Virus Info & Computer Protection
Today, millions of poor computers are being infected by nasty little things we know as malware. They include viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, and adware. This is a general guide that will teach you the basics on how to protect your computer and make it survive years without breaking down... too often... Disclaimer: Don't rely solely on this page as your means of protection. I've been around computers enough to know a fair amount, but I'm in no way a professional computer expert.Now on to the guide!
The first step is pretty obvious if you have any computer knowledge at all. Get an antivirus, and make sure you have a firewall. An antivirus detects potential viruses and other harmful files. The basic function of a firewall is to prevent intrusions.
Recommended Programs:These are some programs I have used before or am using now. They have my recommendation, and you can find a couple that you like.
Comodo - (Free & Paid) This is my personal favorite. They have a great and well-known firewall, as well as an antivirus program. The great thing is that they're free, but none of their products are "cut down" in terms of features.
McAfee - (Paid) They are pretty well-known and high-ranking virus protection program. They also have security suites.
BullGuard - (Paid) I used this in the past, and it was nice. They cost money, but they have trials that you can use.
Windows Defender - (Paid) This is a program from Microsoft. It scans files and protects your computer from threats.
Panda - (Paid) A well-known brand, they have antivirus, antispyware, antispam, and firewall. Their company also keeps track of current global threats. If you don't want to buy Panda, you can consider using their free online scanner.
Ad-Aware - (Free & Paid) Made by Lavasoft, Ad-Aware is pretty popular. I currently have this on my computer, and in the past I've seen it proven to work.
Spybot Search & Destroy - (Free) This is a great, free program that scans for and eliminates spyware. They have been called "the best privacy software available".
SUPERAntiSpyware - (Free & Paid) Similar to Spybot S&D, this is another excellent antispyware program.
Malwarebytes - (Free) This is a program designed to clean an infected computer of malware. It provides a range of tools.
TIPS and REMINDERS:
To help you prevent infection.
Be careful what you download!
This is the biggest issue. Make sure that you trust the publisher of whatever file you're downloading, as well as the site you're downloading it from.
For all you know, it could be a virus. After downloading the file, it's good to scan it to make sure it's safe. Some people like to download torrents. Torrents
can be dangerous and are normally pretty risky, so be very wary of what you download.
Make sure your security is ON.
To make sure your security features are on and working, go to Start -> Control Panel -> and Security Center (if you have Windows).
Don't be stupid.
a.k.a. use your common sense when surfing the Internet. Trust your brain, not your desires. D:
Don't use multiple antivirus/firewall programs.
While this may sound good, it is NOT. Antiviruses can conflict with one another if they're on the same computer and do more harm than good. Use only
one antivirus and one firewall. It's up to you to find which program you like best.
Turn on Automatic Updates.
Be sure that you're getting the latest updates for your computer. They can heighten your security and computer performance.
Choose a good browser.
While Internet Explorer is popular, it's not necessarily the safest and best browser you could use. I recommend Mozilla Firefox or Opera. Safari is also good.
Clean your computer on a basis.
Cleaning your computer betters performance. Do regular virus scans and clean your temporary Internet files by going to Start -> Network Connections -> Internet Settings -> "Delete Cookies and Temporary Internet Files".
Watch out for certain types of files.
.exe files, when you click on them, will run a program. It could be a harmful one disguised as a good program. Also take precaution when unzipping .zip/.rar files. It's good to let your antivirus scan these things before opening them. Also, some files may be disguised as one when it's actually another thing. For instance, they might be named
"blah.gif" but is actually "blah.gif.exe". To make sure you can always see the full file name, go to My Documents >> Tools >> Folder Options >> View. Uncheck "Hide file extensions for known file types" and check "Show hidden files and folders".
Be careful about opening email attachments.
If you see an email from someone you don't know, and especially if they have a file attached, delete their email and don't download anything from them. Make sure you trust the sender first.
WOT and Adblock Plus.
If you have Mozilla Firefox, you can download the add-ons Adblock Plus and Web of Trust. Adblock Plus blocks ads, which is really useful and
makes surfing webpages much better. WOT tells you the safety level of websites, and warns you when you come to a dangerous site.
Eonlight Valley, all its content and graphics are unless stated otherwise (c) Kronakitty (kronakitty@gmail.com) 2005-2009. Official Pokemon contents and images are (c) Nintendo 1995-2009. This is only a fan site, and I do not claim ownership of Pokemon.
