[align=center]Security + Downloads
Prevention
The first step to staying safe is prevention!
I'm not going to lie here most users who sign up with 1 or 2 posts and then post a link to their amazing PIN generator or Gold Generator will be viruses.
1. Do not download from users you don't trust. Even with an Anti Virus Scan!
2. If you are going to download a file upload it to virustotal.com or novirusthanks.org and check the results of the scan on their. Those sites scan the file with multiple anti virus engines, so as to increase the rate of detection.
3. Wait a few days after scanning it with virus total or novirusthanks then upload it again, this may have meant the anti viruses may have updated, or someone may have reported the file as a virus in the thread.
4. Always run files you download that are untrustworthy in SandBox. A nice free one is called Sand Boxie which you can download for free.
5. If you think a program or something posted on here is to good to be true, chances are, it is! Use your common sense when downloading files and take extreme caution.
Protection
1. Have a good antivirus
Paid;
My personal favourite as a paid antivirus is BitDefender it includes a great firewall and has a game mode for.. well.. when your gaming
It has lots of settings and is easy to customize to your own requirements.
You can get a trial of it here;
http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/Downloads/
Free;
I think by far the best antivirus that is free is Malware Bytes Anti Malware
This is an unending piece of software that will protect you from pretty much anything, This is definitely a must have on your computer!
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
The downside is that you will need a separate firewall
I have used myself ZoneAlarm for a while and this is really great for blocking traffic and filtering it, You can download that here;
http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-pc-security-free-firewall.htm
Scrambling ;
Without a doubt an way to help not give your hacker information if you do get detcted is by having a KeyScrambler installed, which will mean the logs that are sent to his computers will all be complete random jargon and letters like these hsgaga&*7825787(gasg@SG@aS"t or something like that.
You can download a free version of KeyScrambler here;
http://www.qfxsoftware.com/
Infected?
If you think you have been infected report to out help section straight away and follow all of the official member's instructions to the letter to enable a swift detection and removal of the virus or keylogger or other piece of malware
You will be able to recognise them by the white shield icon next to their name
http://runegear.net/Forum-Malware-Removal
Once again stay safe and have fun! If you have any problems or suspicions on files ask in this thread and I will be able to assist you [/align]