New malware is still being introduced at an alarming rate: Alone in the last five years it has been rising by about 5,000 %. Such growth rates may be any shareholder's dream at the moment but here they are evidence of the immense profitability of the hacker industry. Your personal data, online connections or even access to your PC make the cash registers ring. This makes developing increasingly sophisticated and less easily detected ways to infect your PC more and more lucrative for clever programmers. But there is no need to panic, as we are going to show you in this article how to avoid unnecessary risks and how to keep on surfing the web with your PC safely in 2012!
1 - Keep Your System up-to-date
We all know that update notifications can be annoying. Still, your PC and all installed programs should always be up-to-date. Malware programmers often use newly discovered software weaknesses (so-called "vulnerabilities") to smuggle their malware onto your PC via exploits. Therefore, update your software on a regular basis - especially if it is widely used - in order to close potential security gaps as soon as possible.
The following software on your PC should always be kept up-to-date:
OS (Windows operating system)
Your browser: MS Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, etc.
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Flash Player
Java Runtime
Apple Quicktime Video Player
Your media player (VLC, iTunes, Windows Media Player)
2 - Use Secure Passwords
Your PC may be as secure as a safe, but that is useless if an unauthorized person gets their hands on the keys. No matter whether it is your Windows login, web mail or password to a website: use only secure passwords! A secure password consists of at least eight characters and contains a number, an uppercase letter and a special character, such as "ApL47bAk!". Avoid common words like names and use different passwords for all your accounts and connections. If you use one password for all, a hacker gains access to all your data by just cracking one password successfully. To keep track of several passwords, we recommend using a password manager.
3 - Use a Router
It is common nowadays for internet connection packages to include a router. A router enables several devices to simultaneously use the same internet connection. Securitywise, this is a huge advantage as your PC does not directly connect to the web, which makes it difficult to directly address and attack it. If, for whatever reason, you still do not have a router, you should consider it a good investment. The same rules apply here: always keep the router up-to-date, that is, regular firmware updates and a secure admin password are a necessity.
4 - Avoid File Sharing Websites
Apart from the fact that they are mostly offering illegal content, file sharing websites are among the most common sources for malware infections. Cracked programs or so-called key generators ("keygens") in particular are often infected with malware. It is safer to download original software from the manufacturer's website or from well-known download sites.
5 - Use Restricted User Accounts
Many Windows users are using the administrator account. As an administrator, you have unrestricted access to modifying important system settings, which allows malware executed as an administrator to settle and spread with ease. If you have Windows XP you should use an account with restricted user rights for working and browsing the web. Windows Vista and 7 come with a built-in and redesigned User Account Control (UAC). Any process likely to cause damage to or be a threat to the security of your system needs the administrator's permission to do so. Never grant administrator rights to any unknown or suspicious programs!
6 - Avoid Doubtful Websites and E-mail Attachments
Today, most malware is spread via so-called "drive-by downloads". Modern websites are using different technologies to enable the continuous communication between your browser and the web server without asking you, the user, for confirmation. Programmers of criminal websites rely on this technology to take advantage of security gaps in various browsers. We recommend staying away from any doubtful or shady websites (file sharing, warez and erotic websites in particular) and to keep your browser up-to-date as described in point 1.
E-mail attachments are still the most popular way of spreading malware. What helps best is a good spam filter. Always remain skeptic if you receive e-mails from unknown senders and pay particular attention to any attachments before opening them; executable files like .exe or .com are often disguised as documents or images. For more information on this topic and fake e-mails please refer to our article Current E-mail traps.
7 - Beware of Unsecured WiFi Hotspots
There are many WiFi hotspots free of charge available that allow you to check your e-mails and surf the internet when you are on the go using your laptop or smartphone. But whenever you log into a website or check your e-mails via an unsecured WiFi connection, others can read your log-in data. Send confidential data only if it is absolutely necessary, and even then only over a secure connection! You recognize a secure connection by the "s" which directly follows the typical "http" in the address bar, i.e. "https://" (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure). This applies to online banking as well as forums, webmail accounts, ebay or Facebook log-ins - i.e. it applies generally for any log-in. If you use an e-mail client, you should also enable secure log-in in the settings.
8 - Use Security Software With Real-Time Protection
By following our advice you are already quite safe - but there will always be a small risk remaining. This is why we recommend the use of anti-virus software and a firewall. The anti-virus software checks files on your PC whereas a firewall monitors any incoming and outgoing connections. If there are any suspicious processes, a message will pop up to warn you about the risk.
Both programs should offer real-time protection. Regular scans with a virus scanner are good and important. However, they can only detect already existing infections with malware on your PC and may not always be able to remove them. Emsisoft behavior analysis, for instance, is always active and works similar to your body's immune system: suspicious intruders will be recognized even if there are no antibodies (= virus signatures) yet.
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