How to protect your PC from viruses on the internet

How to protect your PC from viruses that are everywhere on the internet and can infect Windows with a wrong click

As the disease viruses are always ready to strike in unhealthy environments if they are not properly protected, even computer viruses take on the computer when you surf the Internet on sites that are particularly at risk, if there are no adequate defenses.

To avoid taking malware and viruses on the internet, it is very important to open the websites with due care, recognizing immediately, where the threat can hide.
We often talk about sites full of viruses when they are looking for illegal downloads or streaming videos, but even in normal sites like Facebook or Google they could hide malicious links on which one click is enough to be hit.

In this article we see how to protect the PC from viruses on the internet, examining all the cases in which just a wrong click is enough to find yourself with the infected computer and trying to understand how to defend yourself from any malware.

1) Sites with deceptive and dangerous banners

In most cases websites hide viruses in advertising banners that are camouflaged and appear to be part of the site itself.
This is the case of streaming program and video download sites, where the real button to download the file or watch the video is small and aloof with a much larger banner that says Download or Play that comes natural click.
Moreover, in these sites with mostly illegal content or without an author’s license, just click on any point to open a web page in the background, which sometimes opens banners of false warnings of danger or that seem to oblige us to download malicious software.

In the end, the general rule is that when you are looking for sites with “free” content, not legal or for adults, you must always close each tab that opens after a click.
It is also important to see, before clicking a link, where it refers.
To do this, just put the mouse cursor on the link you want to open and look at the bottom where it sends.
If the one below is a link to the same site you are in, then that’s fine, otherwise it could be a link to study.
Usually the dangerous links and those that open banners have long and confusing addresses, full of symbols.
In this case, then, it is better to avoid.

In this regard, in another article, we have seen that we must neverdownload software, codecs, updates from streaming video sites, which are always viruses .

2) Always close the popups

If when you click on a site you open a popup or a new card that refers to a site other than the one you are visiting, close it immediately.
If the closure is obstructed by a message box, close the window by pressing on the X and end that card without being too much to watch what it is.
If there is no X, press Continue and quickly close whatever has been accepted.
If the X opens other windows or you can not close the advertising card, immediately press the CTRL-Shift-Esc key to enter the task manager and in the process tab close the browser in full.

3) Always scan files downloaded from the internet .

Unless it is a site that is known to be reliable, for every file download from the internet it is worth making an online virus scan by uploading it to a site like virustotal.com before running it on your computer.

If there are any malware reports in the online scan, it can also be a false positive, but in order not to risk it, it is better to run the file in a sandbox.that is an area isolated from the operating system.

In another article we have also seen how to prevent any malware and viruses using a protected account in Windows , a very clever trick, easy to configure, without contraindications.

Also read the guide to install freeware programs without sponsors and additional software that often are worse than viruses.

4) Beware of files with extension .exe

If you are downloading a video or an image or a torrent file or other things that are not programs and you end up downloading a .exe file, never open it and remove it immediately because it is definitely a virus.
Obviously if you are downloading a program to install or run, this can be an .exe file.

5) Always use a browser that is up-to-date and free from unsolicited and unwanted changes.

The updated browser is a must to protect yourself from virus sites, to prevent them from hitting even without clicking anything.
Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari are definitely fine, as long as they are the latest version.
The latest versions of Chrome and Firefox also integrate internal security systems that preventively block navigation on sites marked as being at risk.

6) Beware of extensions on Chrome and Firefox .

To check that there are no extensions or plugins not good on Chrome, Firefox and other Windows programs, to stay calm you should do a scan, occasionally, with ADWCleaner .
At the same time, it must also be avoided that the browser has not been modified by external programs.
I refer to the default search engine that must be Google, Bing, Yahoo and not others and the initial card that does not have to bring different sites or brands that do not center anything with the browser.

7) To recognize dangerous and unreliable sites in order to raise the level of attention when it happens

There are some browser plugins for safe surfingthat indicate the goodness or not of a site and, if desired, automatically block access to the infected sites.
The best of these is always the recommended and light WOT which colors potentially infected links in red.
Without installing anything, when you have a doubt, you can do a check on a site with some online services listed in the guide on how to avoid clicking on suspicious sites and dangerous links .

8) Install and always have a standalone antimalware scanner ready .

Lately the viruses come in the form of rogueware programs or programs that seem clean but that, in reality, are terrible malware.
They can be fake antivirus or fake error correction programs that take the PC hostage making it unusable if you do not pay to buy the product by writing the credit card number that ended up in the hands of the hacker.
These viruses make any installed anti-virus ineffective, which then becomes powerless to counteract and stop the threat.
The only salvation, in these cases, is the anti-malware scan of a program that does not require installation or that can work without being blocked by the system.
In this regard, I recommend installing MalwareBytes, the best antimalware in circulation and keeping at least two of the best emergency portable antivirus scanners readyincluding the free Superantispyware and Spybot programs.

9) Do not open links or files received through messages via Email or via Facebook if it is not clear what they are .

One of the easiest ways to spread a virus is to infect a person’s email or Facebook account and use it to send messages to all of his friends.
To protect yourself, if you receive an attachment or a strange link, without an object and without many introductions, before clicking on it, ask for more information from your friend because, almost certainly, it is a virus.

10) Keep your antivirus up to date

It is not important which antivirus you use, even the one integrated in Windows 10 and Windows 8 is fine ( Windows Defender), the important thing is that automatic updates are active, which are regular and almost daily.

A virus can therefore always strike in unexpected and clever ways that even you can not imagine, but with these precautions, you can face every emergency and the damage that a malware can do remain limited and always remediable.
For those who want to understand something more, I recommend reading the post on internet security:

By: Web Digital Media Group