2008-05-14
Many people have problems with their computers and almost everyone has the same issue. So I am writing this small tutorial to help you prevent those problems that affect most of Windows Operating System users.
THE PROBLEM
Currently, many personal computers are connected to the Internet, both in a permanent way (DSL, cable, etc) or by MODEM . The thing is that when connecting to the Internet there is a possibility of being infected by a malicious program (virus, trojans, spyware, etc) is growing. A computer can prevent these possible infections in a variety of ways and we are going to see the software solutions available for any PC user.
THE SOLUTIONS
1.Update the Operating System: Most users use Windows Operating Systems (Windows XP, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, etc). These operating systems usually have many failures related to security. In order to avoid those failures, Microsoft releases updates and parches for its Operating Systems. These patches and updates correct errors that come with Operating System (there will be some cases when we will need to apply a patch to correct a failure generated by a previous patch). It is very easy to download these patches, just enter http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and downloading the patches the page indicated should be enough.
Many viruses spread because of Windows Operating System weaknesses.
2.Install a Firewall: A Firewall is a program which controls the communications between our PC and the Internet and vice versa, allowing or denying the entrance of certain information packs. This way, you can allow or deny the access to an Internet program, so there will be a time when you will be able to deny access to a malware. Click on Download Firewall to download some of the most important firewalls on the market.
3.Install an antivirus: Our PC may be infected by a virus in many ways: floppy, CD, e-mail, P2P networks. To prevent these infections is it good to have an Antivirus installed on our PC. A virus may show bars on the screen (who can forget the bars virus?!) until it deletes all of our data on the hard disk. No very funny, is it?
Another kind of malicious program that may get in our pc are the trojans. Trojans may not have a visible effect on our PC, but the damage it may cause can be bigger than a virus’. A trojan is a program which is installed on our pc and allows, among other things, other users to enter our PC and access personal information. Imagine you are about to process a bank operation from the Internet, and at the time of entering your password… you would not like someone else to see that, would you? Well, if you have a Trojan installed on your pc it is possible that somebody else may be watching everything you do and may get your password. There’s nothing like having an updated Antivirus so as to make sure we have no viruses or Trojans. So please do not hesitate and Download an Antivirus unless you have one already.
4.Install an Anti Spyware: During the last few years some programs have been around and even though they do not cause any damage to our pc or allow the access to it by alternative places, are considered to be malicious programs. These programs are called Spyware, which are installed on our pc and, depending on the kind of spyware that is installed, its function may change. The functions spywares have are very diverse, they go from collecting information about our Internet use habits to showing unwanted advertising.
There are several programs to eliminate them, three of them together guarantees almost on a 100% the elimination of these unwanted parasites: Ad-aware, SpyBot Search amp; Destroy, HijackThis.
It is really important that we update every program we download, antivirus, antispyware, firewall, etc… since they usually have the option to be updated online, it will cost you nothing and you can keep your computer safe. There is no point in having an antivirus which has not updated its virus database.