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How do I protect my PC?

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Frikkie:
Jammer dat hierdie in Engels is. Moet nie nou pos nie aangesien ek poste gaan plaas wat op mekaar volg.

How do I protect my PC?

Online criminals are trying to attack your computer, either to steal from you or to attack other people. Either way, it will stop your computer working properly.

They use self-replicating viruses and spyware. It costs them nothing so they don’t care how many people are affected or what the damage is.

You need a multi-layered defence to keep them out:

    Security software: anti-virus, anti-spyware and a firewall or security suite that includes all three. This is like keeping your doors and windows locked at home.
    Keeping your computer up to date, blocking spam emails and using an up to date web browser will make it harder for them to get into your PC in the first place.
    Making a regular backup of your music, pictures and other files is also a good idea, but it’s a last resort like insurance.
    It’s also a good idea not to use your computer in administrator mode. It’s better to make a user account and log in with that for day-to-day use. In Microsoft Windows Vista, keep User Account Control switched on.
    Lastly, protect yourself against eavesdroppers and freeloaders by using encryption on your wireless network.

Frikkie:
Virus

Code written with the express intention of replicating itself. A virus attempts to spread from computer to computer by infecting another file, typically an executable program. Besides spreading, viruses can be used to do harm or for criminal activity.  See also: trojan, worm and spyware.

Worm
A subclass of virus. A worm generally spreads without user action and distributes complete copies (possibly modified) of itself across networks. A worm can consume memory or network bandwidth, thus causing a computer to stop responding.

Spyware
Unwanted software that secretly monitors a user's activity, scans for private information or gives outsiders control of a computer

Frikkie:
Install anti-virus software

Prevent virus infections

Anti-virus software is one of the main defences against online problems. It continually scans for viruses, including Trojans and worms. To be effective it must be kept up-to-date.
Why install anti-virus software?

Without anti-virus software you are very vulnerable to computer viruses, including:

    Infected email attachments.
    Drive-by infections caused by visiting corrupt websites.
    Viruses that attack over the internet (“worms”).
    Spyware that is introduced by virus infections.
    Viruses that are spread using macros in application documents.
    Depending on the software you use, it may detect some (but not all) spyware.

Being infected by a virus can have very serious consequences including:

    Identity theft.
    Fraud.
    Loss of data.
    A slow or unusable computer.

What anti-virus software does

Anti-virus software covers the main lines of attack:

    It scans incoming emails for attached viruses.
    It monitors files as they are opened or created to make sure they are not infected.
    It performs periodic scans of every file on the computer.

What anti-virus software does NOT do

Anti-virus software will not protect you against:

    Programs that you choose to install that may contain unwanted features.
    Spam.
    Against any kind of fraud or criminal activity online.
    A hacker trying break into your computer over the internet.

It is not effective if it is switched off for any reason.

It is less effective (and mostly useless) if it is not kept up-to-date with the latest virus signatures.

A virus signature is like a criminal’s mugshot. Each time a new virus is released, security firms analyse it and create a new signature that lets anti-virus software block the new virus.

How to choose anti-virus software

For personal and home office use there are a number of basic choices that you can take to decide which anti-virus software to buy.
Standalone anti-virus or security suite?

Most anti-virus software companies sell a standalone program that only scans for viruses as well as security suite packages that include other protective software such as a firewall, spam filtering, anti-spyware and so on.

Generally the standalone packages cost around £20 and full suites run from £40-50.

    Advantages of a suite: a suite should cover all the bases, share a single user interface and be easier and cheaper than buying each individual program separately.
    Drawbacks: while the anti-virus component should be good, sometimes the other elements in a suite aren’t as good as the best of breed software from other suppliers. Also, some of the other components may be available for free.

For beginners, it is probably best to buy a suite.

For more sophisticated users, consider a pick-and-mix approach and buy a standalone anti-virus product (but don’t forget the other defences).
Free or commercial?

There are a number of anti-virus products that are free for personal or non-commercial use.

In most cases, these ‘free’ products are scaled-back versions of commercial products to which the software manufacturer hopes you will, one day, upgrade.

    Advantages: price.
    Drawbacks include: limited or no technical support; reduced functionality, for example in scheduling full scans; not from market-leading brands.

Unless getting free software is critical, it is preferable to buy a fully-supported commercial product.

Download free evaluation software

Several software developers offer free downloadable trial versions of their software that range from 3 to 12 months. A list of links to the download pages is available onMicrosoft’s website.

How to evaluate anti-virus software

The main criteria are:

    Price.
    Review on reputable technical websites such as Cnet.
    How easy it is to set up and use.
    Level and quality of technical support, including the support website.
    Frequency and responsiveness of signature updates. This is hard for most people to evaluate but well-known and reputable software companies should be okay.

How to buy anti-virus software

Then it is a matter of buying it or downloading it. Suppliers include: high street retailers, online retailers or direct purchase and download from the software developers over the internet.
Business anti-virus software

For networks of five or more computers and for business use, you should consider business versions of popular anti-virus software that are designed to make installation, updating and management easier on multiple computers.

Suppliers of anti-virus software
Commercial anti-virus software

Many companies make commercial anti-virus software, including:

    Trend Micro.
    Sophos.
    Symantec.
    F-Secure.
    Kaspersky.
    McAfee.

Free anti-virus software

    Microsoft Security Essentials.
    Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus.
    AntiVir.
    ALWIL Avast.
    ClamWin.

Virus protection advice

    Do not open any files attached to an email from an unknown, suspicious or untrustworthy source, no matter how beguiling it may seem.
    Switch on macro protection in Microsoft Office applications like Word and Excel.
    You don’t have to use the anti-virus program that came with your new computer but if you decide to stick with it, don’t forget to subscribe once the free trial period is over so that you stay up-to-date.
    Only use one anti-virus program at a time. Uninstall one anti-virus program before you install another.
    Providing you update virus signatures regularly, as a general rule, you don’t need to buy every single new release of the anti-virus software to stay protected.
    Free online scans are useful diagnostic tools but they are not a substitute for a proper anti-virus program that is installed on your PC. Prevention is better than cure.

Frikkie:
Stop spyware

Don’t let strangers get inside your computer

Spyware is an insidious threat to privacy and can result in financial fraud. It is also a huge pain to live with.

What is spyware?

Spyware is like a virus in that it is an unwanted program that runs on your computer. However, it does not try to replicate itself to other machines. Infection usually occurs when it is installed alongside another program such as a peer to peer file sharing application. However, increasingly, spyware is blending with viruses making it harder to eradicate and harder to avoid.

There are different types of spyware. At one end of the spectrum, adware is designed to get you to visit commercial websites, typically for gambling and porn. It can, for example:

    Pop-up unwanted adverts, including offensive material.
    Download adverts from the internet, taking up your bandwidth.
    Hijack your browser so that new menus appear or your default home page or search page is changed.
    Put new icons on your desktop.

More sinister versions of adware will:

    Block access to certain websites.
    Try to get you to shut down anti-virus or anti-spyware defences.
    Block updates to these defences.
    Be extremely hard or impossible to remove.
    Track your online activities in an effort to send you more adverts.

Surveillance spyware is the most extreme version. In common with some viruses, spyware can:

    Scan your hard disk for private data such as credit card numbers.
    Log the keys you type scanning for passwords or credit card numbers.
    Take screen shots of the sites you visit to capture personal information.
    Upload this information to criminals over the internet.

The whole point of spying on people is to remain undetected. The very worst kinds of spyware tend to operate in stealth mode and you may not even know you have them. It is not uncommon for unprotected PCs to have several different types of spyware running simultaneously. Often spyware applications are badly written and interfere with the computer’s operating system, making the computer slow or prone to crashing.

Why do people make spyware? 
To make money, either by collecting referral fees on adverts or by exploiting stolen information like credit card numbers.
Why stop spyware?

Spyware can:

    Let strangers see what you are doing online.
    Weaken your computer’s defences.
    Make you a target for online criminals.
    Make your computer slow and unreliable.
    Clearing up a spyware infection can be very troublesome.

In short, you should treat a spyware infection as if it were a serious virus infection.

As with viruses, prevention is always easier than cure.

How to stop spyware

Download with caution

Some spyware is installed alongside advertising-funded programs downloaded from the internet.
So:

    Wherever possible, buy reputable software from reputable companies.
    If you download free software from the internet, exercise caution and download it from trusted websites that operate a no-spyware policy, such as download.com.
    Be especially wary of programs that appear to be pirated or distributed over peer-to-peer file sharing networks.
    Be wary of ‘free’ programs that might be paid for by advertising.
    Be wary of ‘free’ programs that offer to install additional programs during the install process.
    Read the small print on licences for programs you download from the internet to make sure that you aren’t giving permission for adware to be installed on your computer.
    Be careful about the websites you visit. Avoid dodgy sites because these can also install spyware.
    Sometimes spyware will advertise so-called spyware removal programs. This is a kind of extortion and you should stick to trusted anti-spyware applications (see below for more details).

Use anti-spyware software

Anti-spyware programs operate like anti-virus programs. They scan for known signatures and prevent new infections. The following companies (among others) supply anti-spyware software:

    AdAware.
    Microsoft OneCare.
    Microsoft Defender (free).
    Spyware Blaster.
    Spy Sweeper.
    Sunbelt Software Counter Spy.

For a longer list of anti-spyware software, see DMOZ's directory. In addition, anti-virus software is increasingly being designed to catch spyware. However, you should not rely on anti-virus software alone.

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