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Security
Most software trouble doesn't start with a sophisticated attack. It starts with a search. Someone wants to find a program fast, sees a big button and clicks it. These traps are designed to exploit that rush, so the main defense here isn't a clever setting but the habit of stopping to check the source.
If a program costs suspiciously little, your data may end up paying for it.
How this section works: we describe typical risks and general warning signs without naming websites, programs or developers and without analyzing real cases.
Tricks designed to prey on the wish to get a program quickly and without asking questions.
Pages that look official and ad blocks with a big “Download” button often lead not to the program you want but to an installer with something extra inside. Check the site's address and find the developer's page yourself, not through an ad.
The promise of a paid program for free is a classic lure. Such files often contain malicious code, ask you to turn off your protection and never receive updates. On top of that, getting around the license violates the developer's terms.
Even an honest program can come bundled with toolbars, a changed search page or additional programs. You can almost always decline them, but only if you read the installer screens.
A message on a website saying your program is out of date and needs an urgent update is a common trap. Real updates come through the program itself, through the system or from the official website.
If a simple note-taking app wants administrator rights every time it starts, or access to all your files or your microphone, it's worth asking why. Give programs only the permissions they need to work.
People usually look for software in a hurry: you need to open a file, finish a task, send off the result. In that moment, the first big button looks like the shortest path.
Fakes disguise themselves as something familiar: a similar address, a familiar icon, the words “official version” and “latest update.” They sound convincing and create the feeling that everything is fine.
Reliable protection is boring: find the developer's page on your own, use your system's built-in app store, install security updates promptly, read the installer screens and don't give programs more permissions than they need.
Step-by-step guides: how to install a program carefully, update it, review startup apps and uninstall it without leftovers. Plus our article catalog.
What to do when a program won't start, won't uninstall, keeps asking for admin rights, or when something unwanted shows up after an install.
Built-in system tools that help keep programs in order: the list of installed apps, startup apps, updates, recovery options and account permissions.
A glossary of terms: installer, license, open source, startup apps, administrator rights, checksum, digital signature and other everyday software words.
Answers about this reference, about installing and updating programs, and about keeping a home computer from turning into a storage room of forgotten apps.
These recommendations are written in general terms as of the date they were prepared. Installer windows, menu items and the names of system tools vary and change with updates, so check your system's help and the program developer's documentation rather than relying on how things looked last time.