Securing Your Computer - Updated July 19, 2011
It seems to me that this tutorial section was looking a little sad (and dated) so over the next few days I'm going to try and write a few new tutorials for this section. The first will be this one, which is how to keep your computer secure.
I know some advanced users will just say use Linux and then you don't have to worry about all of this, but some people can't use it (a family computer for example that people need to know how to use) or simply can't break fully away from their windows programs (like games). Anyway, enough rambling, on to the tutorial.
Making Your Computer Secure
The first obvious step is software to protect your computer, there are many options and several that work well. In this tutorial I will be showing you how to use the ones that I personally trust.
The programs we will be using are:
It is important to understand that each one of these programs has a very separate and different purpose, but that is why they work well together.
Step 1 - Anti-virus - OLD SEE BELOW FOR UPDATE
Probably tied with a Firewall (coming later) in terms of importance, anti-virus should be one of the first things you install on your PC. For this tutorial I'm using AVG Anti-Virus because their free version works exceptionally well and it has always worked consistently for me.
So here we go:
- Download AVG here. You can download whatever version you like, but the free version works fine. You should also know that the AVG installer downloads all it's files when you run it. There is also an offline version, but you will need to find it yourself.
- Run the AVG installer and let it download all it's files.
- Once the files are all downloaded you should be taken through an install wizard. Most of the default options are fine, but just be aware that it will try to change your search engine in Firefox and IE if you let it. You can disable this with a checkbox, just pay attention.
- Upon completion AVG may ask to restart your computer. Don't do that just yet. If it doesn't great, if that's the case they changed their installer since I used it.
Step 1 - Anti-virus
There are many great Anti-virus programs that will protect your computer. Some do a better job of this than others, some of these great options are listed here:
There are others mentioned below in this thread, but these are the programs I would personally recommend. Oh yeah, and they are all free. All of the install procedures will be similar to that of AVG. If you choose COMODO Anti-virus though, all you have to do is continue on to the firewall section of this guide, and install the anti-virus along with the firewall. (it's just a check box)
Step 2 - Firewall
The Firewall, for those that don't know, is what allows connections out and into your computer. It is also the program that stops many unwanted applications from having access.
For most people the firewall that is built into Windows does a good job. However, there are many programs that can automatically add exceptions into the firewall to allow themselves access to your network and the internet, for this reason we use a 3rd party firewall, known as Comodo Firewall.
I should also mention that Comodo has an anti-virus as well, I've never really used it so I can't vouch for it's effectiveness.
On to installing Comodo:
- Download Comodo Firewall here. Again you can use the paid version if you, I'll be using the free one. If you know what bit OS you have you can save some time on your download, as only downloading one, say the x64 will save you about 34MB of bandwidth.
- Run the installer for Comodo once it finishes downloading. Agree to the terms but watch after it asks for your e-mail (not required) as it will have a product selected called COMODO GeekBuddy. I am not going to install this and I would personally recommend you do the same unless you think you will need support down the road, as it doesn't say the support is free.
- After a short automatic download, a different installer window will open, just click next.
- At this point you will be asked about what level of protection you want;
Firewall only
Firewall with Optimum Proactive Defense
Firewall with Maximum Proactive Defense
I'm going to select Firewall Only as that is all I'm using Comodo for, select whichever option you like. - Next Comodo will ask you about using COMODO DNS servers, I was at first tempted by this option until I saw that it automatically blocks "Malicious" sites. That wasn't a clear enough definition for me because many sites that I have used for finding programs, etc. fall into this category. I would much rather use Google DNS, more about that in another tutorial later.
For now, select I don't want to use Comodo DNS. - Now click the final install button to make Comodo actually install on your system. This may take a few minutes, or seconds, it will really just depend on the speed of your system.
- After Comodo has finished make sure you turn off your Windows firewall. This can be accessed from control panel. I would post a picture but it varies in each version of windows, so I'm hoping you'll be able to find it. If you can't find it, post here, I'll help you.
- Restart your computer.
At this point your computer is more secure than most of the computers that are around right now. I'm going to update this later with how to further protect it, and how to fix it if it gets something not so great on it. Expect an update soon!
If you think I missed something, or am wrong in some area, post, and I'll take it into consideration!