Anti-Virus for Laptops/Desktops

The most important thing to remember about protecting your computer is to use common sense. Most attacks on your computer happen because the user clicks a malicious link or installs a malicious program- this doesn't happen on purpose, but bad guys are getting pretty darn good at disguising attacks.

Anti Virus

We are commonly asked what anti-virus software is recommended. We recommend installing both Avast https://www.avast.com/ and MalwareBytyes https://www.malwarebytes.com/ based on personal experience over the past three decades of personal computing.

Avast is great for day-to-day protection and detection, and MalwareBytes is great at cleaning up Malware. You can use the free versions of both, so it won't cost you anything.

Anti-virus software is there to help in case you make a mistake. Malicious software never just 'appears' on your computer- usually it is the direct result of something you clicked or opened.

  • Don't open email attachments from someone you don't know

  • Don't click links in emails that look suspect

  • Don't download software from unknown sources

  • Keep your computer and browser up to date with the latest version at all times

Email Protection

We recommend using Thunderbird as your desktop email client. You can set it up to not automatically download images or attachments, which also helps when people are trying to track whether you open an email or not.

Browser Protection

We recommend using Firefox as your default browser, and a couple useful plugins will help keep you safe:

  • uBlock Origin is an ad-blocker that will improve your quality of browsing, and help keep you safe by blocking malicious ads.

  • Decentraleyes "Protects you against tracking through "free", centralized, content delivery. It prevents a lot of requests from reaching networks like Google Hosted Libraries, and serves local files to keep sites from breaking. Complements regular content blockers."

  • Privacy Badge blocks psying ads and invisible trackers.

  • HTTPS Everywhere forces your communications to be encrypted, making your browsing more secure.

Common Sense

Remember- if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't! If you ever have a question about a particular email, you can always send it along to us or take a screenshot of it and we'll let you know if we think it's spam or safe. Please note, this service is available only for our paying customers :)

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