Simple tips to protect your home computer from online threats

[CarderPlanet]

This article was written for educational purposes only. We do not call anyone to anything, only for information purposes! The author is not responsible for your actions.

The bright and exciting virtual world of the Internet has long and firmly become a part of our life. But behind the beautiful pictures, interesting texts and fascinating acquaintances in social networks, there are hidden, but quite real threats. It is likely that after visiting a news site or watching a popular movie online, your computer will freeze, display unwanted advertisements, and applications will crash more often. And in some cases, viruses or spyware can irreversibly damage the operating system (or even hardware) or transfer your confidential information to an attacker. However, refusing to use the Internet in the 21st century is an unrealistic task: according to researchers, from 50 to 80% of our communication with the world (work or personal) occurs using Internet technologies. So let's talk about.

How do viruses and spyware penetrate your computer?​

Viruses and spyware often do more than just slow down the operation of a computer device: they can cause a lot more problems for the user. The most common ones are as follows:

• deleting personal files from the hard drive;
• blackmail and extortion of money (scam) with threats to post your photos, videos or personal data on the Internet (another option is blocking the computer with intrusive advertising banners and screensavers);
• constant PC malfunctions, which makes normal work with it impossible;
• banner ads and pop-ups (often with pornographic information) that appear every time you start your browser;
• theft of personal information stored on a computer: logins, passwords, bank card numbers;
• sending spam and virus attacks from your PC to other computers.

Safe surfing rules: what every user should know​

If you spend a lot of time on the Internet for work and personal reasons and constantly visit new resources, taking care of Internet security is vital. Attackers are very resourceful, and new threats are popping up every day. To be calm about your favorite PC or laptop, you should adhere to the following recommendations from leading Internet security experts:

1. Installing an antivirus. As user reviews of Bitdefender antivirus and other similar programs show, this is truly the first line of defense for your PC against hacker attacks. Reliable antivirus software scans the sites you visit, emails and your device's hard drive for malicious code that can destroy, replace, or steal your personal information or disrupt normal computer operation. However, it is very important that the modules and virus databases of the program are regularly updated: this will allow, in fact, in real time to neutralize a potential virus or computer "spy" even before causing serious damage to your device.
2. Installing a firewall (firewall) and anti-spyware. Such programs allow you to monitor and analyze network traffic passing through your computer. They easily figure out the spyware that hackers use to gain access to your webcam, email, logins and passwords from accounts in social networks and banking systems. In addition, spyware can collect information about your activities on the Internet, transfer data stored on your hard drive to a specific address, change operating system settings.
3. Configuring automatic updates of the antivirus and operating system. The more modern the installed software, the less likely it is that a virus will make a real hole in it.
4. Thorough monitoring of internet sites. Resources that offer free software, e-books, audio or video (not to mention pornographic sites and other delights of the dark web) often contain dangerous program code, and along with the necessary book or utility, you can easily download the latest virus or spyware. Also, in no case follow the link if the address or design of the site seems suspicious to you - more often than not, it does not seem.
5. Conscious choice of interlocutors for Internet communication. On the web, you can easily introduce yourself as anyone. Therefore, even if you feel in a conversation a real kinship of souls, do not rush to share personal information with someone on the other side of the screen. Sometimes even stories about marital status or job changes in the future turn against you.
6. A ban on opening suspicious emails and downloading attachments sent by e-mail. This method of viruses penetrating a computer is considered a classic of the genre. Always pay attention to whether you know the sender, what the subject line says, and whether your friend's or relative's communication style seems a little unusual to you.
7. Copying important information to flash drives and other external media (CD, DVD, external hard drives). Thus, you will be able to save your favorite photos and work projects, even if hackers get to your PC.
8. Using password managers and encryption programs for sensitive information. They act as a second line of defense on the Web, preventing sensitive personal information from falling into the hands of third parties.

In fact, if you exercise reasonable care and deliberately surf the Internet, and have installed a high-quality and effective antivirus, the likelihood of serious cyberattacks on your PC is reduced to zero. And it does not require large financial or time investments from the average user.