Windows security guide

Today there are tons of malware softwares out there. Malware are software that can damage your computer, and compromise your virtual identity, such as viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, etc.

The first rule that I have to tell you is that, there isn't a 100% safe system. And because Windows has the most security holes, I'm going to present you a guide with which you can make your system more secure. I will assume you know your way around the computer, and if you don't know how to do something you'll use Google. I will also assume that you have the default settings, and you didn't change anything manually.

Because Windows is very vulnerable, you'll need security updates. The only way you can get these, is by buying it. Having legit software is generally a good thing if you want to avoid malware. Have automatic updates turned on, an install them as soon as they come out.

Windows XP users HAVE AUTORUN TURNED OFF(this can be done in the Control Panel)! With autorun on you can be very easily infected without you even knowing it. This problem however does not affect Windows Vista and newer versions.

The next thing you'll need is security software. To have a secure system you'll need an anti-virus, a firewall and anti-spyware. You can get these separately or in a software suite.
We'll start with anti-viruses. There are free and payed versions available out there. While both of them are good, I recommend buying one. Commercial anti-viruses tend to use more resources, they however provide superior protection. While free anti-viruses do their jobs surprisingly well, some viruses may slip in. I scanned a computer with a free anti virus and it said the system was clean, while a scan with a commercial software reported 7 infected objects. Some free products I would recommend are Avast! Home Edition and Avira AntiVir Personal. I haven't decided yet on a commercial version because I'm still trying them out, but I'm not complaining about Bitdefender, and I had some really good experiences with Kaspersky. Having more than one antivirus installed is NOT a good idea! They would slow your system down, and even conflict with each other. Windows Defender is useless.

Firewalls protect your system from unwanted connections. They supervise the network(thus internet) traffic of your computer. If you have a hardware firewall(several newer generation routers have one, check your manual to be sure), then you don't need additional software to do this for you. If however you need one then I really only have one recommendation for you. Comodo Personal Firewall, it is free and one of the best out there. If you don't like Comodo you could try out ZoneAlarm Free. I don't recommend buying one since the free versions are doing their job very well. Using Windows firewall doesn't count as having one, turn it off and forget it even exists.

The rules about free and commercial apply to anti-spyware as with anti-viruses. Most commercial anti-viruses have anti-spyware too, so it's not a problem if you choose a commercial product. If you however want to use freeware then I recommend using: Ad-Aware Free or Spybot - Search & Destroy.

Other things you may want to keep in mind is that you can get infected via decoy mp3 files. These are mp3 only by name, they are in fact malware droppers. I don't recommend using Limewire(Frostwire) since these networks are highly infected. Visiting porn sites can also get you infected very easily. Don't use the same passwords. For important things use strong passwords(at least 6-8 characters containing numbers, small and big letters and special characters).

As a conclusion preventing security disasters is easier than managing them.


Here's a list of websites of the mentioned software:

Anti-virus:

Bitdefender(commercial): http://www.bitdefender.com
Kaspersky(commercial): http://www.kaspersky.com
Avast! Home Edition(free): http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download
Avira Antivirus Personal(free): http://www.free-av.com/

Firewall:

Comodo Internet Firewall(free): http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/
ZoneAlarm Free(free): http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-pc-security-free-firewall.htm

Anti-Spyware:

Ad-Adware(free): http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
Spybot Search & Destroy(free): http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/index.html