With all the media coverage on Ransomware, this would be a good time to discuss a way to avoid it. Ransomware is a form of malware which takes over your Microsoft Windows computer’s user files and renders them unusable. The writer’s of the malware then ask you for a ransom payment to fix them so you can use them again. Keeping your programs and Windows patched is important to repel malware as well as doing other things.
There is another approach to avoiding malware. Instead of Microsoft Windows, I use the Linux operating system for my main laptop and my main office desktop computer. My main one in my workshop also runs Linux. The computers are so old they have 3.5 inch floppy disks on the two desktops! Linux runs fine on them and I can do everything with them that a Microsoft Windows computer can do except one important thing: catch malware.
Linux is much more robust and secure operating system than Microsoft Windows from my experience over the years. I’ve never seen a virus on a Linux computer, but I see them frequently on Windows computers.
Another benefit is Linux can run on the same computers as Windows and it is usually free as in the case of the version I use.
So if you want a safer computing experience, use Linux instead of Microsoft Windows. And if you have an old, retired computer, it may run on it and save you money.