How To Keep PCs Safe From Malware with 5 Simple Tips

Did you know that about 200,000 new malware samples appear online every day? That’s not a typo – that adds up to more than a million new malware samples every week. Last year, 91% of businesses experienced at least one IT “security event.” When asked which industries or businesses are the most vulnerable to hackers, Kaspersky CEO Eugene Kaspersky said, “all of them.”
And there’s a new threat rising: cyber-weapons. The first known state-engineered cyber-weapon – Stuxnet – was discovered in 2010, and since then a virtual gang of similar weapons have materialized with names like Flame, Gauss, and Duqu. Some of these, like 2012’s MiniFlame, are thought to have been operating under the radar for years. And these weapons, summit leaders say, are being modified and exploited by cybercriminals as well.

Worried? Read these 5 simple tips to keep your PCs safe from Malware.

Worried yet? Try this on for size: Gartner’s Orans says that about 5% of corporate managed PCs and as many as 30% of consumer home PCs are already infected with botnets. And you don’t even have to look that far to be concerned. Many PCs are attacked through computers that simply aren’t patched with the latest software updates, exposing them to insecurities. The biggest risk factors are Java, Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, and Internet Explorer.
So how can you protect yourself in this dangerous modern world? It doesn’t necessarily require a lot of sophisticated tools or an elaborate security protocol. In fact, you can mitigate a vast amount of risk just by following these five guidelines:

Upgrade to a 64-bit version of Windows – either Windows 7 or Windows 8. You can insulate yourself from the majority of malware with this single change, because (at least for now) most malicious software only works on 32-bit versions of Windows.

Change to a modern browser. A lot of malware attacks come in via your browser. Many experts recommend switching to Chrome, but even recent versions of Internet Explorer (versions 9 and 10) offer dramatically more protection than old browsers.

Enforce a strong password policy. Your passwords must be good; there’s no room for compromise here. Certainly, a strong password alone can’t thwart all cyber-attacks, but good password management can prevent a lot of damage.

Update and patch your software. Many attacks take advantage of old software. Keep Windows, Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, and other common software up to date. In 2010, for example, the Aurora Botnet attacked a slew of companies, including Google, Adobe, Juniper, and Yahoo. Microsoft was unscathed, mainly (according to Kaspersky) because the company takes the elementary precaution of keeping all of its corporate-managed PCs fully patched.

Keep everyone educated. Whether you run a small business or just try to keep your home network safe, it’s important that everyone on the network is educated about smart security practices, such as being able to detect phishing email, avoiding unsafe websites, and not using duplicate passwords on more than one website.