Top 10 tips for a healthy PC

2. Patching

Shaun Nichols: This is one of those things that is so simple and quick to perform, yet so incredibly important, that it is a wonder so many people still fail to do it.

Vendors regularly put out patches for applications and operating systems, and with good reason. The patches fix everything from performance issues to stability problems to security vulnerabilities, and they are almost always very small and free of charge.

The security angle makes patching particularly important. Malware writers love to target memory errors and buffer overflows when exploiting systems, and unpatched systems are the 'low hanging fruit' for attackers.

If everyone were to keep their systems updated and patched, untold amounts of time and money could be saved in both the consumer and business space, and the web as a whole would become a much safer place.

Iain Thomson: Shaun has it right, but the problem is not just users neglecting to patch, but companies refusing to introduce the patches in the first place.

The length of time some companies take to release patches is inexcusable. In some cases patches take years to be released. It all depends about how important the manufacturer thinks it is.

Part of the problem comes in how vulnerabilities are discovered in the first place. Obviously software vendors check, but there is also a thriving industry in freelance security consultants who are doing the same. In the vast majority of cases these researchers work with the manufacturer to fix the problem before publishing details on the fault.

But malware writers have their own crackers on the case, and they do not tell anybody but their bosses about software vulnerabilities. Just thank your lucky stars that talented hackers such as Dan Kaminsky, the NSA black crew, Len Sassaman and DVD Jon are on our side.

1. Security software

Iain Thomson: Using a computer on the internet without security software is like mixing with the tax office. You stand a slim chance of getting away with it but chances are you will lose money and gain a lot of sleepless nights.

Researchers using unsecured ‘honeypot’ machines, put online to collect information about malware distribution, measure the time before a virgin machine is infected in seconds, not minutes.

Any time you put a new computer online the first job is to install operating system and application patches. Next comes the security software, if you can’t do it concurrently, and make sure you update the virus signature file immediately and then run a full scan in safe mode.

Identity theft is now a big problem around the world and it is the duty of every computer user to keep their systems safe. Infected PCs are used as virus and data depositories and take part in distributed denial of service attacks. Perfectly nice, if clueless, people have infected PCs in their living rooms that are the digital equivalent of a gang of Hell’s Angels.

Shaun Nichols: Going on the web without security software these days is like hiking through Norway in December without a coat on. In fact, it is so senseless that if you were reading this site you likely would never do it.

As such, I'll discuss something more specific - trusted security tools. Because protecting your computer is such a big deal, a lucrative industry has emerged for both legitimate security tools and the digital equivalent of snake oil.

There are countless applications that profess to remove malware and unwanted files from your system, but which do little more than take your money and, in some cases, further infect your PC. Security experts refer to them as " rogue" security tools and they use things such as fake scans and misleading alerts to convince you to download and pay for the product.

So not only should users make sure they are running security applications, they should also make sure that the security tools they are using are from trusted and reputable vendors.