For protection from the nasties of the Internet then AVG, Avast or MalwareBytes are pretty good for most people, if going further away from the mainstream of reputable sites then browser plugins are a good idea such as Adblock & NoScript are going to be essential, a cookie manager is also worth having. There are some special ones that force web browsers such as FireFox to always use HTTPS connections to prevent anybody snooping on the information being passed from the PC to a website. Avoid using free proxy services to circumvent country blocks where possible and should you do then clear the browsers cache afterwards, never use them to log into a website,bank or email account. Taking these steps however will not guarantee you never get infected but they will make it more unlikely such is the ever changing threat of life online.
The rules of Backup:
4 backups per year/month/week/day or even hour depending upon how often new information is added.
3 copies of the data. Because sh#t happens.
2 differrent formats - CD/DVD, Memory stick, external Hard Disc Drive, email / cloud storage, printed hardcopy.
1 to be kept off-site - Memory stick on a keyring, 'the cloud', shed at the bottom of the garden. Anywhere except next to the PC.
Plenty of free software that will automate the process and for a home setup I would recomend something like B-Cup though not tried it on Win8 yet but should be ok. It can be set to mirror the entire PC or just specific folders & files at periodic intervals.
The rules of Backup:
4 backups per year/month/week/day or even hour depending upon how often new information is added.
3 copies of the data. Because sh#t happens.
2 differrent formats - CD/DVD, Memory stick, external Hard Disc Drive, email / cloud storage, printed hardcopy.
1 to be kept off-site - Memory stick on a keyring, 'the cloud', shed at the bottom of the garden. Anywhere except next to the PC.
Plenty of free software that will automate the process and for a home setup I would recomend something like B-Cup though not tried it on Win8 yet but should be ok. It can be set to mirror the entire PC or just specific folders & files at periodic intervals.
