Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:38 am
So in light of a recent post on our forums (read: a few minutes ago), I'd like to inform everybody of how I protect my computers.
It's fairly simple really. I don't run any fancy anti-spyware or software firewalls. I just run an anti-virus program. One program per computer, except on my linux computer which has no anti-virus installed. It's really very easy to keep your machines from getting infected with something nasty. Here are a couple rules to live by which have kept me safe for a long time.
1) If you don't know what it is, don't download it.
2) Even if you do know what it is, don't download it from some random place. Always try to use the original creator's site or any number of reputable sites like download.com, ect.
3) Those emails sitting in your inbox from unknown senders, senders with strange names, ect? Hit the spam button, don't even open them.
4) Odd emails from senders you DO know? Generally safe to open, but don't click any links just to be sure. Inform your friend or whomever they may have been infected and now their email is compromised.
5) Be careful what sites you login to. for example, a legitimate site would be steam.com. A naughty site would be steam.lawl.com.
6) If you run instant messenger programs, just close all the unsolicited im's you receive. Most likely they are all spam.
7) There are no bankers, long lost cousins, or pissed off government workers in Nigeria who want to give you a hundred million dollars. Sad I know, but true.
If you do run into any issues you can check out this handy guide on a nifty little tool called ComboFix: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix
When all else fails, Google is your friend. Whenever I am having a difficult time fixing ANYTHING, I always head straight to Google. Odds are somebody before you has had that problem as well. You can't always find the answers you need there, but Google is your last and best bet to finding a solution.
Not everybody is tech savvy. We are here to help you if you need.
When I got to work today some people were freaking out because "the internet was down" on one of our main computers. I'm not the IT guy but said I would take a look at it. First thing I did was check the ethernet cable on the back of the pc to make sure it was still seated firmly in place. That was fine so I traced it to the wall. Turns out somebody shoved a recycle bin hard against the cable and dislodged it from it's socket. Easy fixes are always nice. ;)
I just thought of something else to keep your wallet safe as well.
Ebay. Some people use it, some don't, some might.
I use it plenty, and to keep myself from having any issues with sellers I follow a few rules there as well.
After I start a search I always refine it with the following options from the left panel.
Buy it now, Free shipping, US only. You could even go one step further and select Top rated sellers. I always stay away from sellers with little to no ratings. That Intel Core i7 selling for 25 bucks from a seller with two total ratings? A bad idea to even try, trust me.
It's fairly simple really. I don't run any fancy anti-spyware or software firewalls. I just run an anti-virus program. One program per computer, except on my linux computer which has no anti-virus installed. It's really very easy to keep your machines from getting infected with something nasty. Here are a couple rules to live by which have kept me safe for a long time.
1) If you don't know what it is, don't download it.
2) Even if you do know what it is, don't download it from some random place. Always try to use the original creator's site or any number of reputable sites like download.com, ect.
3) Those emails sitting in your inbox from unknown senders, senders with strange names, ect? Hit the spam button, don't even open them.
4) Odd emails from senders you DO know? Generally safe to open, but don't click any links just to be sure. Inform your friend or whomever they may have been infected and now their email is compromised.
5) Be careful what sites you login to. for example, a legitimate site would be steam.com. A naughty site would be steam.lawl.com.
6) If you run instant messenger programs, just close all the unsolicited im's you receive. Most likely they are all spam.
7) There are no bankers, long lost cousins, or pissed off government workers in Nigeria who want to give you a hundred million dollars. Sad I know, but true.
If you do run into any issues you can check out this handy guide on a nifty little tool called ComboFix: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix
When all else fails, Google is your friend. Whenever I am having a difficult time fixing ANYTHING, I always head straight to Google. Odds are somebody before you has had that problem as well. You can't always find the answers you need there, but Google is your last and best bet to finding a solution.
Not everybody is tech savvy. We are here to help you if you need.
When I got to work today some people were freaking out because "the internet was down" on one of our main computers. I'm not the IT guy but said I would take a look at it. First thing I did was check the ethernet cable on the back of the pc to make sure it was still seated firmly in place. That was fine so I traced it to the wall. Turns out somebody shoved a recycle bin hard against the cable and dislodged it from it's socket. Easy fixes are always nice. ;)
I just thought of something else to keep your wallet safe as well.
Ebay. Some people use it, some don't, some might.
I use it plenty, and to keep myself from having any issues with sellers I follow a few rules there as well.
After I start a search I always refine it with the following options from the left panel.
Buy it now, Free shipping, US only. You could even go one step further and select Top rated sellers. I always stay away from sellers with little to no ratings. That Intel Core i7 selling for 25 bucks from a seller with two total ratings? A bad idea to even try, trust me.
)
besides if you can catch the beta version of eset it never expires ^_^