Cybercriminals have become smarter and their malicious programs more sophisticated. They are now making it so that their malware doesn’t seem like malware as no visible damage is being made.
If you didn’t realize already, I’m referring to malware which infects browsers like browser hijackers, redirection malware, and things like that.
How can we protect ourselves from them or remove them if we get infected by one? The easiest way would be to use an adware removal tool, but there’s much more to it than that.
Summary
All in all, these are the security steps that you’ll have to take:
- Use an Anti-Malware
- Stay away from Freeware
- Use your Head
- Stay Away from Suspicious Looking Stuff
- Check your Browser Plugins
- Keep your Computer Updated
- Relax
Use an Anti-Malware
Using an Anti-Malware is one of the most effective ways to keep a browser secured as it can easily handle something like a redirect virus.
Not to mention that getting precautions is always better than waiting to get infected and then trying to fix the problem.
You might also want to use an Antivirus in combination with your Anti-Malware to achieve a higher level of overall protection.
And no! Using one Antivirus and one Anti-Malware won’t cause any damage to your PC. Using two Antivirus or two Anti-Malware programs could create interference.
However, using only one Antivirus and one Anti-Malware is fine because the two of them focus on detecting different kinds of threats.
If you can’t get a premium/paid option at least get a free one. It’s always better than having nothing at all.
As a side note do try and keep real-time protection ON at all times for the best results in security.
This should be handled automatically by the Anti-Malware program of your choice, but you can never be too careful.
Stay Away from Freeware
We all love free stuff. Nothing wrong with it and the same goes for free programs. However, free programs with a shady background are nothing to laugh about.
And by shady background, I mostly refer to pirated paid programs, freeware from 3rd party providers, and things like that.
You might get the program that you’re looking for, but chances are that you’ll also receive bundled programs with it. In worst case scenario, these bundled programs will be malicious.
Which is ultimately why you should stay away from freeware. Don’t get me wrong, legitimate freeware is absolutely safe.
Like VLC, Discord, Google Chrome, Firefox, Media Monkey, only to mention some of them. There are numerous free programs to choose from. Just stay away from the shady ones.
Use your Head
If you’re just going to chase after malware, then you’ll eventually get infected and no amount of security will change that.
You’ve got to stay alert and think before you act. Received an email which talks about an invoice while you didn’t order anything? Maybe you shouldn’t open the attachment then, it could be malware.
Did someone call you from Microsoft tech support to help you with malware removal? Since when does Microsoft call people and how did their support realize that you’re infected? Furthermore, why didn’t Windows Defender work as it’s supposed to?
That way of logical thinking can save you from many weird situations where your Anti-Malware wouldn’t be able to do anything.
Check your Browser Plugins
Some malicious programs which target browsers do get installed in the form of plugins. So, do take a look at your plugins every now and then to ensure that everything is fine.
If you notice anything which you didn’t install or anything that looks remotely suspicious, then it would be for the best if you removed it.
In the event that you’re unable to remove a plugin, then it’s time to go into full alert mode. That’s because most kinds of browser hijackers will refuse to get removed with normal means like clicking on “uninstall”.
Keep your Computer Updated
When it comes to updates, you’ve probably noticed that Windows 10 is more aggressive than any other Windows version.
Prior Windows versions would notify you that updates are ready to be installed and you could freely choose when to install them.
Windows 10, on the other hand, will try to install any updates with the first chance that it gets. Do you know why that happened? Because of malware.
People wouldn’t install security patches in time which resulted in numerous malware infections.
That’s how Windows came to be known as one of the worst Operating Systems in terms of security.
And all I’m trying to say is to keep your computer updated. It can seriously save you from lots of trouble.
Take the WannaCry Ransomware as an example. It utilized a security exploit which was originally found by the NSA.
Thousands of people got infected by it only because they hadn’t updated their computer, even though the security update was available a few days prior.
And that’s without even mentioning all the people who were using an older version of Windows which was no longer supported.
Relax
I know that all of this information is a bit too much to take in at once. But, there’s no need to get paranoid with security.
Don’t restrict yourself too much from browsing the web just because it’s dangerous. Just follow the tips which I mentioned above and you should be good to go.
And as a side note, do keep on informing yourself on security issues. Knowledge is power. The more that you know about this subject, the more comfortable that you’ll get with using your computer.
