Saturday, September 18th, 2010 (
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If your Operating System has a security bug, no amount of firewalls or anti-virus programs will help you. Make sure you're keeping up to date. For Windows users, the process is mostly automatic or you can go to their update website here (but only when using Internet Explorer).
Since XP service pack 2, there is a security center where you can modify your automatic update settings. For people with fairly basic computer skills the best options is to leave the process entirely automatic. But for people who would like to review the updates before installing them (since sometimes Microsoft sneaks non-critical software updates into the security patches), try "Download but don't install" instead.
The reason is that Microsoft has a nasty habit of slipping non-system updates into the downloads. It's always better to preview the stuff that's about to download before you let it install on your machine. You'll be able to choose with checkboxes which updates to accept and which to reject.
One last thing, be sure to always download and install the most recent version of Internet Explorer. Even though I don't use it and I recommend you don't either, since it's part of the operating system, it's part of the system's security (or it's weakness if it's out of date). Keep it current!
 |  | Remember that every Operating System has security problems, even Macs. Make sure to keep regular with the updates. |
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Security Software
| Make sure you have a up-to-date Anti-Virus Program to protect you against bad websites or files. |
| Sometimes spyware gets in your computer and the anti-virus won't stop it. Use a spyware scanner to find and remove spyware and adware. |
| Use a software firewall to detect bad code on your computer when it tries to connect to the Internet. |
| Switch to Firefox for your web browsing and you'll be better protected from Internet threats. |
Safe Computing Practices
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Don’t forget third-party application patching. Without that, you’re basically screwed.
Try the Secunia PSI.