How to Protect PC from network spams

[jayant]

Please help me out guys...

I want know that how protect my pc on internet by viruses/spams.

my firewall is not supporting....

[euler]

Use Nod32 antivirus system

[slaver89]

Use Nod32 antivirus system

 

There are Free GOOD Anitvirus/protection programs

 

Like: AVG, Avast home...

 

Those are the ones I use, but, if you are looking for a firewall try using Ashampoo...or use a search engine to find your software like Google

[AverageJoe]

Use firefox, and if you can switch to linux

[paramanand]

Please help me out guys...

I want know that how protect my pc on internet by viruses/spams.

my firewall is not supporting....

 

People keep asking/wondering how to keep their computers free from viruses and worms and other Internet (d)evils. I have tried to put in some information for those who would be seeking answers to those questions in this document.

 

The Internet is no more a safe place. You are vulnerable the moment you are connected to the Internet. As a regular Internet user, you would be advised to follow some basic rules to distance yourselves from the threats that are impossible to avoid completely.

 

I assume that you are using a Windows machine (such as XP or Windows 2000).

 

If you are not very familiar in using the computer, ask your computer technician to

1. Install a personal firewall and configure it

2. Install an antivirus utility

3. Install Firefox browser

4. Install Ad-aware

5. Install Spybot S&D

6. Download Process Explorer and Hijackthis

 

After installation, your computer has to be checked once for viruses and spyware, immediately.

 

Alternately, you could prefer to do it yourself. Follow the instructions below.

 

1. Install a personal firewall

 

There are free software firewalls (hardware firewalls are expensive and are not oriented towards individual machines) available such as Comodo (http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com) which are quite good. Others like Zone Alarm, Kerio are also offer adequate protection. Some of them might expect you to make a payment before you could use them.

 

2. Install antivirus

 

You need an anti-virus tool that would keep you informed in case your computer is infected by a virus, trojan or similar malicious application. AVG is one that is available free of cost for personal use. You can download it from http://free.grisoft.com. AVG has a small footprint (which means it doesn't consume too much memory and is not a load on your computer) while it protects you from most viruses.

 

3. Install Firefox browser

 

There is a general perception that the Internet Explorer is less safer on the Internet. If you are using the Internet Explorer, I recommend that you download and install the latest version of Firefox browser ( available from http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ )

 

According to wikipedia, Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's informed consent. More information on spyware may be found in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware

 

There are certain things that you should avoid when you are online. Those are visiting crack sites, sites that contain pornographic content, sites that offer you free software, hacking sites etc., It doesn't mean that all such sites are malicious, but for the unaware and uninitiated, it means treading dangerous waters.

 

To protect you from Spyware, you should install tools that check your computer frequently for other malicious content (such as spyware) that could reside in your computer. These get installed/saved on your computer as a result of using the browser and visiting sites.

 

4. Install Ad-aware

 

Download and install, Ad-aware from the following link ( http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php )

 

5. Install Spybot S&D

 

Download and install "Spybot - Search & Destroy" from the following link http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

 

When all the above have been done, you can breathe a little easily now that you have done the first part of the job.

 

The other and most important part, is to review your security frequently, say every two days. Run your virus scanner, Ad-aware and Spybot S&D, every alternate day or once in three days, or atleast once in a week.

 

Note down any incidents. There may be a situation where your virus scanner may not be able to clear the virus. In that case, you may search the WWW for methods to clean it.

 

The mantra is to update your virus scanner and other tools with the latest updates and frequently check your machine for any suspicious activity.

 

Run the tools Ad-aware and Spybot S&D frequently, or immediately after you close your browser.

 

6. Download Process Explorer and Hijackthis

 

Process explorer tells you the processes that are currently executing on your windows operating system presently. This is preferred over your windows task manager, since malicious software may be hidden from the windows task manager's view.

 

Download procexp.exe from sysinternals.com (incidentally, the company now has been bought over by Microsoft) http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/ProcessExplorer.zip

 

Hijackthis is an application that shows the windows registry keys that contain actions that will be executed during the time the operating system is booting (the steps involved before you get your windows desktop). You can go through them and look for suspicious looking files [some of them may contain the extension .exe]

 

Download hijackthis.exe from http://216.180.233.162/~merijn/programs.php#hijackthis or http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/programs.php#hijackthis

 

Now that you are more knowledgeable, I hope that you would try these tools that would help you to protect your computer from hostile invasions.

 

[AverageJoe]

I'm sorry but that really doesn't seem like you wrote it, more as though you copied it off someone's website. Perhaps you can provide a link to it. Also I don't believe you need all of that to protect your computer. All you have to do is stay away from the obvious porn sites, and learn about windows(as thats the os that has the problems) and check your computer yourself. You can very easily go to system processes and check what should and should not be going on. I simply suggest you switch to linux, and if that is not possible, learn to use your operating system and switch to mozilla firefox.

[multipleoranges45]

I'd be interested to find out how to protect from spam as well, as I'm having to go through an annoying email address change because I get too much spam.

And Mozilla Thunderbird, despite all the good air it's getting, still can't delete it immediately and even marks some very personal messages as spam!