The internet, much as we make of it, is not a secure place. There are many spam sites looking to install malware on your computer. If you’ve ever had a look in your spam folder in your email, you’ll quickly realise that the large majority of your email is actually complete garbage on subjects you’d likely never be interested in. Protecting yourself when so much of the internet is set on robbing you of information and money can be a tricky job. Here are five steps to help you guarantee your safety on the internet and protect your computer from viruses and malware, without any help from IT support.
1. Install a antivirus program. This is the most important step you can possibly take. An antivirus program will immediately inform you of any threats to your system and can scan any incoming files for threats. Perfect innocuous sites can sometimes be hacked, so you won’t even know that there’s a virus on your system without this protection. Don’t let it lapse or expire – you’d miss your laptop if it all fell apart, wouldn’t you?
2. Put a firewall on your machine. This is basically protection from anyone who is hacking into your internet connection – if you’ve left your network unsecured, you can be vulnerable to many attacks. It’s important to remember that firewalls may block applications you want to use, so consider carefully what to let through and how vulnerable it might make you.
3. Watch out for fake websites. Emails that look completely innocuous, that may be from your local bank, may not be. Always remember to go to the website’s URL instead of clicking on links from your email. It only takes a minute and will leave you much more secure than you would have been otherwise; counterfeiters are amazingly good at making websites look precisely the same as they would have been.
4. Be careful on social networks. If a friend’s link looks completely out of character, don’t click on it. Their account may have been hacked and that means clicking on their link leaves you completely vulnerable to an unknown website, which may or may not be full of viruses and malware. At the very least, it’s likely that you may get an unwelcome post on your own wall, which will spread to all of your friends. If in doubt, just don’t click, or at least ask your friend about it first.
5. Don’t install any suspicious programs. If you’re browsing random websites and come across free software that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Do not download any of this, no matter how good it sounds; instead do your research and ensure you are downloading from a qualified site. If you do accidentally download a spam software program, then you’ll be pleased you have your firewall and virus protection, as they should shield you from any attacks and let you know that the program is suspicious. The internet is always changing, however, and viruses and malware develop apace; keep in mind that your defences are not foolproof and do your best to stop problems before they happen.