THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU SHOULD DO MAKE YOUR COMPUTER SAFE…
PLEASE ADD SOME MORE OR POLITE COMMENT ABOUT ANY OF THESE
Be safe …consider these security measures
First decide who is going to be using your computer and define your needs and what you will NOT need …only have what you need …DO NOT have loads of stuff that you don’t need …
The less stuff you have the less chances of nasties getting through there.
I am the only one person who uses my computer… so i don’t need networks and synchronising and lnking with others and other devices i don’t need messengers and printers and cameras…if these things are on the comp then disable uninstall or remove them…the more things on there the more risk of hacking , backdoors virus Trojans rootkits and pup susp behvr key loggers and nasties…
Go in device manager and get rid of things u don’t need. I disabled network printers fax etc which i do not have.
Go in task manager and get rid of things you don’t need…i don’t need msmsgs.exe the messenger etc
Set computer to delete browsing history upon exit
Delete all temp files (go in run type %temp% and delete all) DO check disk and defragnment empty bin
Don’t have big contact and address book.
Go in control panel add remve things you don’t need… on the left side there is icon for windows componennets … get rid of things you will never use…like groove
I need just internet browsing and e mail only …
Don’t allow third party cookies
Chnge passwords often and have strong ones
Firewall and antivirus micosft malware removal kit rapport (have a good non conflicting combination)
Don’t click on links in emails and beware of attachments
Look for https and padlock… right click in a blank area to see url …
On yahoo log in page refresh should change the small icon from keys to fingerprint to shield etc…fake one will not respond to refresh
Type in address bar rather than using links
Avoid internet banking and don’t leave too many sensitive data on computer
If log in asks for pw again don’t…give…instaed close down and try again.
Beware of Fake log in pages
When you start or close down your computer if you see the action TWICE its because the first bit is the hacker and the second bit is the real op system…
Beware of exceptions …and allowed things…
Be suspicious if you start seeing changes which you did not make
Go in safe mode and run full virus scan
I am sure you can think of some more
I would like to call this the " basic minimalistic" approach, and there is quite some truth in this - lean = mean and that won’t hurt. One important issue I missed here: update and patch your OS and third party software to be protected against exploits abused by malware, and have system back-ups on the shelf for a rainy day or when you need to restore from scratch (e.g. when file infector ruins your files). There is more but this was the first thing that came to mind, when I read your recommendations,
Welcome to the forum. I expected Polonus to be the first one to reply.
Some of us aren’t quite as cautious (paranoid). After all, the internet
and your computer etc. are tools meant to be used and enjoyed.
If we totally lock everything down, we might be safe but we wouldn’t be able to function.
There is much good information in your post but for those of us who are constantly on the move,
some of these simply aren’t practical or possible.
http://my.jetscreenshot.com/2701/m_20120625-rcti-40kb.jpg
i have got
xp desktop windows 5.1 version service pk 3 ( simple not much hardware)
all my security is FREE version
avastfree… malwarebytes… malware removal tool (from microsoft) and just the normal microsoft firewall
please suggest
1 how to improve my security…is my combination ok?
should I get FREE outpost FIREWALL ONLY and should I remove my simple windows computer firewall
which web site do i get it from…what do i have to be careful about there eg dont get the full suit just the firewall only ? the website is confusing to d/l outpost
is it possible for nasty things (hacking, key logs, passwrd phising, fake login pages, rootkits backdoor cookies trojans etc) to hide in our computer despite all these security measures …for example if wrong things are ticked in exceptions and allowed ? then antivirus and spyware thinks oh its ok its a friendly part of the computer ?
i got windows fix it cen
i installed the d/l manager
and then d/l the malware removal tool in there but the file assoc was missing and when i tried to open it small window pops up giving me a list of programs to open with …
so i got rid of the D/L manager
but i still have another previously installed Malware removal tool (which is working perfectly fine)
but
windows is asking me to d/l malware removal tool everyday (even though i have got it nicely working on my desktop)
so when windows does updates i cant find it anywhere…(temp folder ? )
i think may be my rundll32.exe file is missing or gone
but i have no idea how to resolve this issue its not in the system32 folder
please help
…
…
how do i get a footnote in all my posts
like this
i have got
xp desktop windows 5.1 version service pk 3 ( simple not much hardware)
all my security is FREE version
avastfree… malwarebytes… malware removal tool (from microsoft) and just the normal microsoft firewall
In all honesty you are preaching to the converted, those that need the help generally don’t read anything about securing their system.
As Bob3160 said you don’t need to go all paranoid to protect your system, good antivirus (avast of course) good firewall with outbound protection, your browser (running as limited user or sandboxed). You can add other things anti-malware to compliment your AV.
If you spend lots of time keeping your security up to date, you become the slave to it rather than it being your slave.
A healthy dose of common sense and suspicion is very important too. But above all else (for when the dark brown stuff hits the fan) a robust backup and recovery strategy, hard disk imaging software, run regularly and you can recover form all manner of issues (not just malware related).
That is exactly what I experienced here as well. Just lately when avast shield protection blocked access to sites with malcode, a user just turned the protection off because he “knew” there was nothing suspicious on that site and av interfered with his online experience (of turning his computer into a doorstopper). When faced with the generation that " clicks on" despite of any warning, indeed your preaching (and mine and DavidR’s as well ) will fall on deaf ears. And you will be “a preaching in the desert” until these users catch a serious infection like a file infector. Then it is “Oh why my av solution did not save my glorious behind?”, but then it is too late. I hope at least a fraction of what we preach here will not fall on deaf ears and a number of users will be converted to safer practices for their own benefit and that of other users,
Yes, many don’t get religion/converted until they have a near death experience/totally stuffed up computer and no longer able to connect to the internet for their daily fix of their social network/gaming site of choice.
Our great leader, Vince Steckler, said that 80% of infections are due to programs that are NOT up to date. The end user is the tool that goes to the website and initiates the scan to find these vulnerabilities. So, we agree that the main issue is the linkage between the steering wheel and the accelerator pedal!
wow
you are all so nice and wonderful great and fantastic
thank u for all your polite and constructive comments.
but I am sorry… i dont understand some of the of the very wise advise…bit too advanced for me…
i am only using free avast on its own…thats all …nothing else… is that sufficient ? no…
should I add a spyware and malware in addition to it…
if you suggest something pls do give full details as to how to get it…
