Adware, spyware and viruses
When running Windows there’s always the risk of installing adware, spyware and viruses (known collectively as malware). The risk is significantly lower for users of Apple’s Mac OS X or Linux because it’s harder for malicious programs to run without user intervention.
On any platform it’s important to not install software that you do not trust as some less honest software makers get paid for bundling spyware with their applications.
On Windows you should take the following additional steps:
- Download Windows defender - this is Microsoft’s anti-malware tool and works well 90% of the time
- The Google Pack contains free anti-virus and anti-spyware utilities (make sure you select the option to install ad-aware) and the Google updater will keep them up to date
- Don’t use Internet Explorer 6 - it has many issues with security. Version 7 has made massive improvements and alternative browsers such as Opera and Firefox are also good choices.
- Keep your anti-virus definitions up to date. Most anti-virus software comes with at least daily updates due to the increasing number of Windows viruses.
- Keep Windows up to date. Look in Control Panel to ensure automatic updates is switched on.
- Don’t run as a user with Administrator permissions. Create yourself a limited user account and do all work with that. This will make it more difficult for you to install programs but it will also significantly reduce your risk of spyware. If you need to install something you can right-click on the icon, select “Run As…” and then enter the administrator password. Only do this with applications that you trust.
- If you have a spare PC consider using one for general web browsing and the other one for other types of work (e.g. Office, finances, etc). Then if your browsing machine gets infected there’s no risk to your critical data.