Be Your Own Antivirus – Part-1: Preventing Malwares

Security is meant to be the building block of every computer system. But usually we see that security is just a feature in many products – like it is not an integral part, but an extra add-on. And in the windows operating system, security is not even a feature – it is absent. If you want to protect your computer from malicious programs in the wild, you have to install some antivirus software from third-party vendors.

But there are some problems with these antivirus softwares. Firstly, they are pure annoyances. They increase the booting time of your PC, they show some flashy windows and dialog boxes every now-and-then, and they eat up a lot of RAM and CPU. And as if these were not enough, antivirus software need to be updated almost daily. Then there is a problem of which product to use. Which one should we install? Foo Antivirus, Foo Internet Security, Foo Mail Security, Foo Firewall, or Foo Antispyware ? Or should we install all of them? Its confusing. And even after installing the required software, there is no assurance that your system will be completely secure.

This is the reason why many professional computer users do not use any antivirus software in their machines. They think that antivirus software is more nuisance than the virus itself. They will deal with an occasional internet worm rather than dealing with the creepy antivirus software all the time.

So how do we protect our computers from malicious programs without using any anti-virus? It can be done with a little care. Here are some tips for preventing trojans, worms an viruses from infecting your machine. I am preparing a detailed article on detecting and removing malwares. Consider this as a preface for that. And keep in mind that these are just some pointers and you should not think that you are protected from viruses just by following these steps. Security can never be assured. But it can be maximized. So these are just some tips to get you going if you are not inclined to using an antivirus software in your computer. If you are a basic computer user, you should probably install an antivirus software. If you are a pro-user, you already know how to protect your computer from viruses. And if you are something in between, read on…

Prevention

• Never visit websites that are not trusted. Your computer may get infected just by visiting malicious website.
• Never visit unwanted websites. Don’t roam around the internet. The internet is not a very good place for that, especially if you don’t know your way around.
• Disable autorun in all external storage devices in your computer. Viruses are seen frequently in USB storage devices. So be extra cautious with them.
• Do not run any program downloaded from the internet unless you are sure that it is harmless. Look for valid digital certificated in the application if possible. Download software only from websites you know and trust.
• Some of the viruses have icons similar to that of the standard folder in windows. When the user clicks on the icon thinking that it is a folder, the virus is activated. Thus it is important to know the details of the file you are about to open. So try to understand if it is an application or a file folder. If it is an application, it is probably a virus.
• Enable the windows firewall when browsing the internet. It is not the perfect firewall. But it is handy.
• Do not try to install every software that you can lay your hands on. be selective. There are many downloadable applications in the internet which contain spyware.
• Make sure that your operating system and browser is always up to date. Operating system and web browser security vulnerabilities are widely exploited by malware authors.
• Watch out for suspicious mail attachments. Many malicious programs target innocent email users.

If you need extra help, install an antivirus. You may disable it from the startup of your PC so that it is not a nuisance, but when in need, you can use it to scan suspicious files.

Remember that human beings are the weakest link in any security system. So educate yourself about the fraudulent activities in the IT space, and spread the knowledge.