PROTECT YOUR PC
Keep malware, unwanted software and crashes at bay, the easy way. By Phil Iwaniuk
TURN
WINDOWS
FIREWALLON(^5)
Firewalls act
as a barrier
between your
system and other
programs or users
trying to access it
remotely via the
internet. Check
Windows Firewall is
enabled in the
System and
Security options.
TRUSTYOURGUT
7
There’s only so much your PC can do.
If a website looks iffy, don’t download
anything from it. If an email seems suss,
check the address and be wary of clicking
any links, especially if the page it links to
asks for card details.
PICKA STRONGANTIVIRUS
1
Let’sstartwiththe most obvious
protectionlayeron your PC – antivirus
software.Bitdefender,Norton, and Webroot
SecureAnywhereareamong the most
trustedsuites,butWindows’ built-in
DefenderAntivirusisrobust too.
DOUBLEDOWNWITH
MALWAREBYTES
2
It pays to take the belt and braces
approach to harmful software by
installing Malwarebytes in addition to your
primary antivirus software. It’s designed not
to trip up other protection programs.
SCHEDULEREGULARSCANS
3
Running a single deep scan in each of
the above programs isn’t a long-term
defence strategy. Instead, schedule both
your AV and Malwarebytes to scan all your
storage at a convenient time – in the middle
of the night, say, if you leave your PC on.
KEEPWINDOWSUPDATED
4
Yes, it nags like a caffeinated toddler,
but Windows Update does actually
contain valuable security patches that
protect your OS from security exploits as
they’re discovered. You can schedule
updates to install at night too if you like.
NEEDTOKNOW
DIFFICULTY
Easy
TIME
3-4hours
VITAL LINKS
Bitdefender:
bitdefender.co.uk
Malwarebytes:
malwarebytes.com
HWMonitor:
cpuid.com/softwares/
hwmonitor
LOCK DOWN
YOUR
BROWSER
6
Tweaking a
few Chrome
settings will beef up
your security. Go to
Content Settings
and then opt to keep
local data until you
quit your browser,
prevent any sites
from running
Javascript, and
block notifications.
GETMOREFROMYOUR GAMES
HOW TO