You guys will agree with me that some antiviruses are not worth to be trusted this time around...i won't list them here, but one of them is windows' Security Essentials. So if you have it and you are relying on it for your protection, MAYN, you are putting yourself into BIG-SHIT..So, do follow the following practices to keep your Windows protected.
1. USE AN ANTIVIRUS
Yeah, use an antivirus. There are many out there. Like say AVAST, since it is the anthem for many guys. An antivirus will protect you from many vulnerabilities and many new versions of antiviruses now even go as far as detecting bad plugins and dangerous pages that might harm your computer. Check the screen shot of AVAST below.
2. Always leave UAC enable.
UAC(User Account Control) helps prevent all these malicious apps from installing or modifying anything in your system without asking you for permission. Though it's not an antivirus, it is a good layer of protection here.
3. Enable Your Firewall and Configure it fine fine(well)
There are many firewalls outside there, even AVAST has a firewall, or you know of Threatfire. But windows also has one already that can do the job. Just enable it and configure it well. Firewalls BLOCK unwanted incoming connections thereby protecting Windows and other softwares in your PC from malware that can exploit unpatched(un updated or unsolved problems) vulnerabilities that can be access easily through the network.
When I say properly configured, i mean to say like for example, when you connect to a network and you are prompted to select the type of network, please select the correct one. If you select HOME when you are in PUBLIC, your PC might share your files to people around. You see once again that although a firewall is not an antivirus, it can still help in a layer of protection.
4. Remove Java
Many of us have outdated and insecure versions of java on our browsers which can get us easily infected by malwares if we visit some websites. And also, java applets are very rare and it is even useless to have it installed on our systems.
Yes. Always update your softwares. Many or almost all apps, including windows do have security problems. That is why the manufacturers need to release solutions to them (patches) to resolve these issues. So for you to be able to have them, it is good to allow Windows Automatic update on. or you can permit it to alert you when an update is available.
6. Don't Download programs and install them ANYHOW!!!
This one is crystal clear here. Don't download softwares anyhow and install them on your system. Download only softwares you know very well. If you need to use Microsoft Office 2013, please go to the OFFICIAL download page and get it from there. Don't download it from any banner you might see on any website.
Also, don't open any "executable files" attached to your emails.
7. Avoid Pirated softwares (Not excluding Cracked ones too)
Well my friends from 4shared.com, utorrent, etc should be careful here. Note that when taking files from these sites, you are running a great risk ohh!. If these guys are actually able to make a crack for a software to be full version, you don't know what they are capable of!!!
So becareful.
8. Hope you know of Phishing!
If you do not know, phishing is like someone calling you and pretending to be your bank, and asking you for your account information or so. In phishing, they use emails instead. Note that your bank can not ask you for that. So be careful the way you disclose information online.
Stop using the same passwords over many different websites. If you do that and you are caught, you might be exposed. The hackers might gain access to other websites having the same password.
10. Use Secure Passwords
Password managers can also help you use secure passwords, which are reasonably long and ideally contain some combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Password leaks have shown that many people use alarmingly simple passwords, such as “password”, “letmein”, and “12345″ to log into their favorite websites. It should be obvious — these passwords definitely aren’t secure.
Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/173478/10-important-computer-security-practices-you-should-follow/
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