Please note: The following is not an endorsement of the specific referenced products or solutions, these are examples of ways that users can better protect themselves online. The effectiveness of these solutions varies widely. Used in combination with each other can provide significant added protection to your internet usage.
Additional Disclaimer: There is no such thing as 100% secure, so don’t misconstrue or misinterpret this guidance to be some sort of guarantee of safety online.
Top 5 Home User Protection Measures
1. First and foremost, you must install a NON-FREE Anti-Virus Suite. Prefer anti-virus software that has been tested. The following sites are good for reviewing the test results of Antivirus Detection Rates:
- AV Comparatives: Monthly Test Report
- VB 100 – Comparative Report
- AV-Test – Home-User Report
2. Ensure you are using a Browser Plugin to evaluate the security of websites you go to and if possible use Anti-Spam features of your Anti-Virus software. Some examples of browser plugins are: McAfee Site Advisor, Avira Browser Safety, Norton Browser Protection
3. Load up on some software and system exploit prevention, regularly change your website passwords and select passwords based on website category such as financial, entertainment and miscellaneous. Some examples of Anti-Exploit browser and software protection are: Microsoft EMET, Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit Premium
4. Use a DNS service to help block malicious websites BEFORE your computer has a chance to connect to them. Some examples are
5. The last step is a personal training thing that I advise any user online to do. Treat every single link on a web page as suspicious, never click on emailed links, it is best to browse to the specific website manually without clicking. Never open attachments that you do not first scan with your Anti-Virus software first and never ever open attachments from random people where you are not expecting an attachment. Whenever a web page claims that you must update your software and to “click here” to do so, you should be suspicious of it, unless of course you are purposely browsing to your computer manufacturer’s website, graphics card software website or some official Microsoft or Adobe website for updates to your software.
