pmgamer18
Well-known member
The other Co Mod Ryan at my forum is an IT guy and we were getting a lot of Malware or Spam postings. You can pick up this Malware on your PC and it will put Spam on all the sites you go to.
So Ryan posted this this morning on how to keep your PC clean and working great. I know a lot of you might know this all ready no need to post what you do this is just info for them not up on this.
========================================================
To Everybody in Hypogonadism2:
It seems that we have been seeing an increase in spam postings due to
computers infected with malware.
As an IT guy, I want to give a few pointers on how to make sure your
computer is secure...
*Go to the "Start" button, choose "Programs" (or "All Programs"), and
look for "Windows Update".Install all of the important updates.When
finished, repeat this process again -- many times, once you install some
updates, more updates will become available for installation.Keep
repeating this process until there are no more updates left to install.
*In Windows Update, choose the option to receive updates "for Windows
and other products from Microsoft Update".Also, go to "Change Settings"
and choose the option to automatically install all new updates.
*Make sure that you have an Antivirus (AV) program installed.You can pay
for an AV program or there are quite a few free options (with AV
programs, it does not mean it is better if you have to pay for
it).Personally, I recommend using MS Security Essentials
(Invalid Link Removed
).This program is produced by Microsoft, is free for people who have
legal versions of Windows, and has been rated as good or better than
Norton and McAfee.If you install MS Security Essentials, choose the
option to do a "Full Scan".A full scan may take several hours depending
on the size of your hard drives and how much information you have stored.
*Install a free program called "Spybot Search &
Destroy".Invalid Link Removed default, this
program tries to install a program called "Tea Timer" -- uncheck this
option during the installation process.Once installed, download all
updates and then choose the option to "Immunize" (this option prevents
your computer from even going to many web sites known to contain
malware).Once immunized, perform a scan and remove anything that it
finds.At least weekly, check for updates and apply immunization and run
a new scan.Spybot does not let you automatically schedule scans, so you
have to manually start all scans.
*Passwords:
-Make sure that you do not ever use simple passwords.You should never be
able to find your password in the dictionary.Be sure to use lower case
letters, upper case letters, numbers, and symbols in your password.Be
sure that your password contains at least 8 characters.Never use
"password" or "Password" for your password!
-If you believe that your computer was infected with malware, once you
remove the malware, change all of your passwords.
-Change your passwords frequently.
-Do not use the same passwords for multiple web sites or services.A
common practice for hackers is to get the username and password for one
site and then try to log in at other sites with the same username and
password.You would be surprised at how often this works successfully.
Just keep in mind that no single piece of software is perfect.I have had
to clean computers that had Norton Antivirus, McAfee Antivirus, AVG,
Avast, and even Microsoft Security Essentials installed and up-to-date.I
like MS Security Essentials because it is free, it does not cause your
computer to run slower, it does not have any "nag" screens like other
free AV software, and comparison tests show that it is as good or better
than the big names in the antivirus field.
I only posted this information so that people can try to ensure that
their computers are up-to-date, safe, and secure and so that we can
avoid the type of situation that Phil described at other forums.There
are many different opinions on what works and what does not work - let's
not start that debate in this forum.
Best of luck to everybody!
Ryan
Hypogonadism2 Co-Moderator - not a medical professional.
So Ryan posted this this morning on how to keep your PC clean and working great. I know a lot of you might know this all ready no need to post what you do this is just info for them not up on this.
========================================================
To Everybody in Hypogonadism2:
It seems that we have been seeing an increase in spam postings due to
computers infected with malware.
As an IT guy, I want to give a few pointers on how to make sure your
computer is secure...
*Go to the "Start" button, choose "Programs" (or "All Programs"), and
look for "Windows Update".Install all of the important updates.When
finished, repeat this process again -- many times, once you install some
updates, more updates will become available for installation.Keep
repeating this process until there are no more updates left to install.
*In Windows Update, choose the option to receive updates "for Windows
and other products from Microsoft Update".Also, go to "Change Settings"
and choose the option to automatically install all new updates.
*Make sure that you have an Antivirus (AV) program installed.You can pay
for an AV program or there are quite a few free options (with AV
programs, it does not mean it is better if you have to pay for
it).Personally, I recommend using MS Security Essentials
(Invalid Link Removed
).This program is produced by Microsoft, is free for people who have
legal versions of Windows, and has been rated as good or better than
Norton and McAfee.If you install MS Security Essentials, choose the
option to do a "Full Scan".A full scan may take several hours depending
on the size of your hard drives and how much information you have stored.
*Install a free program called "Spybot Search &
Destroy".Invalid Link Removed default, this
program tries to install a program called "Tea Timer" -- uncheck this
option during the installation process.Once installed, download all
updates and then choose the option to "Immunize" (this option prevents
your computer from even going to many web sites known to contain
malware).Once immunized, perform a scan and remove anything that it
finds.At least weekly, check for updates and apply immunization and run
a new scan.Spybot does not let you automatically schedule scans, so you
have to manually start all scans.
*Passwords:
-Make sure that you do not ever use simple passwords.You should never be
able to find your password in the dictionary.Be sure to use lower case
letters, upper case letters, numbers, and symbols in your password.Be
sure that your password contains at least 8 characters.Never use
"password" or "Password" for your password!
-If you believe that your computer was infected with malware, once you
remove the malware, change all of your passwords.
-Change your passwords frequently.
-Do not use the same passwords for multiple web sites or services.A
common practice for hackers is to get the username and password for one
site and then try to log in at other sites with the same username and
password.You would be surprised at how often this works successfully.
Just keep in mind that no single piece of software is perfect.I have had
to clean computers that had Norton Antivirus, McAfee Antivirus, AVG,
Avast, and even Microsoft Security Essentials installed and up-to-date.I
like MS Security Essentials because it is free, it does not cause your
computer to run slower, it does not have any "nag" screens like other
free AV software, and comparison tests show that it is as good or better
than the big names in the antivirus field.
I only posted this information so that people can try to ensure that
their computers are up-to-date, safe, and secure and so that we can
avoid the type of situation that Phil described at other forums.There
are many different opinions on what works and what does not work - let's
not start that debate in this forum.
Best of luck to everybody!
Ryan
Hypogonadism2 Co-Moderator - not a medical professional.
