Antiviruses are one of the main tools to keep your Windows protected and have been with us since the beginning of the Internet, but are they enough to guarantee your security ? The years are passing and Internet threats are increasingly diverse and difficult to prevent. Let’s go over what exactly your antivirus does and what other tools you’ll need to keep your PC safe in the 21st century.
anti virus
Since we have computers at home we have been afraid of computer viruses , and rightly so. Computer viruses are one of the main threats to our systems and are continually renewed to try to access our credit card data, bank accounts, email passwords and many other critical data. The main function of an antivirus is to detect, neutralize and eliminate these viruses , from the simplest to the most dangerous.
In recent years, moreover, antiviruses have been expanding their functions and many of them offer PC performance optimization services , monitor the operation of browsers and detect and neutralize potential threats in the form of fake spam and phishing. In this sense, the best antiviruses allow us to do without system optimization programs such as CCleaner or malware neutralizers such as Sophos Interept.
For all this, today as yesterday it is still essential to have a robust antivirus to be able to counteract these and many other threats, so yes, it is necessary that you continue using a top-of-the-line antivirus to maintain the security of your computer. However, an antivirus is no longer enough to ensure that your data and your computers are safe. Internet risks have multiplied and diversified like never before, making an equally diverse and broad response necessary to ensure full protection when surfing the net.
VPN encryption
One of the essential new tools for keeping your data secure is a VPN server. A VPN consists of a redirection service for your internet connection that allows you to access any website from the anonymity of an encrypted connection and an IP located in another country . Currently, the threats to your security do not come only from possible virus infections, but, perhaps especially, from the gradual loss of privacy that we are experiencing when browsing the Internet. When every website you visit tries to record as much of your data for its own benefit, using a VPN becomes an essential tool to protect your privacy, especially if you have to connect from unsecured networks.
Firewall
Another of the essential tools consists of the firewall, which will prevent unwanted connections from your operating system. Fortunately, you already have an excellent firewall built into Windows , so you can dedicate your efforts to installing and familiarizing yourself with other resources such as the VPN or managing your browsers, which we will see below.
Browsers
With an increasingly complete online integration, browsers are one of the most used tools on our computers and, perhaps, their main gateway to the Internet. This makes them programs especially vulnerable to attacks and cracks, so it is essential to choose correctly what you will use regularly and take the time to keep it up to date and in good shape. In this aspect, neither Internet Explorer nor Microsoft Edge are good options, and Google ChromeIt’s not the most robust either. These are also browsers that tend to collect a lot of your personal data for the benefit of their respective companies. Without needing to opt for options as forceful as Thor, you have reliable alternatives such as Mozilla Firefox, Iridium or Pale Moon, all of them browsers with a high degree of security and respect for your privacy.
OS
Windows itself has internal tools to detect threats and unusual behavior, so it is essential to keep it up to date and in perfect condition. With each update, Windows adds essential information to counter new threats, as well as fixes and shields potential loopholes in your system that could otherwise be exploited by malicious applications.
Connection
Finally, we must always bear in mind that all the protection measures for our equipment will be weakened if we use an internet connection with poor security. The use of strong passwords , both on our router and when configuring our VPN, is essential to ensure that our connection cannot be intercepted and that our data is always safe while we browse the web. Remember that yes, an antivirus is still an important tool for the security of your computer, but it is increasingly necessary that you also take care of all the others.
