It’s time for the conclusion of Protect Your Computer. If you missed part 1 you can read it here.
What security do you need?
Here’s what I recommend as the basics of what an internet marketer needs to keep your own computer running.
- 1. A firewall
- This can be extra hardware you buy, or software you install on your computer. In fact, most modern routers, especially Wi-Fi ones, come with one built in. Your best bet is really to have both. That’s more layers a hacker has to break into before gaining access to your data.
- 2. Anti-virus:
- Anti-virus software will scan your computer for viruses and other malicious software and try to remove or fix any it finds. Most good modern ones will look for all forms of malware and attempt to fix or remove it, and most now offer continuous protection in addition to automatic scans. You can also run one manually if you think there’s a problem. Most also offer the option to scan specific files, such as something you just downloaded. I’ve caught some viruses by scanning downloaded files this way myself. The main thing is these programs add another layer of protection against things that got past your firewall.
- 3. Secondary Anti-malware:
- No matter how good your primary anti-virus program is, having a back-up is still a good idea. Many different programs are better at finding different things, and the providers often update them to find new threats at different times and find different new threats to protect you from. So what your primary protection misses, your secondary might catch, and vice-verse.
- 4. Update your anti-virus/anti-malware programs daily.
- The programming villains are coming up with new ways to break into, destroy or steal your data and computer systems every day, and your security provider is updating their programs to counter these new threats every day. So keep your protection up to date to make sure it actually does protect you.
What do I use?
For my own personal computer I use AVG Internet Security. AVG Internet Security provides:
Update (April 19, 2019: I no longer use or recommend AVG for your security. I currently use Norton security along with Malwarebytes Premium. You can get Norton at https://ca.norton.com/internet-security and Malwarebytes at https://www.malwarebytes.com/.
- Antivirus: Helps stop, remove and prevent the spreading of viruses, worms, and trojans.
- Anti-Malware: Protects you from malware on your PC and helps stop anything that’s infected.
- Anti-Rootkit: Helps keep control of your PC in your hands, not some hacker’s. What a Rootkit does is hide itself from security software and evade detection and removal.
- Email Scanner: Detects infected or rogue inbound attachments so they can’t damage your PC. Works as a plug-in for email applications including Microsoft Outlook® or as a scanner for online email accounts (eg: POP3, SMTP and IMAP).
- Protective Cloud Technology: Identifies and prevents emerging threats “in the cloud” via automatic updates to your antivirus software.
- Community Protection Network: Instantly converts every new threat encountered by any member of our community into protection for everyone. It adds up to ever-better antivirus protection for the entire AVG community.
- AVG LinkScanner® Surf-Shield: Smart prevention technology that stops you hitting infected or criminal sites. Actively checks every web page just before you click and stops you if it detects anything suspicious.
- Social Networking Protection: Checks the links that get exchanged when you’re on social networks such as Facebook®, Twitter® etc. to help keep you and your friends safe.
- Anti-Spam: Stops spammers and scammers getting to you. Reduces your risks of falling prey to online spam by scanning and checking all your emails for suspect content and code.
- AVG Online Shield™: Checks files before you download them to ensure they are safe, and protects you as you exchange files using MSN and Yahoo! and ICQ.
- Enhanced Firewall: Blocks hackers attempting to access the private data stored on your PC. Stops malware taking over your computer or from harming other peoples. Works on wired and wireless networks.
By installing Norton and Malwarebytes you’ll keep your computer safe from cyber threats and free of malicious software that can bring your access to your online business down.
Norton security and Malwarebytes at https://ca.norton.com/internet-security and https://www.malwarebytes.com/. now and keep your online business online.
