The first thing is to keep windows updated. Microsoft issues updates during the second Tuesday ("patch tuesday") of each month. If you can't remember, windows has a auto-update feature. Keeping your computer up to date will not only help you be safe but it helps everyone else too.
The second is to use an anti-virus program.Some may argue this point but for the average user it is a must. Use one of your choice and keep it updated (most have a setting to allow auto-updating).
Third,use a firewall or router. With all the broadband connections that people have these days, malicious users are just looking for open connections to use.
Now it's time to install some anti-adware/spyware programs. They take up where your AV left off.
You can't depend on your AV to take care of everything. I recommend the following Anti-Spyware programs:
Spybot Search+Destroy
Ad-Aware
Spyware Blaster+ Guard
HijackThis+CWShredder
WinPatrol
Script Defender
After you install them, you must check to see if there is an update before running each program. There is a help file that tells you how to use it.Some of these make changes to the registry.Make a backup before changing anything and if you are not sure ,do some research first,especially before running HijackThis. Using these cleaners incorrectly could cause your computer to stop working.There are online forums to get help with them.Keep them updated.Many adware/spyware programs are downloaded at sites that you surf to unknowingly. A box will come up asking you to install this or that. It is hard to tell if you need it to run the game or look at something. The anti-spyware programs that I listed will stop most of them.
A good AV (anti-virus) program will stop some of these too. I have used many AV programs over the years. Norton, McAfee, Panda, AVG, E-Trust, F-Prot, but the one that has performed the best for me is AVAST! which is FREE for home use. They have very good support if you run into problems.
Now that you are somewhat protected let's move on. Internet Explorer is a big problem, Microsoft is correcting some of the problems but the best way to take care of it is to use a better browser. Mozilla's Firefox is my choice. It is fast and more secure than IE.Also Mozilla's Thunderbird is a good replacement for Outlook. It has a really good junk mail filter and more options to keep you safe from spyware/adware.But to be fair to Microsoft, Mozilla released a patch on 7/8/04 for same exploit as IE.
There are times when you must use Internet Explorer such as some Microsoft sites.There are several pop-up stoppers for IE to choose from like google toolbar.The newest service pack from Microsoft (SP2 )includes a pop-up stopper for IE, more security for OE+IE,plus an image stopper in OE.
The best anti-virus is a educated user.
Learn to pratice "safe hex".If you stay informed you can help yourself stay virus free. Keep all of your programs up to date,this is a must.Software is updated all the time and it is up to you to do it.
Check your e-mail before opening it.
Use a mail program so you have some control.For example Outlook Express has a "plain text"option.It also has a "preview pane"that allows you to see who the mail is from without opening it.
Do not open ANY attachments without knowing the sender AND that they sent it.Many viruses use the address books from infected computers to send themselves out.It may look like your "friend" sent you something but they really didn't.
OE also has security settings,turn them on high. My suggestion is to not use OE. Thunderbird is what I use.There are add-ons for it so you can use it for hotmail and yahoo.Just a note, Hotmail will no longer be supported in OE for free..
Run the Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup at least once a week.A large amount of files in "My Documents"will slow down your system also.Create a new folder for storage. Do you have a lot of programs that start up everytime windows starts? Go through your programs and check if the program has a option that will stop it from automaticly loading.You can use the system configuration utility(msconfig) to stop them if they don't have a option. Do you have a lot of icons in the Quick Launch? Try to cut it down to what you need.I reccomend 3 items only (just drag them to the desktop). Clear out any caches+temp folders (you might have to do that in safe-mode).
Another problem is memory.Windows 98x needs at least 128mb to run well and WinXP runs best with at least 512mb. Any less and you will run into problems. I have tried several memory mgr. programs and nothing helps better than getting more RAM. The price is falling all the time so my best advice to avoid system lockups is get enough memory.This will stop a lot of "swap file" use that the memory mgr. programs try to help with.
You also need to clean up the registry.Do some reading up on this before you do anything.There are some good programs that can do it for you.Make sure you make a backup copy of it and put in a safe place.Incorrect registry changes will make your system stop working properly.
Another problem is heat.Clean the inside of your computer from time to time because the fans pull in lots of dirt+dust over time. My computer has 4 fans.,the case,power supply,processor,+video card. I've seen many problems corrected by a simple cleaning or fan replacement. Under the fan on the processor seems to be the worse place for dust.Check the cables for loose connections while your in there.Try to keep it off the floor.You will get a lot less dust if you put the computer up and if your desk has a cabinet for your tower,make sure there is good air flow.And make sure you are "static free" before touching anything inside the case.
For those of you who love downloading
"things",get another computer to play with.I have one that I use to test software before installing it on my main system.Create a backup before installing anything.Be careful of file sharing programs,I have fixed many problems caused by them.Scan all files after downloading(you should only use sites you can trust)A couple of the online scanners I have listed allow you to scan one file at a time.
Stay away from any"questionable"sites.
These sites are a main source of infections. Do I need to go into detail? I think everyone knows what I mean. And don't click on those e-mails either!Use those junk mail filters and delete, delete, delete.That is why I recommend
Thunderbird.The junk mail filter is very easy to use and it"learns"what is junk. And if you use hotmail or yahoo,report those messages as spam. You can also use a mail cleaning program like Spamguard or Mailwasher for outlook express.They are eaiser to use than the "block sender" tool and will learn like the filter in thunderbird.
One more word about scanners. A good stand-alone scanner is Sysclean from Trend(the PC-cilian folks),instructions and download here. You can get a updater written for Sysclean by Art here.
NEWS:Microsoft has released a BETA Anti-spyware scanner.If you are brave you can try it out here. Remember it is in beta-so make a backup.
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