General Tips
To start this guide off here are a list of 13 general tips which you should follow! The rest of the guide will go into detail on subjects.
- Don't panic, take your time. If you're unsure about something, don't interact with it until you're sure of what to do. These attempts try to take advantage of your vulnerable state to get what they want. Take a deep breath.
- Always have a back up - or two or three... Having backups of your valued photos/documents/etc off your computer (on a flash drive/external harddrive/cloud) is something not to avoid, even without a virus infection - computers fail. Play it safe and back up!
- Be careful when downloading. Know what youre downloading and make sure it's from the official website (ie Google Chrome only from Google.com)
- Know what you're clicking/visiting/downloading - People take advantage of lack of attention to detail. Make sure your downloading from the correct website, or the correct software. Always Double Check!
- Only visit websites you recognise or know to be reputable (Read #Surfing)
- If you receive an email/link to something or from someone you're unsure of. Don't click!
- If in doubt of something, Use a search engine - Other people will have had the same issue or been tricked too!
- (Ad)blockers will save you countless times - seriously consider getting one(Read #Addons)
- Use a None-Administrator(Super User) Account for daily use. (Read #OperatingSystems)
- Use 2 Factor Authentication and secure passwords (Read #Password & #2fa)
- When downloading and installing reputable software, It is recommended to click Custom Installation and reading through each section (Read #Downloading)
- You will never recieve REAL phone calls regarding your computer - especially from microsoft. If someone calls you to inform about a virus or something hang up.
- Never give out your password to ANYONE.