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It is surprising sometimes to see how many people are unaware of general computer safety and good operating precepts. This brief
article is the result of numerous requests for an overview of some of the more basic concepts, and focuses on some of the
essential applications one should consider using on a regular basis.
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The topic of computer security is far too vast to delve into here,
but a few common sense tips might certainly be of use for the
average computer user.
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There are a number of essential applications that one should use and run
on a regular basis. The two most important are a good virus scanner and a
reliable firewall. Additional applications that prove themselves invaluable
include general system cleaners and system explorers. None of
these applications alone is enough. But if you use them all on a regular basis,
you will have established an excellent defense.
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For the purposes of this article, we will suggest a few applications to use,
some of which are free, and some of which require purchase. We do not specifically
endorse any one particular application and you are urged to do your own research.
Keep in mind however, that the great popularity of the following products.
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The first essential application is a good virus scanner. Today, most virus
scanners protect against not only virus threats, but worms, trojans, and
other exploits. It is important and a first line of defense against threats,
but keep in mind a virus scanner is never 100%. You will need to either
update the program manually on a regular basis, or allow it to connect
to the internet and update itself. Most virus checkers offer this as a
standard feature. Remember that the auto protect feature should be left
on, unless you are installing new software. One good product is Norton
Anti-Virus provided by Symantec.
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The next essential application is a good firewall A firewall protects
you from both unauthorized access to your computer from the interent, as
well as allowing you to control what programs can access the interent.
A trusted, secure and free firewall application ZoneAlarm is provided
by ZoneLabs. Often, a malicious program
will be downloaded by your browser, and registry settings will be changed to
make it run on next boot up. In this case, the if the virus checker does not
catch it, the firewall will alert you. What you need next are programs
like those listed below to find and remove it.
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Unfortunately, even with a great virus scanner and firewall, there is still
the risk of unwanted and malicious applications and scripts running on your
computer and wreaking havoc. The addition of some useful system cleaners and
system explorers help a great deal. One outstanding program is CCleaner.
When run, it cleans all traces of online activity, removes junk and temp files,
cleans the registry and more. (Often, malicious programs will be downloaded
to temp directories and run later.) CCleaner
is free and can be downloaded from the applications home page. Spybot is
another good program. It scans for and removes spyware, addware, tracking
cookies and more. Spybot.
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Often the weakest link in your computer system is the browser. If you use
Interent Explorer, you will want to make sure its settings are appropriate
for your safety needs. For and excellent tutorial on changing these settings,
see the article on MalwareHelp.org
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Once you become familiar with using applications such as these, you may
want to look some other programs that will allow you to see what is running
on you system, what is accessing files, what is changing the registry and so on.
Some excellent programs such as procexp.exe, a process explorer and autoruns.exe,
a program that shows you everything that is automatically started by the operating
system, can be found at SysInternals.
(Many of these programs are for more advanced users, but are worth reading about.)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here reflect those of the
author and are for general information purposes only.
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