Straight to the Point
1. Get a good antivirus client and keep it up to date.
I understand some people think free clients will protect them. You are wrong. As someone with over a dozen years in the industry I can tell you that and not feel bad. Free clients are free for a reason. The adage "You Get What You Pay For" fits nicely here.
2. Keep your computers operating system and programs up to date and patched. This goes double for web browsers and Java. Basically ensure you have auto updates turned on or you install the updates in a timely fashion.
3. Don't download attachments in an e-mail unless you trust the source. Even then it may not be safe so use prudence.
4. Email: Don't follow any link in an e-mail. Not even if it looks to be from a trusted source. Banks will never provide a direct login link and you did not win money or inheritence. They are scams.
4. The web is NOT safe. If you Google "Liberty Bell" or "Balled Eagles" don't think that the links shown are safe websites. Thousands of good sites get hacked every day and malicious code may be on the site.
5. NO security software is 100% bullet proof. Thousands of new threats come out or mutate every day. Most likely this will never change. That is why you need to keep your computer software up to date and patched.
6. If you have kids then create limited user accounts for all of them and do not give out your admin password. This will make it so they cannot install software programs.
If you follow the simple advice above chances are you will not get infected again with a virus for a very long time. If by chance you do get infected then you know where to go to get help 🙂
FYI: Do not be too hard on a child for infecting your computer with a virus. Instead use it a a learning point to teach them about scams and not to give out or provide their information online. Work the whole social website safety thing into the mix and something good may come out of your infected computer.
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