5 Things You Can do to Protect Your PC From Viruses and Malware

Nothing goes well on your PC once viruses or malware make it their favorite abode. You are left with just a few choices only once you fall prey to the deceptive tricks of such online threats. Everything including software and hardware components seems vulnerable to viruses. The damaging extent could be so high that it will hijack your privacy and security apart from ruining your OS and other important applications and software. What can save you best from such precarious attacks and prevent you from slipping into this perilous situation are your proactive steps and smart use of security tips.

In this article you will find best 10 security tips that help you protect your PC from viruses and malware:

Install strong security software

The first step towards ensuring strong PC security is to install antivirus software of good repute. Having a good antivirus program on your PC, you get reliable security from Trojans, hackers, and spyware. Good security programs are equipped with important security components such as integrated antivirus, anti-spyware, firewall, anti-spam, anti-phishing and data backup technologies. All these components work in tandem to prevent advanced and tricky online threats. If you are having an effective antivirus program on your PC, you can go ahead to scan disks, email attachments, downloaded files, and other documents that are created using word processing and excel spreadsheets programs.

Go for a secure Internet Service Provider (ISP)

You should always choose a secure ISP after ensuring that the service provider adheres to effective anti-spam and anti-phishing security protocols. If you are not aware of such service providers then you can go to the web and find out the list of most secured ISPs.

Enable your PC with automatic Windows updates

You should ideally keep automatic updates enabled on your PC and make it a habit of downloading all relevant Microsoft Windows updates regularly and keep your OS always updated and ready to counter security threats. These updates contain security updates that patch the OS against known security vulnerabilities. If your PC is patched against such security threats and installed with a firewall then your computer will be guarded against Trojan and spyware installation.

Tread with caution while opening attachments

This is one of the fundamental rules of safe web browsing and ensuing PC security. You should always exercise caution while opening attachments. You should also configure your antivirus program to automatically scan all email and instant message attachments to prevent any security failure. You are also advised to ensure that your email doesn't open attachments automatically or render graphics. Moreover, you also need to make sure that the preview pane is turned off. Make it a thumb rule not to open unsolicited emails, messages or attachments especially those that are coming from strange sources.

Be cautious while using smartphones/tablets, cell phone, and Wi-Fi devices

You need to be cautious while using devices like smartphone/tablets or Wi-Fi enabled devices because most of the time viruses and Trojans sneak into your PC via e-mail/instant message attachment that are downloaded from the web or uploaded along with other data that are sourced from a desktop. Nowadays, we often come across incidents of viruses and mobile phishing attacks. Although, these attacks are in formative stage now, but they are expected to become more common as more and more people are now accessing mobile multimedia services and the Internet content right from their mobile devices. So the best way to prevent such smart threats is to be proactive and careful.

Above discussed are the 5 important tips using which in regular practice, you can prevent most of the online threats. So start implementing them while using Internet for web browsing and data downloading and keep online threats at bay.

Brooke M. Perry is an ardent technician associated with Qresolvecomputer virus removal , with wide experience of fixing issues with PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. With a strong track record of devising effective ways of online pc support and system security, she has so far helped thousands of users across the globe. Her writings on tech issues are the reflection of her in-depth interest and command she carries as a online tech support technician. Her blogs and articles have been rated high for their lucid style and easy to understand language.

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3 Things You Can do to Protect Your Mac From Malware

Gone are the days when Apple's Mac computers were considered entirely immune from threats like viruses and malware. Some of the recently reported incidents approve the fact that the security of the PCs has been challenged and compromised by malware. Analysts worldwide expect that the Apple would certainly come up with improved technology to once again reclaim its forte of producing PCs that have no threats from malware. This article provides you tips using which you can protect your computers from malware.

Below mentioned are the useful tips that help you protect your Mac PC from malware:

Keep the operating system (Mac OS X) always updated

Apple is totally aware and concerned about the security threats for Mac. To fix the system vulnerabilities and secure the Mac OS from malware and other associated threats, Apple periodically releases updates. Users need to install these updates and keep the Mac OS X totally updated so that malwares don't find any loop hole in the system. Apple has been seriously dealing with such security threats since the launch of the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. They are releasing updates and doing everything that is possible to improve the Mac security. It has introduced an advanced security feature called 'Gatekeeper' in its latest OS to prevent users from downloading malicious web content, software or programs.

So the first step towards keeping your Mac safe is to keep your OS always updated.

Sandboxing

According to security experts, merely preventing exploits is not enough to prevent threats rather PC makers need to do something more to protect the operating system. This notion is duly realized by Apple which takes initiatives to safeguard Safari by sandboxing certain components of the browser. As you know it very well that sandboxing is process that is effective in blocking the access of unnecessary programs to the data and information stored on your PC.

However, Apple wants to follow the design of iOS because malware have never been able to make iOS their victim. The PC maker also wants to sandbox and certify all the apps that are available on the App store for better security. Although, Apple is in favor of setting stiff standards to improve the security of Mac but at the same time it is apprehensive about its negative impact on the flexibility of developers. Mac users can resort to Apple-approved Mac apps that are very effective in preventing malware from exploiting the vulnerabilities of the computer.

As discussed above, by adopting sandboxing you can secure the data as well as PC from malware and other associated threats.

Use antivirus software

Use of antivirus program is a traditional but effective way of securing your PC and it is equally effective even in case of Mac computers. PC security experts recommend Mac users to use specific antivirus program for better security. One of the trusted antivirus programs for Mac computers is VirusBarrier X6 however you can find many others that are also very useful and effective. Installing antivirus program is the trusted, reliable and best way of securing your PC from all types of malware threats.

The tips mentioned above are effective and helpful in preventing malware attacks on your Mac. Out of the three the most important is to update your OS on regular basis so that threats like viruses and malware don't exploit the OS vulnerabilities to attack the PC.

Hi! I am Brook M. Perry, a prolific blog writer and keen author of articles related to Computer security and solution for issues related to computers and mobile devices. Being associated with the reputedVirus Removal service provider Qresolve, I have resolved thousands of tech issues for our customers from worldwide. It is made possible with the mix of my academic and professional acumen in technologies and IT environment coupled with my dedication and passion to provide quick online a internet security .My areas of interest are virus removal, PC security, endpoint security system, router support etc. You can follow me for my useful computer support articles on Ezine and other article-oriented websites.

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5 Most Dangerous Viruses That Can Infect Your PC During Internet Browsing

Internet is considered to be the home of viruses, malware, Trojans and other similar threats that are ready to infect PCs. Your system is prone to these infections while you are browsing or downloading online content including websites, portals, blogs and others. Nowadays, viruses are adopting different means besides the usual e-mails and attachments. These threats enter your system while you open an infected e-mail message or download an attachment. They use these carriers to launch them into your system and steal important data. They also harm the software, applications and overall functioning of the PC.

There are several kinds of viruses that can easily infect your PC online. Some of them are very dangerous and you should ideally know about their behavior, mode of infection and the havoc that they can cause.

Considering the widespread attack of such threats and to let you know about them, the 5 most dangerous viruses have been discussed in this article.

Beast Trojan horse

This is a common and one of the most dangerous Trojans, also known as Remote Administration Tool (RAT). As you all know that Trojan horse is a malicious software program that harms or infects a PC only after the virus in this program gets executed. After the virus gets executed it makes numerous copies of itself and spreads these at different locations and directories. With this kind of propagation, it gets your PC under control and starts stealing secret information by making logs of keystrokes that you enter for usernames and passwords. This harmful Trojan horse can also harm PCs with reverse connections. Once detected it needs to be removed immediately otherwise disastrous consequences may follow.

SQL Slammer

The SQL Slammer is a computer worm which is also known as Sapphire. It was first noticed on January 25, 2003 when it infected more than 75,000 PCs all around the world by exploiting the vulnerabilities found in SQL servers. SQL Slammer has been designed to deny service on certain Internet hosts and slow down general traffic of the Internet. However it is a misnomer because it does not use the SQL language, rather it exploits the buffer overflow bug in the SQL server of Microsoft as well as the Desktop Engine database products. Later a patch was released to control and stop the rampant activities of this virus.

Black worm

Black worm is also known as Mywife, Nyxem, etc is a dangerous computer worm that typically spreads via the e-mails using the External SMTP engine. Black worm moves into the PC along with different body texts, attachments and subjects. Like a typical worm or Trojan it creates various copies of itself and inserts them to infect the hard drive. It is so smartly programmed that it infects the hard drive with the name of a legitimate Windows file so that it remains undetected. Once it reaches to the hard drive it starts corrupting the data stored there. The worst thing about this worm is that it can also delete or deactivate antivirus programs if both happen to be in the same directory.

Numbing Nimda

Numbing Nimda is a highly active computer worm which is also known as the Concept virus. Like other worms, Numbing Nimda is also capable of creating multiple copies of it and then spreading them as embedded attachments. When the recipient of the corrupt e-mail messages opens up the particular e-mail, the virus travels across to reach the recipient's PC. Moreover, this virus can also travel through server web traffic, downloads and shared hard drives.

This has been designed to modify web documents as well as executable files that make it all the more dangerous for internet users.

Expletive deleted explorer

Expletive deleted explorer is also a computer worm which can delete Microsoft Windows documents such as PowerPoint, Excel, Word files apart from other important files and documents. This worm sneaks into the victim's PC via e-mails that usually come from a known user. The file or attachment that contains this virus shows a fake error message to dupe the victim. It keeps on watching the victim's Inbox and after getting the right chance it starts sending replies to various senders.

Brooke M. Perry is an ardent technician associated with Qresolve online technical support , with wide experience of fixing issues with PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. With a strong track record of devising effective ways of online pc support and system security, she has so far helped thousands of users across the globe. Her writings on tech issues are the reflection of her in-depth interest and command she carries as a computer support technician. Her blogs and articles have been rated high for their lucid style and easy to understand language.

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