Securing Your Home Computer – Antivirus, Firewalls... What do I need & why?

Today we'll look at keeping your computer as secure as possible.
We've already looked briefly at securing your WiFi connection to the internet, so now we need to know how to secure the devices that are connected to it. These devices will typically be computers, games consoles and mobile phones.  This does not offer any guarantee and accepts no liability - Its free impartial advice, because I'm nice like that !

 Software
The operating system is basically what makes the computer do what you want to do, such as store files on your hard drive. In addition to the operating system there are applications, or programs, that run 'on-top' of the operating system and provide a specific function such as word processing or internet browsing.
Examples of common operating systems are Windows, Linux, Mac OS X. With the exception of some Net-Books and techies, most people generally use Windows so that's what we'll look at here. What you really need to understand is that Hackers routinely find a way to exploit vulnerabilities in the software, the software is then fixed and a security update or patch is then released to fix your software on your computer, the cycle then continues the next month.

Use a Supported Version of Windows
Microsoft only updates supported versions of their software. If you use Windows NT, 95, 98 or ME which are not supported, then you are not going to be able to get the required updates and the operating system is probably full of gaping security holes. I'd advise upgrading to a current supported version of windows. Windows 2000 and XP have extended support until 13th July 2010, which isn't that far away so, again, you want to look at maybe upgrading soon. The current version is Windows 7.

Keep Up to Date
Microsoft releases security updates on the second Tuesday of each month, this is known as patch Tuesday. You can periodically go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com to download the updates but ideally you want to configure it for Automatic Updates so your computer does it all for you, this link should help you configure it for your particular version of windows - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/windowsupdate/automaticupdate.mspx
You also need to keep your other software & applications updated. To do this open the application / program and click 'Help' and then 'Check for updates' that should do the job with most Windows software.

Create Different Profiles for Different Users
Some default installations of Windows automatically log you on without needing to type a username or password. This method will probably also log you in with 'Administrator' privileges which means that you, or anything you click on, could potentially be able to change the way things are working on your computer... Which is a bad idea... It's best to create a separate user for yourself and make sure its not set as an Administrator. Remember to make sure that you can login as Administrator or yourself as you may need to use the Administrator and password to install new applications etc. This can protect against some viruses that are not picked up by your antivirus software.
This link tells you about configuring users on Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/279783

Use a Strong Password
Hackers have a variety of tools to try vast amounts of passwords very quickly. There are lists freely available on the internet that include for example girls names, boys names, English dictionary, Spanish dictionary, movie titles, singers, songs etc. Pretty much anything you can think of there is a list already written that can be downloaded and plugged into a password cracking program that will automatically try all the words. There are a number of different ways to create a stronger password while still being able to remember it. One of my favorites is to take a rhyme, song line or sentence and take the first letter of each line to use as your password. For example: Mary had a little lamb its fleece was white as snow = Mhallifwwas. You should also use numbers and uppercase letters in your password.
You can test the strength of your password with this link. - http://www.microsoft.com/protect/fraud/passwords/checker.aspx

Use Antivirus Software
Antivirus software is used to prevent, detect, and remove malware, including computer viruses, worms, and trojan horses etc. Such programs may also prevent and remove adware, spyware, and other forms of malware. You can download free antivirus software for Windows systems, Two of the most popular are:
Avast Antivirus - http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
AVG Antivirus- http://free.avg.com/gb-en/download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition
Make sure that you comply with any license agreements.

Use a Firewall
A firewall can help prevent hackers or malicious software (such as worms) from gaining access to your computer through a network or the Internet. Windows comes with one built in but you may need to switch it on if its not already active. Some details about windows firewall on XP can be found here - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/security/winfirewall.mspx

Be Careful What You Download and Install
Viruses and other nasties are often hiding within illegal copied software, bogus video codecs and in fake antivirus software which usually warns that you have a virus and asks you to download software to cure it, the software you download, ironically, has a virus hiding within it. So as a general rule, don't click on anything that your not sure about. I'll cover internet threats more closely in the future as its a big subject !

Feel free to leave a comment. Let me know if you'd like me to cover anything specific and I'll see what I can do.