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Guidelines for 2011 to be Safe Online!

Posted by: NoAdware Team on January 2, 2011

Hello and Happy 2011,

This post is a reminder of the most important guidelines you should follow. I highly recommend you read this post carefully and completely then apply (follow/do) what you’ll discover.

Here’s the list of the most important guidelines:

1. Do not click on the links inside emails.

The worst type of viruses/spyware/adware, etc are the ones found inside emails most of the time. If you don’t know who sent you the email, do NOT trust the sender. To become really good at catching spam emails from real ones check these: To People Who Want To Use Email But Cannot Stop Spam, Scams and Phishing!

2. Download 2 software: An antivirus software and an anti adware and spyware software.

This is very important and there are many different “theories” and questions about this on the web. People don’t know what and how many software they need, etc. So here’s the answer: You need two software. Here’s my recommendations:

Antivirus software: Avast company have multiple antivirus software, you can download the free antivirus software, or the paid one (a small yearly fee). If you don’t buy online then you can get the free version, however if you buy online I suggest getting the paid version because it has more security. Here are the links:

Avast Free Version

Avast Internet Security (paid version)

Anti adware and spyware software: This is the other software you should have. I suggest NoAdware software, which you can download from my website.

If you do research about Internet Security software you’ll find out there are software which are both an anti spyware/adware and also antivirus software. There are many different types, although of course some of these may be good, I suggest you stick with my recommendations.

Special Note: I suggest you make a commitment for 2011 to learn all you can about Internet Security software. What’s important to learn for example is how to use the software; such as: when to scan, how to configure their features (you can read their help manual for this), what’s quarantine, what to do if you find an infected file, etc. Make a small commitment to learn. :)

3. Turn Firewall on and Automatic Updates on.

If you have Windows, you should have a Firewall. Go to your Control Panel and make sure it’s turned on. Also in the same location make sure Automatic Updates are turn on, and the setting set to Install Updates automatically.

Once again use the Internet to learn how to turn these two options on. You can also use your computer Help and Support center by clicking on Start and selecting Help and Support center. Then learn all you can about these options. There’s a wealth of good information already on your computer, use it.

4. Keep your computer Clean and Healthy.

That’s right, the more you use your computer and the more programs you download and install the more “clutter” gets in your computer. Files and folders in places on your computer you can’t see (such as the registry section); folders that your computer uses to operate, etc get kind of messed up and this can cause your computer to get slow or show other negative side effects.

Solution: Use Ccleaner to keep your computer clean and healthy. This is an absolutely FREE software.

Once again if you never do so make it a habit for 2011 to start reading the help manual of the software you download, so you know better how to use them.

I also suggest you make use of other software apart from that one, these other software are already on your computer (because they where installed already when you purchased the computer). These are: Disk Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup. I suggest you use CCleaner and Disk Cleanup once every 1-2 months, and use Disk Defragmenter once every 2-3 months. Disk Defragmenter will tell you each time you open the software whether you need to use it or not.

Once again I shall remind you about learning because it has its benefits. Use the Help Section on your computer or use the Internet to learn what’s a Disk Disk Defragmenter tool, what it does and why it helps your computer. There are so many tutorials, and information. You can use Wikipedia to start learning. This is an online encyclopedia.

5. Make sure all programs/software you have are Updated!

This is very important and many people don’t know what it means or its benefits. All software and programs you use such as: messengers, your web browser (Mozilla, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, etc), and any other program you have may require an update from time to time.

Make sure you update all the programs you have on your computer, or at least those you use. Most of the time the software, for example Live Messenger, will show a message saying: There’s a new Version available.

Most software have a Check for Update feature located in the Help menu of the software.

When the bad people create a virus that targets a software, for instance Live Messenger, the company behind the software in that case Microsoft will create a solution (an update) and therefore you should download this update, the new Live Messenger. Most of the time you won’t see any difference in the software itself.

Take for example Ccleaner, this software will show you a message when there’s an update you need to download.

So make sure you start taking notice of these messages, and more importantly that you have downloaded the latest update of the software or program.

Most of the software check to see if there’s an update available automatically and then show you a message to download the update. But not all do this automatically for you, so make sure you check.

6. Be careful when buying online.

If you buy online often you might get so used to it that you may not be very careful anymore. Remember the most common tips: Buy from trusted and well known websites whenever possible. If you want to buy books for instance check first at Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com rather than a less known website.

If you’re on the page where you enter your payment details (credit card information, etc) do it quickly, don’t go away from your computer to eat or something that instance. The faster you do it and close the page the better.

You should also consider getting a new credit card and loading it with few money, so you use this card for online purchases which you can associate it with a new account at your bank used solely for online purchases. That means it will act like pocket money.

7. Change passwords regularly.

Especially for websites like paypal.com or other websites where you input your more personal information.

Never store passwords on your computer. Refer to my earlier post about passwords: Generate Strong Password

These are not difficult guidelines, take action and Happy New Year :)

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