Security holes will be discovered and bugs will always exist. But you can prevent a lot of bad stuff from happening by paying some attention to security. What you need to do ofcourse depends on your situation, but with these general guidelines you will have a solid beginning.
- Update
Always keep your operating system up to date. Most incidents occur on machines that do not have the latest updates and patches installed.
For Windows users there is the Microsoft Update service at windowsupdate.microsoft.com, which enables auto-updating of your system.
Remember, Microsoft never sends updates via e-mail! - Subscribe to mailinglists
Most operating systems and software have mailinglists where (potential) problems are announced and new updates and patches are brought to attention. These are generally low-traffic. By subscribing you will be alerted when you may need to update. These lists can be found on the website of the company that created your software. Microsoft has them at their security pages.
If you are worried of receiving extra spam you can create an extra alias in the CCC for one or more mailinglists. - Install a virus scanner (and keep it up-to-date)
For Windows users it is vital that you install a virus scanner. A virus scanner intercepts viruses before they can do damage to your system. Remember to regularly update your virus scanner (most have auto-update functions), because new viruses emerge every day. - Install a firewall
If you're not behind a office or corporate firewall (like most home users) you should install a personal firewall. A firewall can prevent certain worms from doing damage if your system happens to be vulnerable. Next to that it can prevent people from scanning your system for potential problems and it can prevent certain programs 'phoning home'. A well-known free firewall for Windows systems is ZoneAlarm, by Zonelabs. - Never run untrusted files
A lot of viruses spread through e-mail. Although they may seem legit (updates, nice screensavers, they even seem to come from people you know sometimes) never trust those files. Use your virusscanner first to see if these files are not in fact disguised viruses.
