Keep Your Friends Safe

If youve followed the steps outlined in this article, your computer is now a veritable Fort Knox. But yours isnt the only computer in the world. What can you do when a friend phones and says “You know, my computers been acting kind of slow and strange, with these weird pop-ups. Oh, and my Internet is broken.”? If you want to help (or cant get out of helping) a security-challenged friend or relative, be prepared!

Before You Go…

Get a toolbox. The victim may no longer have Internet access or may have a painfully slow dial-up connection, so you need to bring your own tools. Get a pocket-size USB key and keep it on your keychain: 64MB is big enough for our suggested tools.

Fill your toolbox. The victim may not have installed any security products, so be ready to install and use antivirus, antispyware, and personal firewall software (for our recommendations, see below).

Keep your tools sharp. Be sure to keep the products on your USB key up to date. Download the latest signature files for antivirus and antispyware programs, if available separately, since it may not be possible to update automatically after installation.

Bring the paperwork. PC Magazine has created a special downloadable version of this article. Download it at www.pcmag.com/security, where youll also find installation files for our suggested toolkit apps, and copy it to your USB key.

Click here for the full story at pcmag.com…