Goodbye, malware: how to keep your PC protected?

According to a report by CrowdStrike, there was an increase in the number of malware and ransomware attacks throughout 2023: scammers are creating increasingly elaborate and realistic threats, and this has contributed to the emergence of new victims.

Protecting your devices is no longer optional: even Windows offers a free solution to protect – the Windows Defender. However, according to tests carried out by experts, Microsoft's native software is not secure enough and allows several threats to go unnoticed!

So, how do you keep your PC malware-free? The answer to this question lies in all the tips in this article. Follow them strictly to ensure that your data stays out of the hands of cybercriminals!

Read too: 4 Best password generator apps and websites.

Install good antivirus/antimalware software

As previously stated, Windows Defender is not the best option to protect your device against malware, ransomware and viruses. Third-party solutions such as Kaspersky, Avira, BitDefender It is Norton They are among the most solid and consolidated in the world when it comes to cybersecurity.

They all offer excellent threat detection rates, privacy and internet browsing protection, and various performance optimization tools, which can make your PC start up faster and experience fewer crashes during use.

Among the free solutions, Avira is, perhaps, the best option of all: however, its premium version, like that of all its competitors, unlocks its best features.

All the software presented above are perfectly capable of keeping your operating system safe and free from most of the threats present on the internet. Purchasing their respective paid versions is an excellent investment to create an additional layer of security.

The best part is that they are all very affordable, requiring an annual payment to renew the service. In the case of Avira, it is possible to subscribe monthly – however, there is an interesting discount on annual payments.

Remember to keep your installed security suite always up to date. By default, they all automatically install new threat definitions; never disable this option!

Important: do not use two or more security software at the same time. The reason for this is that, in addition to this being able to hinder the system's performance, it can create major confusion during scans, reducing their effectiveness.

Avira Prime. Image: PC World

Be careful when downloading

Downloading files is a common habit for PC users. However, there are millions of unreliable sources that can completely compromise your security. Criminals create almost perfect replicas of renowned portals to deceive users, infect their devices and obtain sensitive information, such as credit cards, addresses, names, personal documents and access passwords.

All of the security software suggested above provide extensions for the main browsers on the market (Chrome, Edge, etc.), which analyze each link reported in search engines and reveal whether there is any known threat there. They are very light and practically do not change the device's performance in any way.

Furthermore, it is always important to check files with these security suites before running them: from time to time, the automatic software check may fail. On the other hand, a deep scan is capable of detecting malicious content with greater accuracy.

Avira Browser Safety, extension for Chrome and Edge. Image: Avira

Pay special attention to attachments received by email

Criminals love to send malicious emails to millions of people simultaneously – and this is one of their main sources of income worldwide. Few users care about protecting themselves against this type of threat, unfortunately.

Before downloading and running any content, check that the sender is trustworthy: unknown sources should be ignored and thrown into the email's junk folder. Security software has features for monitoring emails, informing users if there has been any type of information compromise.

Be careful: every now and then, criminals gain access to official domains! Therefore, be suspicious of everything you receive in your inbox.

Use strong and unique passwords for each account

Many users create simple, memorable passwords and use them repeatedly across dozens of online accounts. This is a very dangerous strategy, since data leaks are not uncommon on the network.

Meta (formerly Facebook) had a major data leak in September 2018: approximately 29 million people were affected. With this, criminals were able to access thousands of innocent people's accounts and carry out the most varied scams.

Robust security solutions have password managers, fundamental tools to protect your accounts: the software itself creates long, unique and extremely complex passwords. Just memorize the master password from the password vault to centralize all your access in one place!

Rest assured: these are extremely safe solutions. Nor will you know the passwords to access your accounts.

Never use counterfeit Windows

None of the above guidelines will actually be effective if you use pirated Windows. Tens of thousands of changes are made to the system so that you can have free access to the operating system – and all of them are made so that antivirus and anti-malware software cannot detect them.

This way, all your personal information is completely exposed to criminals. Even the most powerful security suites will not be able to function properly – free or paid.

Despite being a relatively expensive investment, buying an original Windows key is extremely advantageous in the long run: Microsoft has offered several free system upgrades, which eliminates the need to constantly buy new keys to keep your PC up to date.

For example, users of Windows 7, released in October, were able to upgrade their keys to Windows 10 for free, which allowed them to install Windows 11 for free up to a certain period. Cool, right?

Windows 11, Microsoft's new operating system. Image: Microsoft News

How do you care for your PC? Do you know some of the security solutions presented in this article?