
Many computer users mistakenly believe that a single antivirus program
with integrated spyware protection provides sufficient safeguards from
adware and spyware. Others think free anti-spyware applications,
combined with an antivirus utility, deliver capable protection from the
skyrocketing number of spyware threats.
3: Keep anti-malware applications current
Antivirus and anti-spyware programs require regular signature and
database updates. Without these critical updates, anti-malware programs
are unable to protect PCs from the latest threats.
4: Perform daily scans
Occasionally, virus and spyware threats escape a system’s active
protective engines and infect a system. The sheer number and volume of
potential and new threats make it inevitable that particularly inventive
infections will outsmart security software. In other cases, users may
inadvertently instruct anti-malware software to allow a virus or spyware
program to run.
5: Don’t click on email links or attachments
It’s a mantra most every Windows user has heard repeatedly: Don’t click
on email links or attachments. Yet users frequently fail to heed the
warning. Whether distracted, trustful of friends or colleagues they
know, or simply fooled by a crafty email message, many users forget to
be wary of links and attachments included within email messages,
regardless of the source. Simply clicking on an email link or attachment
can, within minutes, corrupt Windows, infect other machines, and destroy
critical data.
6: Surf smart
Many business-class anti-malware applications include browser plug-ins
that help protect against drive-by infections, phishing attacks (in
which pages purport to serve one function when in fact they try to steal
personal, financial, or other sensitive information), and similar
exploits.
7: Use a hardware-based firewall
Technology professionals and others argue the benefits of software-
versus hardware-based firewalls. Often, users encounter trouble trying
to share printers, access network resources, and perform other tasks
when deploying third-party software-based firewalls. As a result, I’ve
seen many cases where firewalls have simply been disabled altogether.
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