With millions of people surfing the Internet every day, there are always people who have evil intentions, such as hackers, scammers, etc. These cyber criminals aim to infect your computer with a virus and use it to send of spam, serving ads or encrypting the system for money.
We increasingly see the latter, the encrypting of files and the entire computer system, we call this Ransomware. If a Ransomware virus has infected your computer, it is often not possible to retrieve files. It is therefore extra important to protect your files and computer.
Start with the basics, namely knowledge
When we work with technology, it is extremely important that we master the basics of this technique. Windows includes some solutions to protect users from malicious software. Microsoft designed the Windows Security Center for this purpose. It is extremely important that the Windows Security Center works properly, therefore activate the Windows firewall and windows defender. Windows Firewall and Windows Defender are built into Microsoft Windows by default to protect the user.
It is important to keep Windows Defender up to date. Windows Defender will update daily, but if you receive a message that Windows Defender is missing updates, it is advisable to update it immediately. This keeps you protected against known viruses.
Install a paid antivirus solution
If you use the computer for the Internet, it is advisable to have a paid one antivirus purchase and install solution. A paid antivirus program offers some great options compared to free, or for example Windows Defender. Real-time protection, which means that every file is checked for viruses, both in memory and in a running process. This stops a virus before it can even open. With a paid antivirus scanner, people are also more focused on the very latest viruses, which means they are often faster at detecting unknown viruses.
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We call this technology 0-day protection, 0-day stands for zero day, in other words “unknown”. Malwarebytes is an antivirus, anti-adware and anti-potentially unwanted program security solution. We have Malwarebytes extensively tested and Malwarebytes is the best solution without or in addition to an existing antivirus program.
What is spyware and how do I protect my PC against spyware?
Spyware is a general term for software that collects data from a computer. Spyware is different from a virus, a virus aims to infect as many other computers as possible. Spyware, on the other hand, is after your personal information, and this may be even worse than a virus in this day and age. Above I talked about an antivirus solution that protects you against viruses, but criminals are now focusing more on spyware. Unfortunately, most antivirus solutions such as Avast, Norton, etc. are often unable to detect spyware.
If spyware is installed on your PC, all your internet behavior on the internet is monitored, for example while shopping online. You will notice that when you visit the website where you can shop, all kinds of annoying advertisements are displayed. These are advertisements based on your surfing behavior, weather data provided by the spyware. Spyware is also known for constantly opening new browser windows with redirects to strange websites.
To protect your computer against spyware, it is most important to update your browser to the latest version. If you use Google Chrome, you can update it via the help function in Chrome. Firefox installs the updates at startup and Internet Explorer and Edge get their updates via Windows Update. So make sure Windows update is enabled and your computer is receiving updates.
Tips to protect your computer and online identity
The most important thing is also what I started this article with, knowledge. Cybercriminals and other malicious people often try to convince you to install a virus or spyware in the most inventive ways. Phishing is a good example of this. If you receive an email from the bank asking you to confirm your details, you should wonder why the bank wants such a thing. I mean, the bank has all your information, right? It comes down to a piece of common sense, feeling. Do not blindly respond to emails from your bank, a delivery service or other agency, first try to check with yourself whether everything is correct.
- Call the agency to ask if they sent the email or message.
- Do not download software from pop-ups that appear in your browser, such as browser, flash player or adobe reader updates. These are often spyware programs.
- Keep Microsoft Windows (Windows update) and the associated software always up to date Flexera Personal Software Inspector (free)
- Make backups of Windows, so you can always restore Windows in the event of a crisis.
- If you don't have an antivirus solution yet, download a free antivirus or malwarebytes.