Precaution and protection of a new laptop

Howdy,

This is Cass. I got myself a new laptop, running Windows 8.1 and want to know what are the must have softwares/programs to keep it clean, safe and running as it should.

I will use the laptop for web browsing, emails, of course things like accessing bank accounts and online stores, and for my school work - thus keeping my files safe and backed up are important.

I watch movies and listen to music on it at times, no gaming.

Please share your wisdom

Thanks,
Cass

 

I would bite here and say that there is no such thing as the "must-have tools". In the end, it depends on how much effort do you want to put into the tools you would be using, and how would you like things to run. I agree that backup is important though.

 

Your brain is the "must-have tool".

Relying on software is not 100%.

 

I've seen my brain fails me a lot.

 

Hi there and welcome!

If you are thinking of installing an antivirus I would recommend to read for a while the AV section of Wilders, as it is not allowed to compare these products.

On the other hand if you want to keep your computer in pristine conditions I can certainly recommend a few programs. First you should learn (if you don't know already) to create backups of your operating system so that within 30 minutes (average) you can recover your system no matter what the damage is. A name that comes to my mind is Macrium Reflect which has a free version but there are other companies.

Secondly I would suggest to install Sandboxie which in its most basic use will allow you to browse the Internet with almost 100% security (there's also a free version of it). My third recommendation would be Shadow Defender, which allows you to boot your computer in a virtual environment, meaning that whatever happens during the virtual session, infections, mistakes etc, they will all be wiped out by rebooting your computer. Basically your computer will reboot always with the same configuration, a great tool to test programs out that do not need a reboot (most of them nowadays).

Of course there are other possibilities, but the above programs have a strong following here at Wilders and work well in most computers. I hope this will help a bit.

 

First, if you're new to Windows 8, you might peruse these articles for some neat tips. http://www.howtogeek.com/tag/windows8/ (Keep in mind that some of these articles are for the original version of Win 8 and not 8.1. So some may not be reflective of the way 8.1 settings/components are.)

As for safety advice, there are many choices one can make. The first thing I do for any of my personal computers is have 2 accounts. One is the administrator and one is a regular/limited user. Whenever I'm on the web for anything, I use the regular account. For most everything else, I use the administrator. Beyond that, I use things like antivirus, sandboxing, ad blocking and a healthy fear that there is some nasty garbage out there. So I'm fairly careful where I surf...

 

Carbonite, LastPass, Kerish Doctor then whatever AV you like.

 

I would suggest EMET/HMP.Alert and adding most of the internet facing applications to the list. Go through the process as you will encounter softwares which wont support a specific mitigation, its time consuming but once you are done, you can have some peach of mind. Then Sandboxie. And use any decent AV with firewall set to warn for connection.

Other than that, I also recommend using ccleaner (with ccenhancer) and privazer. Both of them have their own benefits. And you wouldnt believe how much temporary files can someone gain after a few weeks of use.

Remember to keep your drivers up-to-date. I would suggest you to get the drivers from manufacturer's website. Though there are different softwares available, I would like to suggest downloading from the official website only.

If you are comfortable, use lastpass and set strong passwords for each and every account. Keep your important documents on a separate hard drive/pen drive, preferably encrypted. If you are using online backup services, keep your files encrypted.

If you are connecting via home network, use a router. If you are connecting via open wifi (school/office networks) use a good VPN.

Last but not the least, use some common sense.

 

Do you want free or paid software?

In my opinion you need this and these are my recommendations.

An antivirus, Emsisoft or Eset ( paid), Avast, Panda, ( free )

An antimalware, Malwarebytes Premium ( Paid)

An anti-executable or anti exploit, Malwarebytes Anti Exploit ( Paid and free version) Hitman Pro Alert ( Paid and free version) Appguard (paid) Voodoo Shield ( Paid and free version)

A firewall, Windows firewall is good enough especially if your using a router. If not Online Armour is a good option ( free and paid version)

A backup, Macrium Reflect( free), many other free solutions available.

Many other good solutions available such as Sandboxie, Shadow Defender, Defensewall, Novirus ThanksEXE Radar Pro, but I wouldn't use any of these unless your willing to take the time to learn exactly how they work.

Or if you want it simple just use whats available in Windows 8, Windows firewall, Windows Defender and add Malwarebytes Premium and a backup solution, should be more than enough.

I use Emsisoft Antimalware, Appguard and Malwarebytes Anti Exploit, and Windows firewall, they work well together, are easy to use and in my opinion provide all the protection you will ever need.