
Everyone
is always asking me, how I keep my computers clean of viruses, spyware, and
malware. The internet can seem like a cold and unforgiving place, but follow
these five steps to give your computer a fighting chance in today's digital
age. These tips are great common sense rules to make every online experience
problem free and productive.
1. Install an
anti-virus product and schedule it to run every night. I have never once paid
for anti-virus software. because there are numerous free anti-virus utilities
out there like AVG or Avast!. These products work just as well as the big names
out there charging $75+ dollars. The brand name products tend to include many
unnecessary options that will just slow your computer down.
2. Run a spyware / malware checker once
a week and a registry cleaner once a month. Once a week, schedule or manually
run a spyware checker to weed out the unwanted cookies, spyware, and malware
off your computer. Spyware and Malware are the number one causes of computer
problems, slow browsing, and increasingly identity theft.
3. Secure your internet browser. Make
sure your security settings are not set too low inside your browser's options.
Stay away from toolbars, add-ons, and popup blockers. These software programs
are designed to increase the functionality of your internet browser but are
commonly packaged with harmful adware, spyware, and malware. A good rule of
thumb is install Google Toolbar and that's it...period.
4. Research everything that causes
concern and trust your gut. If you are about to install something downloaded
from the internet, do a quick Google search on the title. Read reviews, blog
posts, or comments from trustworthy sources referencing the software and make
an informed decision.
5. If you click on a link and it brought
up something you didn't expect, go elsewhere to find what you are looking for.
These sites are a never ending spiral of misery. Just close your browser or hit
back and start over.
These rules
hopefully will give you a good starting point on keeping your computer clean
and working well. With any luck you will be virus and spyware free for many
years to come. For more great tips, personal help, and blog posts like this
one, please visit my website. See you there and thanks for reading. Good
luck!

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