One of the first things I do when helping a family member or friend with a new computer is to make sure that they have two things installed:
- A firewall - software or hardware
- Antivirus software
and optionally but highly recommended:
If everyone on the Internet had these things installed and kept up-to-date, there wouldn't be a very big "blip" at all when a new virus or worm is released.
One other thing I make sure of is that they have visited the Windows Update site and installed all of the Critical Updates and most (if not all) of the Recommended Updates. I haven't had a patch break a system, especially a new system, in a very long time (10+ years). Microsoft works very hard to ensure backward-compatibility with the thousands of PC's in the world.
So, how are you helping to secure the systems you own/manage? Feel free to comment.
Dale