It’s a bit of an open secret in the computer security industry that the number-one most effective tool for protecting your computer from viruses and malware is your own brain.  Firewalls, antivirus scanners, and so on definitely have their place, but those computer users who never seem to have major problems (while your computer seems to get more bugs in it than an ant farm) aren’t safer because they have superior antivirus software–it’s because they’ve learned to break these three common bad computing habits.
1) The habit: Downloading “free” products that cost you more than money

Remember those animated smileys that seemed so cute?  Remember how you asked yourself, “they’re free, so why not try it out?  I can always uninstall it later.”  Unfortunately there are a lot of products out there that claim to be free but carry all kinds of computer-hogging spyware or malicious bugs.  Uninstalling them in the conventional way won’t stop the problems they cause; in the worst cases, nothing will fix the problem except a reformat and reinstalling your operating system.

The worst offenders are screensaver programs, desktop theme programs, and anything related to online chatting, such as smiley packs or “3D avatar creators”.  Not all of them contain viruses or spyware, but many do.  Basically, the more aggressive their marketing is to try to get you to download a “free” product, the more likely it is that they have some vested (and not nice) interest in getting onto your computer.

The solution: Get free programs from trusted sources

There are several great sources for free software where you can be reasonably sure that what you download is safe to install.  Here are some of my favorite sources for free programs of all kinds:

• Download.com — All kinds of programs for all platforms, both for pay and free.  Huge selection of software with ratings and reviews.
• Open Source Windows and Open Source Mac — A comparatively small but great listing of the best free and open-source software for Windows and Mac.  This should be one of your first stops after getting a new computer or installing a new operating system.
• Softpedia.com — Similar to Download.com.  Offers free and not-free software, news, ratings, and reviews.

2) The habit: Not backing up your important data

In this day and age, backing up data isn’t just for corporation servers.  More of our personal information than ever sits on our PCs and laptops, and since under regular usage an average hard drive will last about three years, you need to think about how to protect yourself from data loss.

The solution: Back up your data on a regular schedule that you stick to

At the very least, you should back up your contact info and most sensitive documents such as email on a regular schedule to an external or network drive.  It’s not difficult–if you’re a casual computer user who just checks email and does online banking, for example, then backing up your email and financial info to a thumb drive that you keep in a secure location may be sufficient.  For those who live on the computer, you’ll probably want to consider making disk image backups to offsite network storage, which is a decidedly more complex affair but it can be set up to be done automatically.

Back up your data can be as easy as getting a network-attached storage (NAS) solution that comes with automatic scheduled backups of files and folders you select.  There are lots of benefits to NAS such as streaming files to multiple computers, remote access, and more, but one of the best selling points of a NAS is having a reliable backup solution that you only have to set up once.  Good candidates include the Linksys by Cisco NMH series of media hubs for home users looking for basic backup of their important documents and media, or the Seagate Maxtor Central Axis series of NAS products with features geared towards home offices and small businesses.

3) The habit: “Leaving the doors open” to your personal information when you’re online

Some spyware attempts to collect personal information off of your computer, but sometimes hackers don’t have to work that hard:  it’s more common that the programs you already have on your PC, coupled with not examining your online surfing habits, can throw open the doors to your sensitive data.  In addition to spyware you may not be aware of, this includes things like not using a firewall, not securing your home wireless network, and using passwords that are easy to guess.

The solution: Reduce your “online footprint” and lock down your information online

Popular Mechanics has a great, comprehensive tutorial that can take you through the basics of securing your online presence.  While no one method is completely safe, having a strategy of self-protection online is extremely important.  This guide will show you how to secure your wireless network, how to protect your email, how to prevent sites from exploiting your browser, and more.  The steps are all easy to follow and will help you stay fairly secure when venturing out into the Web.

Tags: anti-virus, apple, computer protection, computing tips, data protection, pc, virus protection, viruses