Dialectics of a Daysleeper: Going to the Internet with Confidence

Thing I've learned living in this age of ours where connectivity has become the boon of both the good guys and the bad guys? You have only yourself to blame if you do not take enough precautions. So here are a few practices I've learned and applications I used over on the Windows side of things:

Use a Firewall - Window's built-in software firewall only blocks incoming connections. Spyware and viruses phone home to their creators so its equally important to guard the exits. I've had good results with ZoneAlarm and COMODO firewall. Give them a try. A router will also do quite nicely. On second thought, a router will do better than any software firewall. Any modern router is a hardware firewall, which is much more secure than a software firewall.

Use Anti-Virus Software - Something to remember when choosing one, "the less popular, the better." Trouble with going with Norton and McAfee is that they are the first targets of viruses. Viruses these days are programmed to turn the 2 off simply because they're the most common ones. Another good reason to avoid them is that they hog your computer's resources like mad. Go with less popular smaller programs that run faster. I use Avast. Other good free ones include AVG, BitDefender and Active Virus Shield. If you want to go the paid route, Nod32 is recommended by many IT luminaries. BitDefender's latest iteration is also paid, by the way.

Use Anti-Spyware Software - You don't need to do much to get bombarded with Ads. You just have to browse the internet. Same thing with spyware and adware. You don't need to do much to get your PC inundated with bothersome adware and treacherous spyware. A two-pronged defense would be prudent. To prevent them from getting there in the first place, I use Javacool's Spyware Blaster. To scan my PC for malicious add ons that managed to get through, I use both Ad-Aware and Spybot.

Use a Secure Browser - There are just too many security exploits being created for Microsoft's Internet Explorer everyday that its easier to just use something else. My favorites would be Firefox and Opera. These browsers aren't iron-clad secure, but they are the simplest ways to secure your internet browsing. Use them or tweak IE to secure every single bit that comes in and out of it.

Use SSL Whenever Possible - SSL secures the webpage your viewing, especially important when logging in to pages that manage financial services and personal information. You can see if a site is using SSL when you are logging in by looking for a padlock symbol in your browser. Most banks and online merchants use SSL nowadays to secure login information and transactions. For webmail, only Google Mail allows users to use SSL for the whole time your logged in. To do this you'll have to type https://mail.google.com and you're secured the whole time you're logged on viewing mail. Otherwise, only the process of logging in to Google Mail will be secured. Other webmail services only use SSL when your putting in your password. That's enough for most, but not me.

Use Foxit Reader - Two reasons why this is better than Adobe's PDF reader. Its less taxing on your computer's resources so its a helluva lot faster and there are now security holes in Adobe PDF that don't affect Foxit.

Update as Often as You Can - All the software in the world can't protect you unless it's updated. Set everything to download automatic updates when you're online. Be on the look out for software that has stopped updating itself even if you set it up to do so. It may be a sign that some malware turned them off to protect its malicious payload.

Listen to Security Now! - It's a podcast where complicated security issues are tackled in layman's terms. Download it here: http://www.grc.com/securitynow.htm. If you use software to automatically download podcasts for you, subscribe from the TWIT Network Security Now! webpage.