Last week we have looked at the very basics of PC defense. However, there are many more things to cover, so I felt that another post in the topic is necessary.

To conclude upon the previous week's topic, having an antivirus software is essential, but many say that having only one antivirus software is not sufficient. A couple years ago I would've agreed, but now I see that many people use an abundance of firewalls, antivirus systems without knowing which one is proper and which one isn't. My advice is that you should have the software I've mentioned in my previous post and nothing else. Windows Firewall is not the best, but it does not mean that it isn't good. Sadly, for some people, good means shiny with a lot of popups so the user can see that "it works". This is not the case.

An antivirus software/firewall/spyware detector works when you see nothing at all and your PC works normally.

Having that cleared up, let's move on to the follow-up section.

Viruses can infect your PC in a number of ways, like so-called "backdoors" that were installed onto your computer by previous malicious programs, but the most common ways are masked links, e-mails (although those are becoming old-fashioned), and vulnerabilities in your browser. Therefore, it is important to get a good browser. Internet Explorer is by far the best... oh God, I can't just write that down with a straight face.


There are many browsers to choose of, but the most common ones are IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera. With the exception of Internet Explorer, these are all decent browsers, but before going into details about them, let me point out an important thing:

Do not use Internet Explorer. Just don't. The only thing you should use it for is to download some other browser. Fast.

Although the newest versions are much-much better than the previous ones, they are still inferior to Chrome for example. In the past, IE got itself a very bad reputation because it had so many vulnerabilities that others could take advantage of.

So, I'd suggest to narrow your choices down to either Firefox or Chrome. Personally, I use Chrome as it is much faster than Firefox, and most of the time it consumes less memory. You can download it here.

Anyways, whatever browser are you using, just keep yourself to these guidelines:

• Never ever use too much third-party add-ons because they slow your browser down and ruin your browsing experience. All numbers transformed to phone numbers with Skype icons, Blocked sites that are trusted - you do not want those. I use zero add-ons for chrome, and I do not feel the need for having any. Google Chrome automatically detects malicious sites and does not let you in there. You do not need other stuff to block sites for you.
• Having a good browser does not automatically makes you protected.
• Once again, be careful about where you browse and what you download.
• Let your browser update itself. Updates can be crucial sometimes.

Happy browsing!