Most of the problems that happen with computers are due to unsafe internet practices. People do not intentionally perform risky behavior they just don’t know what they should or shouldn’t be doing. That and the fact that most people truly believe that nothing bad will happen to them. In this article I want to give you a few basic guidelines to stay safe on the internet.
1. Don’t illegally download anything. I have written a whole article on this that you can read here.
2. Stay away from pornography and gambling websites. Some of these sites are safe from a malware perspective, however, too many of them will attempt to install malicious programs on your computer. It is difficult to determine which one is which.
3. If you go to a website and it asks you to install something don’t do it. The exception to this would be well known and respected sites. If Google.com ever asked me to install something, I would accept. I would not be as willing to install anything from MakeMillionsWithJoe’sGamblingMethods.com
4. If you think you have to install software, look it up first. Type the name of the application into Google and do a search. If you see a lot of posts from users that talk about problems with the software or viruses, don’t install it.
5. Don’t click on advertisements for anything free that you would normally have to pay for. You are not the 10,000 visitor to a website and you did not just win a free trip to Jamaica.
6. If an unexpected window pops up do not click yes or no, just click the red X in the top right corner to close the window. A programmer can set up the yes and no buttons to do just about anything they want.
7. Read everything before you click on and accept it. If you are downloading something free be careful, it probably contains a lot of other annoying programs that will install with it. The only way you will know this is if you read the license agreement.
8. If you receive an email or an instant message from someone telling you to click on a link or download software, don’t do it. Send them an email back and ask them if they really just sent you the message. They may have a virus on their system that is trying to infect you too.
9. Do not respond to or forward emails from people you don’t know. This includes clicking on the unsubscribe link in these unwarranted messages. The best thing you can do is mark the email as spam. If it gets really bad, contact your email provider and ask for their help. Spam mail doesn’t do them any good either.
10. Educate yourself, if you come across something that you are not sure about, go to Google and look it up. You won’t be the first person to experience the situation and there will be information if it is shady.
If you, your family, and friends use these guidelines everyone will have a better experience on the internet and reduce the chance of harming your computer.
