Avoiding viruses and malware

This is not intended to be in depth advice, but rather a general overview.

Computer viruses, spyware, adware and malware has become a major problem over the last few years especially for those using the Microsoft Windows platform. Viruses can cause a huge loss in productivity and can become costly if miscreants get hold of bank and credit card details from their installed viruses. Maintaining a secure system neednt be a difficult or time consuming task and could save you hours of frustration and sleepless nights.

Securing your PC

When Windows was first put together it was never designed to be a networked computer and as such MS didnt have to worry about building a secure system that was safe from other users on a network. Of course the internet developed and steps had to be taken, the system patched, to ensure security. UNIX on the otherhand was designed to be networked and has had its security and protocols built in to its core since its inception to reflect this fact. That said a windows PC can be secure if a few simple steps are taken.

The first is a good firewall. A firewall controls and monitors what comes in and out of your computers various ports. This can either be a hardware based firewall or software based, or both. Most routers now have a firewall built in and should be enabled by default and windows xp for example also comes with a software firewall. Always ensure that the firewall is on and active, xp users should get a warning message if the firewall is disabled. There are plenty of third party software and hardware firewall solutions and products available however you should find the the built in xp firewall along with a good router should be enough.

Keep your system up to date. Microsoft XP and Vista both have an 'automatic update' feature that should keep the system up to date and install the latest security patches and updates.

Although its possible to operate a system without antivirus software, it is advisable to use it. There are numerous vendors offering an array of products for keeping your PC secure but in our experience there is one that stands out above the rest. Nod32 from Eset has proven to be an excellent package and in our opinion is well worth the money. Unlike many other packages such as Norton, it doesnt install a lot of extra software and the program is nice and slim. This means it wont be hogging to much of your system resource and slow other application down. Antivirus vendor AVG also offer a free package for home and personal use and reviews suggest it is actually quite good.

Human error

Without a doubt the most vulnerable links in the chain are the computer users themselves. Many viruses are spread via 'human engineering', trying to get an email recipient to open an infected email or clicking on a link by writing something leading in the message. The most common form is of course Phishing. This is when an email is received from what looks like you bank or building society asking you to go to a certain website and login with you banking details. If you do click on the link (not recommended) you'll be taken to a very convincing looking website that is probably a direct clone of the bank in question. Once you've entered your login details you'll simply be shown a page saying that theres a problem with the website and you should check back later. Whats just happened is that the details you entered have been logged and could be used to login to your legitimate online bank account.

Phishing emails can also look as though they've come from Ebay, Paypal, Youtube, Facebook - in fact any site that requires you to register an account.

Is there an invulnerable operating system?

The simple answer is no. Each and every operating system will have vulnerabilities and security issues and it should never be assumed that an operating system is totally safe. Granted Macs can be more secure but then they are less targeted by virus writers due to their market share. Linux can be pretty bullet proof but it would only take an unaware user to run a dubious script while logged in as root for his computer to be compromised.

Its fair to say that the best weapon against computer malware is a well informed and cautious user