How to protect your computer from Hackers and Viruses?

This article has been inspired by the situation of one of my cousin’s computer. I’m Sr.Technical Support Engineer with Solution For Tech, he asked me to take a look at his computer since it was acting “funny”. The “funny” act was that the computer would automatically restart whenever you tried to install ANY software onto it or download any program from the Internet.
First thing I noticed was that there was no anti-virus software installed on the computer, so my first goal was to install Microsoft Security Essential and check for viruses. But of course, the virus that was already on the computer would not let me install or download anything! So first I ran a scan of combofix, after completion, Microsoft Security Essential installed and computer scanned. There were 2256 viruses on the computer and 110 instances of spyware.

So I gave my cousin a serious lesson on how to protect from Hackers and viruses.
Below is the same, will helpful for everyone.

1. Install Anti-virus software - If you don't have anti-virus installed on your computer then you are asking for a trouble! And if your reason for not installing is because it's too expensive. Then Microsoft resolved your problem by introducing “Microsoft Security Essential” it's a free anti-virus.
   
   
2.  Update All Software – Installing an anti-virus program by itself is not enough. There are hundreds of new threats found daily and anti-virus release updated regularly to combat the new threats. Set automatic update option in anti-virus so that you don't have to rely on your memory. The most important software to keep up to date is your windows operating system. It is essential to have Automatic Updates turned on and set to download and install updates automatically.
   
   
3. Install Only Trusted Software -If you’re not sure what a piece of software does from it’s name, then don’t install it. Sometimes programs will ask you to install other programs during the install of the first application. Be careful of that because it’s usually spy-ware. Install software from big names sites only, such as Microsoft or Adobe.
   
   
4. Avoid P2P File Sharing Software - If used with great caution, P2P software is quite useful for movies, songs and software, but if you’re not very technical, you might end up downloading a song that has a keystroke logger attached to it that will send anything you type to some other computer over the Internet. It’s almost impossible to tell that this is occurring unless your anti-virus or anti-spy ware programs pick it up in their scans.
   
   
5. Delete Unknown Emails - If you receive emails from random people’s names, do not bother to open the email, just delete it. If you have any doubts after reading the name and the subject, it’s probably not someone you know. Never download or open attachments unless you are sure it’s from someone you know. Most large companies that you create online accounts with will not send you attachments unless you specifically ask for them through their web site. Also, be wary of any emails from sites pretending to be banks, auction sites, etc asking for you to verify bank account info or address info. No bank ever does that.
   
   
6. Do not click on Ads - Avoid clicking on ads if you can. Especially those ads where something is flying around and if you shoot the duck, you win some prize! Ads have become more sophisticated in that they try to make the ad interactive so that you’ll be tempted to play it like a game.
   
   
7. Run Virus Scans Regularly - If you don't have the time to scan every day, at least run a scan once a week. Actually, setup a schedule for your computer in your anti-virus software to run a scan late at night or whenever you don’t use your computer and that way you won’t be bothered with a slow computer.
   
   
8. Be careful what you attach to your computer - This is a more common way to transfer viruses than you might think. Everyone now has a USB flash stick, ready to snap into any computer. But who knows what your viruses are on your friends computers and what accidentally got transferred to their USB stick. A lot of virus programs will auto launch right when the USB stick is put into the computer, so you don’t even have to open or download any of the files to be infected.
   
   
9. Avoid Porn Web sites - If you need to look at porn, then make sure you do it in a virtual environment. You are DEFINITELY going to get some virus or spyware if you browse porn sites on your computer. Virtualization basically allows you to run programs like Internet Explorer in a virtual environment that does not effect your current operating system.
   
   
10. Turn On or Install a Firewall - If you’re running Windows XP, make sure Windows Firewall is turned on. A firewall prevents hackers from gaining access to your computer by limiting the number of ports that are open to the public. Also, when buying a wireless router, make sure it has a built in firewall. Having a software and hardware firewall is better than just having one or the other.
    
    
11. Secure Your Wireless Network - Most wireless routers are set to no security when you install them. Be sure to log into the router and at least set the basic security that requires a password. There are stronger encryption options, but if you don’t understand those, then simply set a password on the router, otherwise anyone can connect to your home network and access everything.
    
    
12. Use a Complex Password for Login - This means that you should already have a password to login to your computer. Not having a password at all is not a good idea. Create a password for all user accounts and make sure it’s complex. Complex means it should have numbers, upper case characters, lower case characters, and symbols. This makes it way more difficult for a hacker to get into your computer.                                                                                                                       
    First time support is Free, please call Solution For Tech Ltd
    
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