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There are many things to keep in check regarding the health and security of your PC. These factors can be overwhelming but its really not as hard as you may think. Consider these 10 easy ways to protect your PC and take the worry off of your mind.

1) Use Anti-Virus Software: This may seem like a no-brainer but the fact is that most people don’t really bother to check to see if they have an anti-virus program installed. Another important fact is that once you get one installed, you may not check to see if its working, scanning, or functioning ever again. Make it a point to check to see if your Anti-virus definitions are up-to-date and that you have a scheduled scan that works and is clean at least weekly.

Free Anti-Virus Programs that Work.

Avira Avast AVG Microsoft Security Beta

2) Don’t download from shady.com If you really need a file or song or whatever you are searching the internet for, maybe try paying for it. There are millions of viruses all across the internet, including through tempting ‘free-movie-downloads’ or torrent websites. Think about the long term. If you have to fork out $10 to get your download, it will be alot less money than trying to rid your computer of the worm you just got from some underground blackhat website.

Proven Free Download Sites.

Download.com PCWorld Downloads Sourceforge.net (though I’m sure you could find trouble if you looked hard enough)

3) Update Your Operating System: Use windows update to find the latest patches and security fixes for your computer. There are new exploits found everyday and hackers take advantage of these to control your PC, steal your identity etc.

Start > Programs > Windows Update

4) Backup Your Computer: Though you may think you have protected your PC to the fullest, there is no such thing as flawless when it comes to the desktop and laptops we use. Make it a point to backup your important files on a weekly, if not daily basis. With the cost of USB drives going down and their capacity going up, they make it easy to store your data somewhere else other than your computer. There are other services out there on the internet, such as FTP, file storage sites, and email that enables you to have a 3rd option.

5) Update your Passwords: Hackers use things called Brute Force Crackers. These tools enable them to break into your accounts on the internet if you have a weak password. Try updating your passwords to something more sophisticated, using uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters (when allowed). These will help prevent hackers from being able to Brute Force their way into your accounts.

This brings up another point about Phishing. Phishing is when you are sent an email that looks like its from your bank or paypal, asking you to update your credit card or change your password, when really it is a Phishing website that looks identical to the actual site. These sites are used to steal your identity and your account.

6) Learn to detect Phishing Emails. A rule of thumb is that if you get an email from a bank or paypal, do not use the link within the email to login to the site. Open a new browser window and manually type in the address and go from there. Some Phishing emails are nearly impossible to detect. So just make it a point to not click the links within these types.

Some more insight:

Legit companies know your name and will most likely have it in the email. If it just says ‘Dear Customer’ then that should be the first warning flag. They know your account number. Phishers do not know your information, they are trying to steal this from you. Most likely if you see your account number in the email, its probably legit. Make sure its the correct account # and not a fake. Check the email header. The email header should indicate it came from the claimed source (though this can be forged!). This means the extended From: field information (usually if you click ‘details’ in the email should be from info@yourbank.com or @paypal.com and not @shadymcshady.com Hackers can spoof hyperlinks to look real. Just because you hover over a link and it says http://paypal.com doesn’t actually mean it will go there. So this makes it tricky. The best course of action, like I said above, is to open a new browser window on your own and type in the url yourself.

7) Physical Protection. Depending on where you live this can be just as troublesome as keeping the viruses out of your system. If you are in college, make sure to buy a laptop lock that fits around your desk or some other hard-to-move object. Laptop’s are easy to steal and expensive, don’t leave it up to trust or responsibility of others. Buy a surge protector for your Desktop PC. Lightning and power surges are unforgiving to electronic equipment. Make sure to buy one that has some sort of joules rating and not just a plug extender. The joules rating isn’t very important because there is no set standard in the way companies measure how many joules the surge unit can protect up against. The rule of thumb here is quality. There are places you want to cut corners and save a buck, but not here. Buy a nice one.

8 ) Firewall. Just like an Anti-virus program, a firewall blocks unknown connections inbound and outbound. If you manage to get a virus, worm, or backdoor, the Firewall will still be able to serve up protection and make you aware that there is something shady going on with your computer. The easiest Firewall I ever used is ZoneAlarm and I still recommend it due to its user-friendliness and convenient interface.

Zone Alarm Firewall

9) Reboot Your PC. This is critical to the safety of your PC because it allows patches and security updates to be applied. Many people simply ignore the pesky ‘Restart Your PC Now’ warning after Microsoft pushes an update to your computer, but just take a few minutes out of your day to reboot your PC to make sure everything is up-to-speed. Furthermore, this helps with the performance of your PC because there are many programs that eventually slow your computer to a crawl. This can be due to many factors: low memory, memory leaks, fragmented hard-drives, over-worked processors, etc. So, reboot. Your computer will thank you later.

10) Secure Your Wireless Network. Many home users just do not take the time to setup their wireless router correctly. If your wireless network at home is unencrypted, anyone who is near your house, apartment or dorm can see the signal. Not only that, if they are smart enough, can read anything you send across the wireless to the internet or to other computers in your room, house, etc. Your PC, privacy, and other sensitive data is open and up-for-grabs. Even when using WEP, it is easily cracked by a hacker that knows what he/she is doing. The best standard is WPA or if able WPA2 is best. Do yourself a favor and read the manual that comes with your wireless router or get your internet provider to configure it for you (if it came with your internet). Its easier to do than you think!