Every PC is safe from malware, online scams and web dangers until it is connected to the internet and opens connections with the outside world, like a site.
From the PC browser, as well as from any other program that downloads data from the Internet, attacks in the form of deceptive downloads, malicious extensions and plugins or web pages can come that only by uploading them lead to infect the system with a virus.
We have seen in another article we have seen more dangerous threats and malware on the internet.
The purpose of these attacks can be to collect data (i.e. browser history) for advertising purposes, to steal passwords, to steal web accounts, to hijack the browser in order to bring the user to visit a certain type of sites or to install viruses on your computer.
While antivirus is essential to keep your PC protected from all kinds of dangers and scams, this is not enough if those who use the computer are not careful going to get their hands on dangerous sites and if the system or program is not updated with security patches.
It is therefore worth knowing how to keep your PC protected from malware and attacks of all kinds, to surf the internet safely without risking compromise and leakage of personal and private data outside.
READ ALSO: How to keep your PC safe without programs
1) Keep your browser updated
Whatever the browser, it must be updated to the latest version and keep automatic updates enabled.
The browsers updated and with automatic updates are definitely Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Microsoft Edge.
In another article we saw how to check if the browser is updated, whatever it is.
2) Keep Windows updated
Microsoft releases patches every week to fix recently discovered security bugs and to prevent the many functions of the system from becoming open doors for hackers or malware to enter.
Installing these patches is therefore essential to keep the PC protected from problems that certainly cannot come from the antivirus.
Windows 10 and Windows 7 updates are provided by Windows Update, which must be up and running.
3) Keep the antivirus updated
Obviously, the antivirus must also be set to update itself every day and download the new protections.
In Windows 10 you can avoid installing an external antivirus since it has an integrated one that works well.
If you use a different antivirus instead, check that automatic updates are always active.
4) Avoid dangerous sites .
What are the dangerous sites we know well, generally they are those that deal with piracy, streaming sites, adult content, dating and illegal material.
If you cannot avoid visiting these types of sites, be very careful where you click because the virus can hide anywhere.
Just click on the wrong "Download" button to find yourself installing malware.
Do not forget those advertising banners that say that the PC is infected, while it is not true.
If in doubt, there are tools to recognize and avoid dangerous links and suspicious sites.
5) Enable the click-to-play of plugins (Flash)
The click-to-play option allows you to activate content loaded from external plugins manually by clicking on it with the mouse.
For example, if there is a flash video on a website, it does not load automatically but only after a user click.
Currently the only plugin for a browser like Chrome is the Flash Player, which by the way is also integrated into the browser.
In Chrome Settings, in the Content Settings section, you can set Flash to run with the "Ask first" option, which is better.
We talked about how to activate the click to play on Chrome and Firefox, but it can also be done in Opera and Internet Explorer.
6) Uninstall unnecessary plug-ins
Plugins, like Java and Flash, are the most vulnerable parts of a browser, the ones that attract the most cyber attacks.
On this we have written a complete guide on how to remove browser plugins to navigate the web safer
Keep in mind that Java is particularly dangerous and used by very few websites today and the same is true for Silverlight from Microsoft.
The only plug-in that is still worth keeping is Flash, although it is less and less necessary.
READ ALSO: never download players and updates from streaming video sites, they are always viruses
7) Use a 64-bit version of the browser if possible
It is important to know that Google Chrome is also available in the 64-bit version which should automatically install itself on PCs with Windows 64 bit.
To check it, go to the main menu, press on Help and information and then on About Chrome .
If nothing is written, then it is the 32 bit version and you need to download Chrome from the official website.
64-bit Firefox is also available as well as Microsoft Edge on 64-bit Windows PCs.
64-bit programs are safer than 32-bit programs because they are less easy to hack, so if you are still with 32-bit Windows, it would be better to start thinking about switching to 64-bit Windows.
8) Use extensions with caution and install only the ones you really need .
Those who use Chrome and Firefox love to install extensions of all kinds, but you still have to be careful.
Some of them can be developed to spy on communications and share the browser history to the outside while others can insert more advertisements on websites.
The rule therefore is to install as few browser extensions as possible and always check that they are from a reliable author.
9) Cleaning the browser
The browser is an outward door which as such always accumulates dirt in the form of extensions, plugins, cookies or other things.
Keeping it completely clean is impossible and even an antivirus is not enough so, every now and then, it is good to scan with programs that close access to dangerous sites and clean the browser from risky components.
Spyware Blaster (better) and Spybot are two programs that blacklist dangerous sites, cookies and scripts so you don't have to worry about them anymore.
ADWCleaner is instead the best program to clean up the browser from malware.
10) Beware of Phishing Emails
Over half of all emails are spam and 50 percent of them carry malicious attachments.
This method is incredibly powerful and effective for transmitting malware infections to computers, therefore, it is essential to make sure that the emails that arrive in your inbox are secure.
Unfortunately, once your email address ends up in a spammer database (perhaps because it is stolen from some site to which we are registered or because a friend is infected with viruses and his contact list is stolen), it ends up becoming a continuous target spam.
Phishing emails, which are generally very similar to official emails and include a link to counterfeit websites, are particularly troubling and easy to mislead.
Even the most widely used webmail in the world, such as Gmail and Outlook, which are very good at blocking spam, fail to be perfect.
Ideally, it would be best to use an email client such as Microsoft Outlook and use a spam filter to block these messages.
In another article, we saw some cases to explain how to recognize fake, scammed, unauthenticated emails.
11) Use VPNs
To surf the internet so as not to be seen online outside and protecting the internet connection, the most effective way is certainly to rely on a VPN service.
The VPN encrypt the traffic, hide the identity of the user and make it impossible to be identified or profiled.
For this purpose, however, it is necessary to pay a premium VPN service among the best and paid, otherwise there would be limitations in terms of privacy or speed.
READ ALSO: Check if your PC is safe and protected from viruses and on the internet
From the PC browser, as well as from any other program that downloads data from the Internet, attacks in the form of deceptive downloads, malicious extensions and plugins or web pages can come that only by uploading them lead to infect the system with a virus.
We have seen in another article we have seen more dangerous threats and malware on the internet.
The purpose of these attacks can be to collect data (i.e. browser history) for advertising purposes, to steal passwords, to steal web accounts, to hijack the browser in order to bring the user to visit a certain type of sites or to install viruses on your computer.
While antivirus is essential to keep your PC protected from all kinds of dangers and scams, this is not enough if those who use the computer are not careful going to get their hands on dangerous sites and if the system or program is not updated with security patches.
It is therefore worth knowing how to keep your PC protected from malware and attacks of all kinds, to surf the internet safely without risking compromise and leakage of personal and private data outside.
READ ALSO: How to keep your PC safe without programs
1) Keep your browser updated
Whatever the browser, it must be updated to the latest version and keep automatic updates enabled.
The browsers updated and with automatic updates are definitely Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Microsoft Edge.
In another article we saw how to check if the browser is updated, whatever it is.
2) Keep Windows updated
Microsoft releases patches every week to fix recently discovered security bugs and to prevent the many functions of the system from becoming open doors for hackers or malware to enter.
Installing these patches is therefore essential to keep the PC protected from problems that certainly cannot come from the antivirus.
Windows 10 and Windows 7 updates are provided by Windows Update, which must be up and running.
3) Keep the antivirus updated
Obviously, the antivirus must also be set to update itself every day and download the new protections.
In Windows 10 you can avoid installing an external antivirus since it has an integrated one that works well.
If you use a different antivirus instead, check that automatic updates are always active.
4) Avoid dangerous sites .
What are the dangerous sites we know well, generally they are those that deal with piracy, streaming sites, adult content, dating and illegal material.
If you cannot avoid visiting these types of sites, be very careful where you click because the virus can hide anywhere.
Just click on the wrong "Download" button to find yourself installing malware.
Do not forget those advertising banners that say that the PC is infected, while it is not true.
If in doubt, there are tools to recognize and avoid dangerous links and suspicious sites.
5) Enable the click-to-play of plugins (Flash)
The click-to-play option allows you to activate content loaded from external plugins manually by clicking on it with the mouse.
For example, if there is a flash video on a website, it does not load automatically but only after a user click.
Currently the only plugin for a browser like Chrome is the Flash Player, which by the way is also integrated into the browser.
In Chrome Settings, in the Content Settings section, you can set Flash to run with the "Ask first" option, which is better.
We talked about how to activate the click to play on Chrome and Firefox, but it can also be done in Opera and Internet Explorer.
6) Uninstall unnecessary plug-ins
Plugins, like Java and Flash, are the most vulnerable parts of a browser, the ones that attract the most cyber attacks.
On this we have written a complete guide on how to remove browser plugins to navigate the web safer
Keep in mind that Java is particularly dangerous and used by very few websites today and the same is true for Silverlight from Microsoft.
The only plug-in that is still worth keeping is Flash, although it is less and less necessary.
READ ALSO: never download players and updates from streaming video sites, they are always viruses
7) Use a 64-bit version of the browser if possible
It is important to know that Google Chrome is also available in the 64-bit version which should automatically install itself on PCs with Windows 64 bit.
To check it, go to the main menu, press on Help and information and then on About Chrome .
If nothing is written, then it is the 32 bit version and you need to download Chrome from the official website.
64-bit Firefox is also available as well as Microsoft Edge on 64-bit Windows PCs.
64-bit programs are safer than 32-bit programs because they are less easy to hack, so if you are still with 32-bit Windows, it would be better to start thinking about switching to 64-bit Windows.
8) Use extensions with caution and install only the ones you really need .
Those who use Chrome and Firefox love to install extensions of all kinds, but you still have to be careful.
Some of them can be developed to spy on communications and share the browser history to the outside while others can insert more advertisements on websites.
The rule therefore is to install as few browser extensions as possible and always check that they are from a reliable author.
9) Cleaning the browser
The browser is an outward door which as such always accumulates dirt in the form of extensions, plugins, cookies or other things.
Keeping it completely clean is impossible and even an antivirus is not enough so, every now and then, it is good to scan with programs that close access to dangerous sites and clean the browser from risky components.
Spyware Blaster (better) and Spybot are two programs that blacklist dangerous sites, cookies and scripts so you don't have to worry about them anymore.
ADWCleaner is instead the best program to clean up the browser from malware.
10) Beware of Phishing Emails
Over half of all emails are spam and 50 percent of them carry malicious attachments.
This method is incredibly powerful and effective for transmitting malware infections to computers, therefore, it is essential to make sure that the emails that arrive in your inbox are secure.
Unfortunately, once your email address ends up in a spammer database (perhaps because it is stolen from some site to which we are registered or because a friend is infected with viruses and his contact list is stolen), it ends up becoming a continuous target spam.
Phishing emails, which are generally very similar to official emails and include a link to counterfeit websites, are particularly troubling and easy to mislead.
Even the most widely used webmail in the world, such as Gmail and Outlook, which are very good at blocking spam, fail to be perfect.
Ideally, it would be best to use an email client such as Microsoft Outlook and use a spam filter to block these messages.
In another article, we saw some cases to explain how to recognize fake, scammed, unauthenticated emails.
11) Use VPNs
To surf the internet so as not to be seen online outside and protecting the internet connection, the most effective way is certainly to rely on a VPN service.
The VPN encrypt the traffic, hide the identity of the user and make it impossible to be identified or profiled.
For this purpose, however, it is necessary to pay a premium VPN service among the best and paid, otherwise there would be limitations in terms of privacy or speed.
READ ALSO: Check if your PC is safe and protected from viruses and on the internet
