There are basically two options available for safe use of the Internet:
- Get antivirus software, keep it updated, and scan your computer regularly;
- Don’t go online, for any reason, ever, forever.
We are well past the old days where getting a computer virus was mostly just irritating. Malware is big business for organized crime, and your computer can be locked up forever unless you pay (ransomware) or infected with programs designed to steal banking credentials.
You can lose a lot of money, in other words.
There’s a new threat called GozNym. I’m still researching it so I can tell you more, but so far the details I’ve found are hazy. It’s referred to as “Trojan horse” malware in some of the articles I’ve read. That usually means the victim opens a file they think is something else and gets infected, but that’s about all I know at this point. I can tell you this: GozNym targets financial accounts. GozNym is bad. You don’t want it. [smash cut to Elaine Benes from Seinfeld shouting “I know I don’t want it! I don’t need you to tell me what I don’t want, you stupid hipster doofus!” at Kramer]
And I can also tell you this: if you get an email with a file attached, be extremely careful about opening or running that file. Is it from someone you know? Is it something you asked for? Are you being led to believe it’s from the FBI or a local police department, or is it a “shipping confirmation” from an online retailer? Slow down. Think before you click anything.
I can also tell you not to download anything just because a website is asking you to download it. And even if you did go searching for files or software to download, make sure you know what you’re getting before you download or run anything. And scan it for viruses before you run it.
But you also have to have some form of antivirus software on your computer. It won’t be perfect. It won’t protect you from 100% of malware 100% of the time. Sometimes a new threat can’t be detected yet, and careless behavior on your part can almost always defeat even the best antivirus programs. And they usually cost money.
But they’re vital. That yearly subscription cost isn’t just a racket. Sure, it hurts to shell out $30 or $50 or more, but some things hurt even worse, like losing five years of digital photos or having a business’s checking account cleaned out.