BEING AWARE OF PC SECURITY NOWADAYS

The short answer in the question whether your personal computer requires antivirus software is yes. Its longer answer when it comes to the health of your PC is that this is just one aspect that the user should look into when it comes to the straightforward but systematic approach. Here is what you would like to know just to understand how risky it is out there.

Zero-day attacks are rare:- Even though they get a lot of publicity, they rarely occur and usually do not cause widespread negative impacts. Those worst types of these attacks can be found targeted against specific companies such as Google and Adobe.

Other software needs patching as well:- One is vulnerable to the effective malware programs that go through vectors such as Adobe Reader and Flash, Microsoft Office and Java Runtime. The developer will patch up their program most of the time but users who have not applied the update will remain vulnerable to attacks. 

Malware authors often exploit systems that are not patched:- During the first half of the year 2010, Win32/Conficker was one of the top 10 threats that was discovered and eliminated from the Windows PCs. This vulnerability was blocked by a Patch that was released in 2008.

Various kinds of malware are voluntarily installed:- Common threats such as Trojans are spread through social engineering. A malware author in thehigh speed Internet will convince a person to have them run their program which will discreetly do something other than what they have stated. This may come in the form of a new video plugin but will actually be a program which will hide in the PC of that person and steal passwords.

There is no perfect antivirus software:- It may seem impossible for a security program to identify every threat out there. This is especially true if the writers of malware are consistently updating their programs in order to avoid being detected. 

Here are some essential steps in order to keep the PC as secured as possible.

Maintain an updated OS:- Turning on the Windows Update and ensuring that it is running correctly will make sure that the computer is being kept up to date. This simple step will ensure that the user’s PC is being protected from a wide range of malware attacks that are possible today.

Utilize a modern OS instead:- Using Windows XP is just not as secure enough for people to be using nowadays. The OS was designed to be operated more than 10 years ago and it is now lacking in many core changes that has made the recent Windows versions more immune to attacks.

Keep an eye out for suspicious software:- Just as it was mentioned earlier in the article, the authors of malware products will rely on tricking every person into installing their software and claim that it will just be doing one process but instead will steal passwords or add computer systems into a global botnet. It is important to note that if a program is looking to be suspicious, do not install it.
Author Bio:
Angelina writes for Broadband Expert in topics such as technology and wireless internet. During her free time, Anj researches the latest news on these topics and also guest posts for many technology blogs.