You seek out something new…
When you search for things on the internet, you want the process to be simple and straightforward. Let’s say you’re looking for an antivirus program, the cheaper in cost, the better. Free would be best. You know there’s lots of free antivirus protection out there; your friends and family have all recommended you different names. You have your list in front of you and you head to your favorite search engine.
You click on the first result you see and you’re brought to a page with three or four different download buttons, and you’re not sure which one to click. Of these, only one is the actual download button for the software you seek; the other three are deceptive ads hoping for your click. Let’s say you click the wrong one. You realize it almost right away when you’re taken to a new webpage. Quickly you back out and return to the download page. Whew, safe… right? You try another download button. This one actually gives you the file.
You find what you seek but get more than you bargained for…
You install your new antivirus and you feel all set, protected. Suddenly, there are a number of applications popping up behind your antivirus screen; programs you don’t remember installing. From here, a number of things could happen: your computer could freeze from all of the programs running at once, a number of viruses could worm their way into your software, you could get the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. No matter what happens though, you no doubt will ask yourself what went wrong.
The answer is a number of things could have gone wrong: the misguided download button could have led you to a page that gave you bad programs, the antivirus download was packed with other unnecessary programs that you weren’t warned about, the antivirus itself is simply a virus. So how could you have stopped this from happening?
How to make sure you know what you’re getting…
1. You could stop foul things from getting onto your computer before they have the chance to. McAFee SiteAdvisor is a free program that is installed onto your Internet browser and checks the quality of websites before you visit them. It also is able to block you from going to sites that it knows are bad, even if you are redirected to them.
2. You can scan your computer for programs called malware (they are less deadly than viruses, but they can still cause problems for your computer) after you’ve clicked on links that you didn’t mean to (deceptive ads, pop ups, etc). Even if you didn’t let the page load, there’s still a chance something may have gotten through. Programs like MalwareBytes and ADWare scan for malware and remove them from your computer.
3. Know the website of the antivirus (or any program) you are looking to download. Adobe products are found through adobe.com. Microsoft products are found through microsoft.com. If you are unsure what the official website is of the program you’re looking for, do a search through your favorite search provider (like “what is the official Microsoft website?”). Look at the top results (watch for ads!). If you’re still unsure, ask someone who you think may know the answer! Like your friends at Hogan’s Systems Consulting!
4. Keep your computer and antivirus up-to-date. Let your antivirus run scans periodically.
5. Back up your computer on a regular basis, so that in case something does infect your system, you can always restore to an earlier point before it got there.
Good luck out there and stay safe!
For more tips on how to keep your computer safe and yourself happy, head to our website at Hogans-Systems.com or click like on our Facebook fan page!