Asked By
avelyn
420 points
N/A
Posted on - 06/07/2011
What are the do’s and don’ts to keep computer away from virus, worms, malware or any threat that may risk the safety of the computer operating system? Nowadays there are lots of people, who make fun of other computers, trying to bypass all the security of the computer system, infiltration is one of them.
Lots of sites nowadays are untrustworthy, wreaking havoc across machines connected to the internet. Microsoft and other product is irresistible target for intruder. Some people spend money just to make sure that there computer is away from any threat, but it is always preferable to learn it by yourself.
What would be the precautionary measure to be done? What are the things should not be done and what are the things needed to be done? Making your computer safe and secure will save you money and will save you from any consequences for any threat that may harm your computer.
Do’s and Don’ts to make computer secure and safe.
Hello Avelyn!
There are a lot of do’s and don’ts when it comes to computers. I will try to state some of the common do’s and don’ts of computers. I may include some technical things which will be really helpful in keeping your computer running just as new as you bought it.
Here are some of the do’s and don’ts.
1. Do Connect and power on all peripherals before powering on the computer.
This includes printer, monitor, scanner, passive (mains) speakers, external modems or any devices attached to your PC. This is the recommended procedure and should be followed at all times. Recent printers and scanners are equipped with power management features, that help save running costs
Don’t Disconnect the keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer or any peripheral if the PC is powered on at the mains
2. Do Make sure that your computer is always shut down the proper way.
-
This ensures that the Computers hard disk(also known as the hard drive) will not be scratched by the needle that reads the revolving disk inside.
-
Don’t Switch off your computer without shutting down using the Start Button
3. Do Be sure to install an Anti-Virus
-
This ensures that any virus which tries to attack your computer are kept away or quarantined away from destroying your computer.
-
This may also serve as the best security for your computer.
-
Your firewall is never enough for complete protection from certain viruses (most viruses now a days are create to get passed firewalls of computers).
-
Don’t Download any anti-virus software which says that you can have “free scans” for your computer over the internet
4. Do Run disk scan and disk clean up regularly
It is good to scan the disk atleast once every two weeks. This ensures that the useless programs and shortcuts are taken out to make the computer run faster and more efficiently. This also provides a sweep for viruses and unwanted programs which are sometimes not detected by some anti viruses. It also provides clean ups for certain files that cannot be deleted directly by the user.
Don’t Terminate Scandisk prematurely when your PC did not shutdown properly (you must wait for the computer to shutdown)
5. Do Defragment your hard disk.
This is to ensure that files are optimized such that each is stored continuously across the disk surfaces and not fragmented. If you regularly Defragment your hard disk and use the option 'check the drive for errors' then you will not need to run Scandisk separately. It is possible to disable the swap file and then run defrag so as to fully optimize the space on your hard disk. After defrag has completed you can enable the swap file again. This is recommended if you regularly add and remove files.
-
Don’t Always run Scandisk with the option to scan the disk surface for errors
-
I hope these tips were helpful to you and good luck with keeping your computer safe from all those nasty viruses you may encounter over the internet.
Good Luck!
Answered By
chevin8
0 points
N/A
#108287
Do’s and Don’ts to make computer secure and safe.
Hi Avelyn,
These are the ways to make your computer safe and secure.
-
Install Anti-Virus Software – This should not even have to be listed, if you don’t have anti-virus software installed, you’re asking for trouble! And if your reason for not installing anti-virus software is because it’s too expensive, then that can reason can be shot down because there are several free anti-virus programs out there that are considered better than commercial software packages. Here are two of the most popular ones: AVG anti virus – Very good and completely free.
-
Avast Anti virus – Almost on par with AVG.
-
Update All Software – Installing an anti-virus program by itself is not enough. There are hundreds of new threats that are found daily and the anti-virus programs release updates regularly to combat the new threats. Make sure you anti-virus program is set to update automatically so that you don’t have to rely on your memory to do it. Also, this goes for all the software on your computer. The most important software to keep up to date is your Windows operating system. It is essential to have Automatic Updates turned on and set to download and install updates automatically.
-
Install only Trusted Software – If you’re not sure what a piece of software does from it’s name, then don’t install it. Also, don’t install anything you didn’t intend to install in the first place. Sometimes programs will ask you to install other programs during the install of the first application. Be careful of that because it’s usually spyware. Install software from big names sites only, such as Microsoft or Adobe.
-
Avoid P2P File Sharing Software – If used with great caution, P2P software is quite useful for movies, songs and software, but if you’re not very technically savvy, you might end up downloading a song that has a Keystroke logger attached to it that will send anything you type to some other computer over the Internet. It’s almost impossible to tell that this is occurring unless your anti-virus pick it up in their scans.
-
Delete Unknown Emails – If you receive emails from random people’s names, do not bother to open the email, just delete it. If you have any doubts after reading the name and the subject, it’s probably not someone you know. Never download or open attachments unless you are sure it’s from someone you know. Give the person a call quickly and ask them if you’re not sure. Most large companies that you create online accounts with will not send you attachments unless you specifically ask for them through their web site. Also, be wary of any emails from sites pretending to be banks, auction sites, etc asking for you to verify bank account info or address info. No bank ever does that.
-
Do not click on Ads – Avoid clicking on ads if you can. Especially those ads where something is flying around and if you shoot the duck, you win some prize! Ads have become more sophisticated in that they try to make the ad interactive so that you’ll be tempted to play it like a game.
-
Run Virus Scans Regularly – If you’re not in the mood to scan every day, at least run a scan once a week. Actually, setup a schedule for your computer in your anti-virus software to run a scan late at night or whenever you don’t use your computer and that way you won’t be bothered with a slow computer.
-
Be careful what you attach to your computer – This is a more common way to transfer viruses than you might think. Everyone now has a USB flash stick that they carry around on their key chains, ready to snap into any computer. But who knows what your viruses are on your friends computers and what accidentally got transferred to their USB stick. A lot of virus programs will auto launch right when the USB stick is put into the computer, so you don’t even have to open or download any of the files to be infected.
-
Avoid Shady Web Sites – If you need to look at porn, then make sure you do it in a virtual environment. You are DEFINITELY going to get some virus or spyware if you browse porn sites on your computer. Virtualization basically allows you to run programs like Internet Explorer in a virtual environment that does not effect your current operating system. If you want to find out more, search for “Virtual PC” or “VMWare” in Google. Otherwise, simply avoid going to shady web sites!
-
Turn On or Install a Firewall – If you’re running Windows XP, make sure Windows Firewall is turned on. A firewall prevent intruders from gaining access to your computer by limiting the number of ports that are open to the public. Also, when buying a wireless router, make sure it has a built in firewall. Having a software and hardware firewall is better than just having one or the other.
-
Secure Your Wireless Network – Most wireless routers are set to no security when you install them. Be sure to log into the router and at least set the basic security that requires a password. There are stronger encryption options, but if you don’t understand those, then simply set a password on the router, otherwise anyone can connect to your home network and access everything.
-
Use a Complex Password for Login – This means that you should already have a password to login to your computer. Not having a password at all is not a good idea. Create a password for all user accounts and make sure it’s complex. Complex means it should have numbers, upper case characters, lower case characters, and symbols. This makes it way more difficult for a cyberpunk to get into your computer.
-
Always Defragment your hard drives- This will compact the unused space in your hard drive.
-
Always clean your computer- Cleaning your computer makes your computer last long. It avoids freezing/hangs of your computer.
