Malware is the nightmare of every person who owns a PC. Countless reports in the past several years have talked about lots and lots of computers being infected daily with malicious software. Individual users as well as company owners and employees are targeted with malware at least once a week. Some even once a day. It’s not just small businesses, though. Many medium and large companies have to deal with dangerous cyber-attacks constantly. It’s never fun when you go through this. On the contrary. It’s frustrating and it takes a lot of time to remove all traces of all that’s wrong with your device.

The first sign that something bad is going on with your PC: slow performance. The latter happens because there’s one or several dangerous viruses or spyware trying to take control of your computer. The device can also behave in a weird way. Luckily, there are many solutions to this problem. Today we’ll give you five tips to protect your computer against malware and keep its hardware safe!

Make sure you have everything up-to-date

As a rule of thumb, remember to update your PC when it tells you to. If you have an antivirus installed on it, make sure it features the most recent updates. Same with the computer’s operating system. Sure, it’s annoying when you see that message which says you need to accept an update. Especially if you click No and you’re reminded that you should say Yes after a month. When that happens, just remember: if you don’t update your PC, your important documents, photos and such will be lost or worse.

As soon as the updates for every single thing on your device are in place, we also suggest backing up every crucial file you keep on it. As a general rule, important data must be saved in three locations. One should be the PC and the second one needs to be an external hard drive. The third safe place for your sensitive files has to be different from all the rest. An example: two external hard drives stored in a deposit box. Another example: a backup service you feel comfortable with.

Keep a secure network

Home and work networks are there for a reason. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do a lot of important things. These networks are also in need of protection from outside harm. To secure them against malware, use passwords. Never ever rely on the default password given via factory settings. Once the network is protected, all the mobile gadgets which you connect to said network will also stay safe from cyber threats.

After your network’s safe, create a strong password for everything else you use on a daily basis. It’s not a very good idea to have the same one for your email account, your bank account, your social media accounts and so on. Ideally, an excellent password contains a total of 8-16 symbols, numbers, upper case and lower case. Not necessarily in that order.

Install a security solution

Many of us rely on the firewall that’s already installed on our computers. In the majority of cases, that firewall just isn’t enough to prevent malware attacks. Hackers will always find a way around them and damage our PCs. This is why a strong security solution should be installed on them instead. There are a lot of options to choose from. Kaspersky is one of the most popular names in the market. Their most recent product, the Kaspersky Antivirus 2017, is excellent value for money. Quick to install and very easy to use, this security product keeps malware at bay. You will never have to fear anything with it on board. More on its efficiency can be found here.

Don’t open spam

The Internet is full of ads, pop-up windows and other unsolicited content. Make a habit of never clicking on it. Otherwise, you’ll invite malware into your life. Spam can also come from your mail account’s junk section or the inbox. If something looks suspicious, don’t click.

Open Wi-Fi is a no-no

When we’re at the airport or the local coffee shop, we’re tempted to use their open Wi-Fi. It’s free and it doesn’t ask for a password. Which is exactly what should send red flags to our brain. If we can use their open network without problems, a malicious person can do the same. That will leave our computers vulnerable in the face of malware. Make sure you use the open Wi-Fi as little as possible. Better yet, don’t use them unless there’s an emergency.

Once malware lands on your PC, it can be very hard to remove. Fortunately, we have access to great methods that prevent cyber-attacks from actually happening. Today we talked about the best five tips to protect your computer against malware. Have a read and stay safe!