Use A Firewall - Click To Expand

You can think of a firewall as a sort of shell around your computer that identifies and filters out threats, while letting secure information pass through it and reach your computer. Because a firewall serves this all-important filtering role between your computer and the internet, using a firewall is the very first step on the path to computer security.

It does not matter what system you have (Windows 95 or Windows Vista), you should always use a firewall. The newer versions of Windows (Windows XP & Windows Vista), do have some very nice safety features including Windows Defender, which is built in to Vista and available for download for XP which has a built in firewall. These security features should only be turned off if you are intending to use some other third-party programs.

When you first install your firewall you will have to take the time to set it up correctly. Many times you will be asked on your first visit to certain web pages, and first usage of some software installed on your PC, if you want to “allow” or “deny” access to them. This process can be a little bothersome at first, but once you have the pages set up you will not have to do it again. A firewall will prevent many intruders from gaining access to your system and causing you any troubles.

Note 1: Never use two firewalls simultaneously. Having two firewalls installed not only slows down your Internet connection since both software systems have to check each inbound and outbound packet, but can also cause conflicts with one another in other ways.

Note 2: It is important that you test the firewall to see how well it works and to make sure that you installed and configured it correctly. bestfreeware.org recommends that you use GRC|ShielsUp! (Click Here), Audit My PC (Click Here) or Comodo Parent Injection Leak (CPIL) Test Suite (Click Here).

Suggestions: If you don't have Windows XP or other upgraded version, or you simply want to upgrade beyond the standard protection they provide, there are a host of third-party freeware firewall options. bestfreeware.org recommends:

Comodo Internet Security (Click Here)

The Comodo Internet Security integrates Comodo Antivirus, Comodo Firewall and Comodo Defense+ in a seamless manner. Comodo Firewall or Comodo Antivirus can be installed as standalone products by using the same setup.

Use An Anti-Virus - Click To Expand

A good firewall will filter out many of the threats facing your computer, however, some malware is always going to find its way onto your PC. For example, viruses, worms, Trojan horses and other forms of malware can find their way onto your computer by various means a firewall cannot detect, including downloading malicious email attachments and files from the internet. So to protect your PC you'll also need strong regularly updated anti-virus software. While a firewall protects your computer from the outside, an anti-virus program will work from the inside of your computer, hunting down hidden viruses and deleting them, while also scanning attachments and downloads before they can infect your computer.

Anti-virus software depends on using signature files to recognize viruses, and since new ones are appearing on a daily basis it is important that these signature files are kept up to date. Any effective anti-virus software will have a facility to update these signatures, and in most cases you can set it so that this occurs automatically. To ensure that you are getting effective protection from all viruses you need to be sure that your anti-virus software is updated regularly (at lease once a week, although nowadays it is common for the protection to be updated daily).

Note 1: Never use two anti-virus programs simultaneously. Having two anti-virus programs installed not only slows down your Internet connection since both software systems have to check each process, but can also cause conflicts with one another in other ways.

Note 2: If you are going to use the above-recommended firewall (Comodo Internet Security), and since it already has a built-in anti-virus, either you don't use a second anti-virus or you dissable it in order to use one of the following recommended anti-virus programs.

Suggestions: If you are not going to use Comodo Internet Security, then, bestfreeware.org recommends that you choose only one of the programs list under the "Anti-Virus" category in the "Securities" section according to which one you feel is serving you better. (Click Here)

Use Anti-Spyware - Click To Expand

Even though firewalls and anti-virus programs are more well-known when it comes to basic security steps than installing anti-spyware software, it may actually be your anti-spyware program that provides your computer with the most significant increase in security.

Today, the most common form of malware that internet users encounter is spyware. In fact, recent studies estimated that 9 out of 10 computers connected to the Internet are currently infected with some form of spyware. Spyware can take a variety of forms, however, some of the most common effects are that it causes unsolicited pop-ups to appear, steals personal information, monitors internet activity for marketing purposes, or routes your website requests to other spammy advertising sites.

Like anti-virus programs, anti-spyware software depends on using signature files to recognize spyware, and since new ones are appearing on a daily basis it is important that these signature files are kept up to date. To ensure that you are getting effective protection from all spyware you need to be sure that your anti-spyware software is updated regularly (at lease once a week, although nowadays it is common for the protection to be updated daily).

Note : Anti-spyware programs are divided into two categories; real-time monitoring and on-demand scanning programs. It is highly advised that you use only one real-time monitoring program. With respect to on-demand scanning programs, it is totally optional to use them as long as your real-time security (Firewall, Anti-Virus, and real-time Anti-Spyware) is effectively used.

Suggestions: bestfreeware.org recommends:

Real-Time Monitoring:

Spyware terminator (Click Here)

On-Demand Scanning:

a-squared Free (Click Here)

Keep Your Operating system (OS) Up-To-Date - Click To Expand

Hackers are constantly developing new types of malware, some of which try to exploit weaknesses in an operating system to get into your computer. Therefore, it is important to always install the latest Windows OS Service Pack (SP) updates in order to keep your computer secure.

Download patches only directly from the official Windows site and never from anywhere else, no matter how official the site looks. Spammers often cleverly create fake infected patches and post them on their own or other people's websites in order to trick people into infecting their own computers by downloading them. Thus, by downloading your patches exclusively from the official Windows site, you can minimize the chances of ever encountering a fake patch in the first place.

You should be aware that Microsoft consider Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME to be old systems and no longer support them. You will not be able to download updates for these systems and so they may be more at risk to vulnerabilities.

Suggestions: Microsoft provides an excellent automatic update tool that will patch your software as soon as a flaw is identified and a solution is ready. Go to "Automatic Updates" in the "Control Panel" and be sure that it is set to receive updated automatically. You can also manually check updates from Microsoft Update Home (Click Here).

Strengthen Your Web Browser Security - Click To Expand

You connect to the internet through Microsoft Internet Explorer. This is a point of major weakness in any computer's defenses. Hackers often target their attacks on your computer by focusing on flaws in browsers or their plug-ins and using drive-by downloads, to get your computer to download malware through the browser without you even knowing that something was downloaded. Because of this threat, web browser security upgrades are an important early step in your PC security overhaul.

The easiest browser security upgrade is simply to switch away from Microsoft Internet Explorer. Microsoft Internet Explorer is subjected to the largest number of security threats, so switching to a popular and safer alternative will dramatically improve your PC security right away.

For those insisting on using Microsoft Internet Explorer, you should raise the security level from the default to the highest setting. You can do this by opening up a new browser window, selecting the "Tools" menu, followed by "Internet Options". From there choose the "Security" tab and finally drag the bar to the "High" level.

Suggestions: bestfreeware.org recommends:

Mozilla Firefox (Click Here)

Remove Unwanted programs - Click To Expand

Over time the number of programs on your computer builds up. While this is unlikely to cause any major problems they do use up space on your Hard Disk Drive. Also, depending on the programs there is a possibility that they will slow down your computer and impact on it's performance.

When programs are installed on your computer, the process of installing does more than just copying files onto your hard disk drive. As well as copying the relevant files, the operating system (OS) is updated to incorporate the new software (the main changes are to a database called the system registry, which is the core of the Windows operating system and holds all the information that Windows needs to operate).

Understanding that installing a program is more than just copying files is very important in understanding that removing a program needs to be more than just deleting files.

If you try to remove a Windows program by deleting the folder that contains it's files, you are likely to cause problems that could result in annoying error messages when using your computer. In the worst case it could result in problems such as your computer being unable to boot or other programs not running properly. This is all because Windows will still think the program is installed on your computer.

Suggestions: Although you may use the built-in uninstall utility that is available in almost all programs installed on your PC, or the Windows Add/Remove Programs utility, there exist a much more effective tool that does the job comprehensively. bestfreeware.org recommends:

Revo Uninstaller (Click Here)

Clean Registry - Click To Expand

Problems with the Windows Registry are a common cause of Windows crashes and error messages. Registry problems can occur for many reasons, including references left behind after uninstallation; incorrect removal of software; missing or corrupt hardware drivers; or orphaned start-up programs. This will significantly increase the Registry size and slow down your computer, because Windows will need more time to load, search, and read data from the Registry.

The Registry is at the heart of every Windows computer. The older your PC is, the more junked-up its Registry becomes. Badly written programs (and there are plenty of those around) don't bother to clean the Registry when you uninstall them, and some programs add unnecessary junk to the Registry. The more junked-up your Registry, the more likely it is to crash or to slow down your PC.

Suggestions: There are a host of registry cleaning programs. You need to be careful when choosing because some may harm your operating system (OS). bestfreeware.org recommends:

Vit Registry Fix (Click Here)

Additionally, bestfreeware.org also recommends using the registry-cleaning-related tools already integrated into the programs recommended at the following step "Clean Disk".

Clean Disk - Click To Expand

As you use your computer you will collect a lot of files on your hard disk that aren't required. These might be the files that are downloaded when you visit websites that enable you to view their content or temporary files that are used by other programs.

Windows built-in disk-cleaning tool is a good start at removing useless or outdated flotsam and jetsam from your hard drives: Choose Start -- All Programs -- Accessories -- System Tools -- Disk Cleanup. But the program fails to empty some key temporary files, and doesn't protect your privacy as well as it could.

Sometimes, users need a tool of more complete control for removing un-useful files from the disk, or remove internet visiting tracks from the system, or completely wipe the disk before PC donation or transferring.

Suggestions: There are a host of disk cleaning programs. You need to be careful when choosing because some may harm your operating system (OS). bestfreeware.org recommends:

Glary Utilities (Click Here)
Additionally, bestfreeware.org also recommends using the following tool:

Advanced SystemCare Free (Click Here)

Defragment Registry - Click To Expand

The Registry is very much like hard disk drives. Programs on your computer access the Registry thousands of times per second. That means that the Registry, just like disk drives, gets bloated and fragmented with time.

Most of you already know that a fragmented registry slows down computer speed (same as hard disks). But few are aware that the registry is fully kept in the memory when your PC is running. Memory on your PC is much smaller than disk space and the more bloated the Registry becomes, the less space there is for other programs to run. Knowing that, it should not come as a surprise to you that Windows Vista or XP runs noticeably slower after a few months of work.

During the normal operation of a Windows system, registry data is constantly being written to and removed from the registry. Over time this data becomes scattered within the registry file and when information is deleted from the registry holes are left which fragment the data within the registry. Registry compacting optimizes your registry by removing gaps and wasted space, thus improves the whole system performance.

Suggestions: There are a host of registry defragmentation programs. You need to be careful when choosing because some may harm your operating system (OS). bestfreeware.org recommends:

Qicksys RegDefrag (Click Here)

Defragment Disk - Click To Expand

Hard disks are by far the slowest component in your computer. CPU and memory work much faster than hard disks because they do not have moving parts. Therefore fragmented disks often become a bottleneck of the system performance.

Besides causing slowdowns, fragmentation makes the disk drive heads move too much when reading files which leads to freeze-ups and system crashes. It is important to keep your disks defragmented and optimized as much as possible.

Suggestions: There are a host of disk defragmentation programs. You need to be careful when choosing because some may harm your operating system (OS). bestfreeware.org recommends:

Qicksys DiskDefrag (Click Here)

Be Cautious When Downloading - Click To Expand

While not all freeware is bad, the old saying that nothing worthwhile in life is free is generally true when it comes to free internet downloads. Spammers often hide dangerous malware in computer programs that they then offer for free on the internet. When you choose to download these free programs, not knowing they are infected, you circumvent your firewall and anti-virus protection, and as a result often open yourself up a serious malware infestation.

Downloading music, video and software files is one of the biggest advantages of having a broadband connection. It’s important to know the risks if you want to make the most of downloading opportunities, as downloadable files are one of the main sources of dangerous computer viruses.

Suggestions: Never download a file -- including pictures and music -- unless you know the source is trustworthy. Download software only from well-known companies or from other trustworthy sources.

Be Cautious Of Attachments - Click To Expand

This used to be the first rule of email, and you should already know this. The vast majority of viruses arrive as attachments to emails. Most of them are harmless until they are opened. Do not trust any attachment to be what it claims to be or the message it comes with claims it to be. All of the information in the header of the email, including the identity of the sender, can be forged and the true identity of the attached file may also be disguised, so until you have scanned them and are sure they are safe it is best to treat all incoming attachments as suspicious.

Do not trust an email to be from who it says it's from. Most viruses spread by automatically (and invisibly) forwarding themselves to addresses they find in the address book or in messages stored in the inbox of an infected machine, so you cannot assume that just because a message comes from a friend it is innocent. Even 'innocent' files which you are expecting from known senders may be infected either by a virus residing unidentified in their machine or even (theoretically) en route.

Suggestions: Never open any attachments unless you are expecting them, know who they are from and have scanned them for viruses first. Never open any attachments directly from within your email client. Always save attachments to disk first and then scan them before opening them. It is best not to assume that your virus scanner is set up to scan incoming email correctly. Doing it manually, so you can see that it is working, is the safest way.