New exploits against operating systems and other software are constantly being discovered and used by hackers and these are usually quickly patched by software producers. Most software suppliers these days will provide you with an option to take care of this automatically or at the very least to notify you when an update is available.

Operating systems in particular should be set to download and install updates automatically overnight in order to stay ahead of the bad guys. All other software e.g. Adobe Reader, Flash, Java etc should also where possible be configured to update automatically or if this isn't possible then you should visit the manufacturers website frequently to check for updates and manually download and install them.

If all your installed software is kept bang up to date then you are at much lower risk of your system being compromised by an attacker expoiting a known vulnerability to install a Trojan or spam mailer on to your PC

Next post:- Software to protect your PC. Antivirus and Malware Scanners

Protection against these intruders is basically a combination of:

1:-Behaviour

2:-Good Housekeeping

3:-Software Protection

Let's take these issues 1 at a time

Behaviour:-This basically means that you need to be careful out there! If you visit suspect web sites or click on links in email without knowing where they came from, no antivirus protection is going to prevent the intrusion. You're basically saying "Come on in, help yourself"

If you engage in file sharing or visit adult sites or download copyright material illegally you are at high risk. Social networking sites such as Facebook are also known vectors for malware, usually contained within messages purporting to be from someone in your network of "friends". If you visit a website and you see a message telling you that you are the 1 million'th visitor and you've won a fantastic prize, click here-DON'T! As in life if it sounds too good to be true it usually is!

So be skeptical about everything, like the real world the Internet has it's seedy back streets that you wouldn't walk around in after dark and you can't believe everything you see and hear.

Next Post I'll talk about Good Housekeeping

Is your PC slow to boot, slow to open applications, slow doing anything?

Is your PC the victim of malware infection, unwanted pop-ups?

Is your Home Network making you tear your hair out?

 We can help, just call us!