by Edward Raymond

Created on: January 20, 2007   Last Updated: March 17, 2011

In my twelve years as a PC support specialist and help desk staffer, these are the most common preventable issues that I have encountered.

1. Not maintaining updates to the operating system and critical applications. Updates can be monitored for from a task menu now in Windows, Apple OS X, and even in RedHat and CentOS versions of linux. An icon will appear in the task tray and notify you when new updates are available. You can then select the icon to initiate updates. For windows, you may have to go into the control panel to change your update settings. This is because the default is to check for and install updates at 3 a.m. when most home users have their system turned off. The ideal setting is to download and notify when ready for installation.

2. Application updates can be automated in their configuration. This is typically the options or preference area of the program's menu system. A quick check through the manual should reveal the location and method of configuring automatic updates. For office programs, firewalls, and most importantly Anti-Virus programs; you should do these religiously.

3. Employ a firewall. Linux has a built-in firewall system called iptables. Windows XP with service pack two also has a firewall, but greater protection could be added with ZoneAlarm (www.zonelabs.com) which is free or relatively inexpensive depending on the features you desire. Both Norton and McAffees' packages now ship with a firewall, spyware, and anti-spam utilities.

4. Do not use Internet explorer unless you are downloading a plugin or manually accessing windows update. While not perfect, Firefox is the safest browser that I've found and actually does what it's security settings are told to do. You can also obtain extensions via mozilla.org to enhance features within firefox and make it better service your online needs.

5. Avoid downloading everything under the sun. (e.g. Read the end user license agreement.) This is a tedious step to be sure, but well worth it to avoid installing unwanted bandwidth and privacy thieving applications along with your intended new toy. Comet cursor and bonzai buddy were the bane of my mail order tech support days, but there are more now for sure. Those helpful deal finders that pop up windows with an item you should be sure to buy or those plug-ins to your web browser that helpfully redirect you to a different site that is much more likely to be what you meant. These spyware and better internet utilities are prevalent in pretty much any piece of software that claims to be ad sponsored, so beware.

6. Get to know your browser and its security features.

a) Zones are your friends. There are three basic classes of them; Interanet, Trusted, Internet, and Restricted. Put only your most trusted sites such as PayPal, Amazon, etc... into this area and leave the rest to prove themselves first in the most restrictive global settings.

b) Cookies are useful files that some sites set to tell other pages on the site what your authorized access level is and what your page viewing preferences are. Marketeers have corrupted this to be used to track your browsing habits, see what references are most sought after, and to identify you personally. By setting your browser to clear all cookies after each session (when the browser is completely closed), you can save disk space and force them to start over from the next session.

c) Scripts. All active web pages use them. They set the format, reference databases for a search, and even collect and submit form data for you. Browsers can have this turned off, but it will break web based mail services such as gmail and yahoo unless they are in your trusted zone.

Hope these guidelines serve you well.

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