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…from computer viruses, spyware, malware, adware, phishing, popups, trojans, etc. – the long list of afflictions visited upon us by all the sociopaths with nothing better to do than cause trauma to others.

Hearing these terms in the media or from your friends is virtually inescapable; dealing with protecting yourself is mostly a matter of self-education or trusting someone already educated in the field. For argument’s sake, let’s say that’s me.

The good news is that you can lock down your PC (I have no Mac experience) from this stuff FOR FREE. For this  discussion, I’ll assume you are running Windows XP, Windows Vista (upgrade ASAP, I say) or Windows 7. If you’re running something older, you’re on your own.

Zeroth Step –  If you’re already screwed:

Signs: something strange is happening / PC is sluggish or non-responsive / you’re getting a message to go to some online service and download something you’ve never heard of.

Sigh. For future reference, “An ounce of prevention is worth many pounds of cure” to paraphrase an old aphorism.

Here is a link to an article I trust for getting your PC back in working condition and ready to malware-proof in the future. You’ll need to know how to download software, install it on a bootable thumb drive or CD and how to force your BIOS to boot from the thumb drive or CD. If none of that made sense, you’re probably on your way to professional help.

First Step – “Vaccination”:

Disclaimer – the following recommendations work for me on all my PC’s. I’m not responsible for what happens to your PC.

These are truly “first steps” – your new PC or newly installed Windows OS is vulnerable to infection until you’ve completed these steps.

1. Know the difference between types of User Accounts. In general, there are Limited User and Administrator accounts. Only your most trusted users should have Administrator accounts. An Administrator account means that user has total control of the PC, including the ability to mess it up. Create Limited User accounts for most users – that’s one layer of protection.
2. Ensure that you have Windows Firewall enabled on your PC. Go to the Windows Security Center to verify this.
3. Ensure that you have Windows Update enabled. Go to the Windows Security Center to verify this. FYI, I insert myself into the process, allowing Microsoft to download to my PC, but taking my own decisions on what to allow to be installed. The only things I reject are (some) driver updates and downloads of Microsoft tools I don’t want on my PC.
4. Download and install (FREE) Windows Security Essentials. Be sure to uninstall any other antivirus software you may be running.
5. Optionally, download and install (FREE) ThreatFire, which adds behavior-based anti virus protection in addition to other protections.
6. Download and install (FREE) Firefox or Chrome and use it as your primary web browser. I sometimes still have to use Internet Explorer for certain websites that are using Microsoft-proprietary extensions, but 99%+ of my browsing is with Firefox.

Some of these programs overlap each other in purpose and coverage, but that’s not really an issue. They all work and play well together.

That’s it. You don’t have to spend money. FREE means free.

I’ve never, ever had a malware issue on any of my home PC’s. Knock on wood. Better yet, I’ll keep up on what’s changing over time and take action accordingly – beats superstition any day.

Second Step – “Crapware”:

Unfortunately, if you’ve bought a new PC with the OS already installed, chances are that you’ll find that a bunch of programs have been installed by the PC manufacturer that you really don’t want. The reason they do this is in the hope that you’ll upgrade from their Trial or Freeware to a paid subscription or buy software.

You can go to the Windows Control Panel and attempt to uninstall as much of this crapware as possible. Alternatively, you can follow the procedure linked to here.

Third Step – “Preventive Care”:

Some behavioral items:

1. Don’t download toolbars, fonts, games, add-ons of any kind without Googling them first. See what other people say.
2. Don’t click on links in unknown e-mails. Look up addresses yourself and type them into your browser address bar.
3. Don’t count on anti-phishing software to protect you. Always know what website you’re connecting to when anything to do with money or your identity is at stake. Type the website name in yourself rather than rely on third party links.
4. Your bank, hospital, investment company, etc. will never contact you by e-mail to ask for personal information.

Fourth Step – Stuff I Find Useful:

Now that your new (or rebuilt) PC is fortified against viruses and decrapified, time to add back some useful FREE software. I’ve listed a few of my favorites and what they’re for. If I don’t provide a link, Google them.

• DropBox – an awesome piece of software; it will make a copy in the Cloud of your critical data AND it will synchronize that copy onto any PC  you install the software on. Think bookmarks.
• TeraCopy – a robust, interrupt-able file copy program.
• TrueCrypt – data encryption. If your PC is lost or stolen, or a hard drive bricks, you’ll be thankful that you used TrueCrypt. Think of all the passwords you entrust to your browser.
• Foxit PDFReader – you can use Adobe Reader, but it’s a big pig compared to Foxit.
• WinDirStat – gives you a graphical representation of all the files on your hard drive. Extremely useful.
• NotePad++ – a better version of Notepad.
• Picasa – I do 99% of my photo editing, tagging and uploading using Picasa. It’s awesome.
• CDBurnerXP – free CD / DVD burning software.
• OpenOffice – free word processing, spreadsheet, presentations. Can read Excel and Word files.
• Keepass – utility for generating and tracking all those passwords. Use with DropBox and have all your passwords synchronized on all your PC’s.

Write me if this list doesn’t meet your needs…