How To Protect Your Computer From Malware

The explosive growth of the Internet has enhanced our lives in so many ways.  Unfortunately the technological age is like many other things in life; where there is a good side there is a downside as well.  The downside is that cyber criminals take advantage of vulnerabilities in people’s computer’s and networks to infect them with malware; computer viruses, trojan horses, keyloggers, spyware, and other malicious software.  Besides slowing down your computer and even causing your operating system to crash altogether, cyber criminals use malware to steal your personal information.  You can than become the next victim of identity theft, one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and the USA.  As you can see, malware is a very real threat to your Internet security and privacy.  Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help protect your computer from malware.

• Install anti-virus software on computer:  Anti-virus software is your first line of defense against malware.  Ensure that you keep your anti-virus software up-to-date.  So many people become infected with malware because they let their anti-virus software expire, not protected against the latest Internet security and privacy threats.  Remember that anti-virus software is only as good as the last update.
• Install anti-spyware software:  Anti-spyware software is vital in your fight against malware, as anti-virus software protects computer against most, but certainly not all spyware.
• Guard your computer against hackers with a firewall:  It protects outside intruders from accessing your computer and also malicious software residing in your computer to access their hosts.There are many reputable free firewalls available for download on the Internet, such as ZoneAlarm.  Windows XP, Vista, and 7 all include a free firewall.  If you have no other firewall installed on your computer, ensure that the Windows firewall is activated.
• Have anti-keylogger software installed on your computer:  Only a small portion of keyloggers, a type of malware that silently records every keystroke you type, is detected by anti-virus software.  Most, but by no means keyloggers, are detected with anti-spyware software.  You need anti-keylogger software installed on your computer to detect and block keystroke loggers. 
• Keep your operating system up-to-date:  It is crucial that you keep your operating system up-to-date to help protect your computer against malware.  Set your operating system to update automatically, to help guard your computer against the latest Internet security and privacy threats.
• Do not open any email attachments from people you don`t know.  In fact, even if you do know the sender, be wary if you aren’t expecting the attachment.  This is because someone could be spoofing their email address or their email account could be compromised.  The email attachment could very well be infected with malware. 
• Try to avoid sites containing shareware, freeware, warez, file-sharing, and the like.  These sites are notorious for being infected with malware, including keyloggers, spyware, trojan horses, computer viruses, and other malicious software.