One of the most important things everyone -- even Mac users -- needs to do with a computer is to make sure it is as secure from viruses, phishing scams, and other 'net threats as possible. No matter how often you practice safe browsing habits or think twice before clicking on a random link in your e-mail, you'd be surprised how often even the most cautious of folks can be caught off guard, which is why you need to have some basic security measures in place to protect you (and your computer), should something slip past. We've boiled it down to five basic steps that everyone -- even the computer and 'Net-threat-savvy -- should take to make sure that their PC and personal data are safe. We will review one step each day this week.
1. Get an anti-virus program
It doesn't matter whether you opt for a free product like AVG Free or the new Microsoft Security Essentials, or spend the money on a commercial product like Norton Internet Security or Kaspersky Internet Security. What's important is that you get yourself some virus protection that has a few basic features -- live protection (a real-time shield that will protect whatever you're working on at the moment, not just scheduled scans), and a behavior-based detection engine that looks for software that is acting suspiciously. All quality anti-virus programs -- even the free ones -- have these essential features. Primarily what you get with a paid product is a more polished interface (the previously mentioned AVG Free is ugly as sin and sometimes confusing) and better integration with other security tools, so you don't have to run separate updates on various pieces of security software.
Once you pick an anti-virus program, make sure that it is scheduled to download updates and run a quick scan once a day. Set it to run in the middle of the night at, say, 3 a.m., so it won't interfere with your other computing activities.
Commercial options usually come as part of complete security suites, which can address our next tip which we will discuss tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment