Opening downloaded files before scanning them first from viruses, clicking any
links, accepting each and every cookie on the web etc, are only 3 from many reasons
that put your computer security at risk.

Internet has made a lot of activities such as shopping, reading, getting
informations about a topic etc, just easier and faster like never before, but it
does not come without a price. Every one of us faces the issue of security while
surfing the Internet for any reason. It has become a concern for everyone, that
their personal informations, passwords etc are all protected.

The Intrnet has a darker side though, your computer security is always at risk and
attacked by different Malwares which are malicious softwares designed to steal your
informations or deny operations on your computer including:
Viruses: They infect and attach themselves to other trusted programs on your
computer, in a way that they also become like it.
Trojans: Once downloaded and opened, they collect and steal any personal
informations such as your passwords, PIN numbers… And send them to a thief’s or a
hacker’s database.
Spyware: They watch what the user is doing with his computer and collect different
information about him, and send them to the creator or the hacker over the
internet.
Adware: They load random ads (some of them are usually inappropriate) every time
the internet was accessed by the user.

So the question that every computer user is asking, is how to prevent their computer
from being infected by these malwares?

Increasing the security of your computer is not complicated, you can take few
preventive measures to prevent viruses, trojans, spyware, adware. Such as:
– Installing and keeping an antivirus up to date on your computer. (Symantec’s
Norton Antivirus, McAfee Antivirus, Steganos Antivirus, Kaspersky Antivirus etc…)
– Make sure to enable any feature in the antivirus that looks useful. The more you
are protected, the less viruses will infect you.
– Scan your computer as often as possible, at least once a week (If you could, do it
every night), depending on the level of your Internet activity.
– Turning your Windows Firewall On, or using other reliable ones.
– Regularly run anti-spyware scanners.
– Before downloading any free program that everyone is talking about, think twice,
you might be loading a trojan.
– Block all unwanted cookies or javascript files.
– Any sensitive data which is stored on your computer, make sure you encrypt it.

However, despite all of these precaustionsm, you might still be vulnerable! Few
viruses will always find their way to your system and cause you a lot of damage.

In fact, choosing a secure web browser can help you even more. There are many
different browsers out there, each one of them is built in different ways and has
different security features.
Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera and Google Chrome are
the most popular browsers which you can choose from.

Also consider those tips to enhance your Internet security.
– Before submitting your financial informations, make sure the website is secure
using SLL and Certificates.
– Email Phishing and Scam: Always be wary of malicious hyperlinks. Do not follow any
link sent to your email. Many companies have been used in phishing scams such as
Ebay, Paypal, Wells Fargo etc … Report any suspicious message or a scam requesting
your informations.
– Spam: Block all the emails that are spamming your account everyday. They might be
sending trojans.
– Do not download email attachments from unknown senders. You never know what you
are really downloading.
– Protect your privacy online and clean all areas of your computer. (Temporary
files, history, cookies, index.dat, log files, download history, old registry
entries etc…). If you were interested in doing all this easily, I’d recomend you
to check out a powerful freeware system optimisation and privacy tool: CCleaner, it
will clean your registry of each and every error.
– Never post your email address in an unsecured website on the Internet. It will
reduce the chance of getting virus or scam emails and spam.

But what if you are already infected with a malware? how can you fix it? The first
step, you should identify the security problem that you are facing. Download a
security software (Above are listed some) and run a full scan of your computer. If a
virus was found, the software will take steps to delete it from your system. Make
sure before you confirm to delete any file, do an online search for its name,
because some files can give false alarms.

Finally, there is no reason to always worry about security problems becaue they are
and always will be a part of the Internet, and unfortunately they are becoming more
aggresive. Educate yourself about the operation of computers, and keep yourself up
to date on the Internet threats to prevent any security problem in the future.