Protecting Your Windows PC

Most of computer users use Windows as their operating system. Even if you force these guys to use Linux or Mac they will still prefer Windows more than anything. Monopoly is widely understood, when you buy a branded laptop nowadays, vista or xp is bundled and yes you are right, you pay for it. These are the applications that are currently enabled/installed in my Windows Machines.

This guide will provide tips to those poor souls who may have lost their minds when viruses and trojans attack their computers.
Tip #1 Never never turn off your firewall. Although the word 'firewall' may be too irritating for you, you have to live with it. It's your glorious protection against unwanted network hackers. You can turn on your firewall by double clicking on the Windows Firewall Icon found in your control panel, or you can launch the Windows Security Center.
Tip #2 Turn On Automatic Updates. There is a prerequisite before doing this: you have to make sure that your copy of Windows is legitimate otherwise you might end up screaming when your computer tells you "You have been victimized by software piracy blah blah blah". Remember, stealing is prohibited since the days of Moses and his commandments. Microsoft often releases patches and service packs to fix vulnerabilities that may possibly damage your computer. By turning Automatic updates, your computer is somewhat (yes, sometimes it fails) protected. You may turn on Automatic Updates using the Windows Security Center. Tip #3 Install and Regularly Update Your Anti-Virus. It is automatic that when you purchase or install Windows in your PC, you agree to the fact that you have to combat viruses and protect your computer. Sad but true, 71,000 viruses are out there waiting to infect your machine. Good thing we have anti-viruses! There are free versions of these programs downloadable from the net, examples would be AVG and Avast. I really don't know the performance of these free antivirus because I dont personally use them. What is installed in my PC is Eset's NOD32 Antivirus. I am satisfied with this product however it is proprietary and you are only limited to use it for a month then buy it. What I really like about it is that the program only consumes a miniscule of memory compared to its free counter parts.
Tip #4 Fight Spyware! When the Internet got popular, a lot of advertisements flourished the information superhighway these also entered your system through spywares. Ever downloaded a free screensaver from an advertisement, oops, you are now infected. You may see your web browser doing some crazy stuff such as showing an unwanted toolbar. Fear not, we have a bunch of anti-spyware! Microsoft has one, which is downloadable from its website. It's called Windows Defender, (yeah, a strong name right? but sometimes it fails to defend you from spies). You might also want to consider installing spybot, my favorite anti-spyware