| 1 |
Be careful with free downloads and ‘cheap’ software! There are thousands of websites offering excellent free and low cost products to help you with your PC problems, and a few of them are listed below. However you need to be very selective. Once customer recently purchased a ‘cheap’ Windows PC cleaning product from the internet and it was found to have a Trojan embedded within it which compromised the computer. |
| 2 |
Malware is malicious or intrusive software that generally arrives as a result of normal internet use, and may not only cause damage but can also release personal information to the outside world. Get anti virus, anti Spyware, and adware software installed, and keep them up to date. In the case referred to above the Trojan was not detected by the installed Major Brand anti virus software. It was only discovered when some freeware was installed for trialling purposes! So it need not be expensive. |
| 3 |
Get a firewall. This stops the bad guys from getting at your PC through your live connection with the internet. If your router does not have a firewall built in, it is worth considering other software or even hardware firewall products. At the very least you should make sure that the Windows firewall is switched on. |
| 4 |
Defrag your disk regularly. It’s necessary because over time data gets scattered all over the disk, and slows the machine down as the search for data gets increasingly complex. Think of it as tidying up your filing cabinets. Or you sock drawer. Go to Start, All programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. |
| 5 |
Keep your Windows software up to date by downloading the latest updates. Better still, set your PC to do it automatically. Go to Start, Control Panel, Security Centre and ensure it’s switched on. |
| 6 |
Do not open unexpected attachments in emails from people you don’t know. Also, there has been a huge increase in ‘Phishing’ emails which generally purport to come from a bank or other trusted institution, asking you to click on a link so that you can go and verify your log-in information. DON’T respond! Your bank will never ask you to do this! Delete it. |
| 7 |
Consider using an alternative browser, such as Firefox. Windows Internet Explorer is the market leader, and for this reason is the target for the vast majority of malicious code. |
| 8 |
If when you’re surfing a dialogue box appears on the screen asking to install a plug-in or add-on, DO NOT click on OK. It could contain Spyware, adware or other malicious code. Also, if you are redirected to an unexpected website, there is the potential to pick up some unwanted code which could expose information to the outside world. |
| 9 |
Useful sites offering free software: www.lavasoft.de offers Ad Aware, which cleans your PC of unnecessary and sometimes malicious Ad software. www.safer-networking.org/ offers Spybot Search and Destroy, which kills any Spyware that may be lurking on your machine. You should use these products regularly, and make sure you keep them updated. Zone Alarm is a firewall for Windows XP and can be found at www.zonelabs.com. |
| 10 |
If all else fails, or if you’re simply finding things too much to get to grips with, get in touch with PCDoitall and we'll make sure you're protected! |
