How to do so that you do not get viruses ? Security has become very important, especially in these times, where almost all the devices we handle are connected to the Internet and with all the cases of cyberattacks and espionage that have occurred. Therefore, we are going to give you some tips or suggestions to get rid of a large part of viruses.
Specifically, we are going to see 10 fundamental rules that
we must follow if we do not want to quickly become infected with malware. As
you can see, the suggestions are quite simple to follow even if you do not have
computer knowledge, so you should not worry about it.
The keys so that you do
not get viruses
We start with our 10 keys to preventing virus infections:
1-Install a good anti-virus or anti-malware software.
It is the first rule so that you do not get viruses and the
most important, since the detection, blocking and neutralization of malware
will depend on this software. In this sense, I do not recommend having a
pirated antivirus, since the cracks or activators of many pirated programs can
also be camouflaged malware ... If you can afford to buy a license, acquire the
license from ESET NOD32, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus or Kaspersky. These are
some of the best antivirus you will find. But if you can't afford to buy the
license, then go for free antivirus like Avast, AVG or Avira, whose Free
versions are decent.
2-Keep the software updated
This is not a guarantee, but if you keep your antivirus,
operating system and other software updated, you can prevent some types of
threats, since some are based on known vulnerabilities in the software to
exploit them and infect or damage your system. So, again having the latest
patched versions will be vital.
3-Run your antivirus scans or analyzes on a regular basis
do not wait for them to give you the alert, it is
interesting that from time to time, at least once a week, you schedule a
complete analysis of the system. Sometimes, the protection systems do not
detect certain viruses or are introduced when they were disconnected, etc., so
it is important that you also be pro-active in detecting them. In addition, if
you doubt a file, you can analyze it with online tools such as VirusTotal, and
if it is a threat it will be reported to the antivirus companies so that they
can work on creating vaccines so that their antivirus will detect it the next
time. What I want to tell you is that not always what an antivirus does not
detect is something trustworthy ...
4-Secure your network
Any system connected to the Internet is no longer safe,
therefore, whatever the operating system it is, you must put measures to
protect your networks as well. There are very simple apps for our mobile
devices such as the one from the Andalusian startup WiFiProtection that we can
install on our smartphone or tablet to analyze if our wireless network has
vulnerabilities and, if so, it will tell us how to solve the problems. It would
also be interesting to use well-configured Firewall software, parental control
if we have children at home, etc.
5-Think and be careful
Sometimes this rule is the best ally for your safety. Do not
enter strange websites, or that lack TLS / SSL certificates, do not download
and install software from websites that are not official stores, ignore certain
pop-up windows that warn of possible infections of our system, etc. Sometimes,
many programs that we download and are apparently harmless have hidden malware
and what we are installing is a virus. Other times, certain messages alert us
to a possible virus that has infected us and make us download a software or
antivirus that solves it, but that is when they really infect us. Therefore, be
suspicious and have common sense.
6-Keep your personal information safe
Make backup copies of all your data. Some types of viruses
or malware known as ransomware encrypt our data so that we cannot access it and
we will lose it if we do not pay a ransom for it. At other times they can
infect them and make them corrupt, so we will also lose personal information.
For this reason, I always recommend making periodic copies, if possible on
external media (external hard drives, pen-drives, ...) that are offline.
Especially sensitive are the files where you write passwords, bank details, or
private things ... Be careful with it!
7-Always use strong passwords
Sometimes, we may be infected by certain malware or certain
services may be attacking us, but if we have a secure password we will make it
much more complicated or even impossible in some cases. To be safe, it should
always be longer than 8 characters and should never be known words that appear
in a dictionary, but should combine lowercase, uppercase, numbers, and symbols.
For example: @ UyEMX5_er-S
8-Avoid default settings
Many times we leave the default configuration of the
software or services out of laziness, but spending a moment properly
configuring our networks and services will be vital to prevent certain malware
from taking advantage of some vulnerabilities that can only be exploited with
the default settings