What are the best 5 tips for safer downloading?

Downloading movies, music files, wallpapers and screensavers often put your PC security at stake as many viruses and malware may silently enter into your machine and harm it to an irreparable extent. Identity thieves and the hijackers often use new downloadable stuff to catch attention of users and when the file gets downloaded on the target computer, it sends all your important data to them.

When you see a downloadable link of latest movies or a rare collection of songs, then you might find yourself irresistible from downloading it. This eagerness in downloading online files without checking it properly may allow viruses, Trojans, worms and malware activate on your computer. This article will make you aware about judging files, before the actual downloading procedure. It lets you know whether it is safe to download the intended file or document.

1. Always update your antivirus software

Your PC should be guarded by updated antivirus software because detecting a virus is essential for its complete removal. Upgraded security software helps in maintaining high security of PC apps and programs as well as safeguards your valuable data against various types of spyware. Antivirus will often, not always, keep you posted about the infected program that you are about to download. Its seal off feature will block the infected files from entering your PC and thus avoids impending risks against security.

2. Strictly keep a check on your downloading software

Choose your downloading software wisely as it also helps in making decisions about which files should be downloaded and which should be avoided. Always, ensure that your downloading software is updated and have all the latest features. Don’t worry if you don’t have downloading software as you can still download ‘uTorrent’ and ‘BitTorrent,’ which are available for free on the Internet.

3. Adjust your search results by seeders or leechers in decreasing order

By adjusting your seeders or leechers in decreasing order, you can have a look at how many people have or are downloading the file. It’s always better to choose a file with higher number of seeders as no one wants to download a virus or a file that is of no use. The higher the number of seeders a file have, often the higher safety assurance is attached to it. As an added advantage, large number of seeders/leeches attached to a file also improves its downloadable speed.

4. Read the comments

You should read all the comments of the particular file, which you desire to download. No comments are highly suspicious as the file might be reported by antivirus software many times. However, an infected file often gets angry comments on it. By reading the comments you will come to know if there are any installation problems, quality issues, and bugs in the file and sometimes, detail steps to get the files to work properly are also provided.

5. Be extra cautious about.rar/.zip files or.exe files

All of us know that you can’t check the contents of a.rar file until you download it and by then the virus contained inside may already infect your PC resulting in hard drive crash or harming your other hardware components. Uploaders often use.zip format when a large number of small sized files or compressed files are put together to form a single file. During this process, there remains a possibility that numerous infected files may enter into the final.zip file, without any formal notice. Be extremely suspicious while dealing with files having.exe as their extension, as these files might automatically install viruses and worms on your system, when executed.

You should start downloading only after identifying that everything is ok. Once you are finished with the download, it is advisable to pass all your downloaded files through upgraded antivirus software to avoid keeping your computer at stake. After all, waiting a bit for security check result is better than getting your PC infected.

About the Author: Hi! I am Brook M. Perry, a prolific blog writer and keen author of articles related to internet security and solution for issues related to computers and mobile devices. Being associated with the reputed best pc tuneup service provider Qresolve, I have resolved thousands of tech issues for our customers from worldwide. Computer online technical support My areas of interest are PC security, endpoint security system, router support etc.

Brooke M. Perry is an ardent technician associated with Qresolve computer security, with wide experience of fixing issues with PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.