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How Do I... Secure My PC Against Hackers?
Defend Your Computer
"Defend my computer! What are you talking about" I hear you say. Why should you be concerned? what is there to be concerned about, it's not like there's anyone trying to smash your computer with a sledgehammer, or looking over your shoulder ready to write down your credit card details as you do your online shopping.
Or is there...
Your computer might catch a virus. Now some viruses don't do much harm, they might simply pop up an advert now and then. This is like catching a cold, it's inconvenient and uncomfortable but doesn't do any lasting damage and can be cured easily.
Some viruses are much worse however, potentially they are capable of deleting all your data and trashing your operating system. Worse still are the viruses that quietly wait for an opportunity to steal your online bank accounts and credit card details. These viruses can cause lasting and devastating damage to your computer, your finances and your life.
How does your computer catch a virus...?
One of the most common ways to catch a virus is by opening an attachment to an email. If the attachment is an infected executable file then you have contracted the virus. The hacker has tricked you into installing the virus on your computer. The rule of thumb is "If you don't trust the source of the email then don't open any attachment".
Another way to catch a virus is to load an infected file from a CD, floppy, flash memory stick or the Internet etc. Some viruses can attach themselves to files on another computer and then infect your computer when any of those infected files are transferred to your computer. Once the infected file is on your computer it can then infect all your files. In this way the infection spreads like a virus which is where they get the name.
Another less obvious way for your computer to become infected is simply by being connected to the Internet. Modern computer operating systems are designed to make life easier and go to great lengths to achieve this aim. These operating systems, like the one running on your computer, are fiendishly sophisticated and complicated. It is this very complicated nature that makes it impossible to ensure that the system is completely secure. The system will always have imperfections, bugs or simply things that the programmers never thought of when they were creating the system.
Hackers study the operating system you are using in great depth, always looking and probing for vulnerabilities that would allow them to gain access to your system. Please remember that known vulnerabilities do exist and the hackers are finding new ones all the time. From time to time the operating system vendors release security updates that you should install when they become available. But, while these updates fix bugs and vulnerabilities they rarely fix them all and can never be completely up to date. There will always be opportunities for the hacker to exploit.
Your computer can also get infected with 'Spyware'. This is a name given to mechanisms deposited on your computer that are designed to gather information with the intent of transmitting the information to a server somewhere. Spyware can take the form of a 'cookie' in your web browser or it might form part of an application that you have acquired and installed.
Cookies play a legitimate part in your online browsing experience, they can remember which page on a web site you visited last and return you to it automatically. They can remember details about you so that the website that deposited the cookie can identify you when you next visit. There are many legitimate uses for cookies and some less legitimate. They can be used to track your browsing activities without your knowledge for instance.
Cookies can be placed on your computer at any time you browse a web site if you have cookies enabled in your browser. Most people enable cookies because the benefits outweigh the threats.
Perhaps the most alarming threat to your computer is the ever increasing trend for 'always-on', broadband Internet connections. If you could examine the data traffic between the Internet and your computer while you are connected you would see a continual barrage of attacks on your system. Some of these attacks will be from search engine robots like Google and Yahoo looking for web servers on your computer that it can analyse or 'spider' as they call it. Attacks from search engines do no harm and have a legitimate purpose but there are always attacks from hackers with less noble intent. The longer you are connected to the Internet the more attacks you will receive and the more chance there is of one of them getting through and infecting your computer.
How to protect your PC easily and cheaply (Free)
My computer is connected many hours a day but I make sure that it is protected the best I can. The good news is that I don't spend any money doing it. Read on to find out how I secure my computer against viruses and spyware.
The four free products below have been installed on my computers for many months now, I use them every day and I'm very pleased with them. If you want to install them on your PC right now just follow the links in turn, download the free versions of the products (you might have to search a little for them) and install them on your computer.
Note that the products discussed are free for non commercial use so you might have to purchase the full versions if you are using them for your work.
Free AVG Virus Checker
Free AVG Virus Checker Protects you computer from virus infections when loading files. It also scans all your emails as they come in to make sure that there are no known viruses contained in them. It also scans outgoing email to ensure that you don't infect your friends when you send mail to them.
I use Mozilla Thunderbird for my mail but I'm sure that AVG will work fine with Outlook, Outlook Express and other popular email clients.
To install AVG visit the web site here and follow the links to download the free edition.
When you have downloaded the file to a suitable place on your hard drive double click on it to run the setup program. Follow the instructions to install the application. When it has installed it will place a little icon in your system tray.
Free ZoneAlarm Firewall
Free ZoneAlarm Firewall Works like a security guard standing on the door between your computer and the Internet. It stands there blocking any unwanted intrusions into your system, turning away any and all attackers. A good firewall is an essential utility on any computer connected to the Internet.
Note that ZoneAlarm replaces the Windows XP Firewall which should be turned off. In my opinion, ZoneAlarm is a superior Firewall.
Go here to download the free version of ZoneAlarm. In step #1 Click the "I use my PC for (check one): O Personal purposes" then click the submit button at the bottom of the page.
The free version of ZoneAlarm is the one on the right of the table and has two stars. Click the "Download Now" button. On the next page click the "Download FREE ZoneAlarm" button then the "Download Now" link at the top of the next page.
Save the download file on your computer somewhere then click to run it and install. ZoneAlarm will ask you several questions during setup and will ask you to reboot your computer during the procedure. You can accept most if not all of the default settings.
When the setup is complete you should have a little ZoneAlarm icon like this in your system tray.
Free Ad-Aware SE Spyware scanner
Free AdAware SE Spyware Killer will scan your system and block any spyware and other malicious applications that it finds. You should use Ad-Aware on a daily basis to keep your computer clean.
Go to the Lavasoft website here and click the "Downloads" button half way down the menu on the left.
Scroll down the page to find the "Mirror Sites" and click one of the images to download Ad-Aware. Download the installation file from the next page and save it on your hard drive.
Don't forget to update each of these utilities regularly to make sure that you always have maximum protection.
