What you put on your machines.
WHERE TO GET SOFTWARE
The developer's own site The official application store for the platform
WHAT TO AVOID
Download aggregators Search advertisements for well-known software Anything sent as an attachment Pirated or cracked software
THE SEARCH ADVERTISEMENT PROBLEM
Malicious advertisements imitating popular software appear above genuine results.
Go to the known address directly.
THE PIRATED SOFTWARE PROBLEM
Frequently contains malicious code deliberately.
The saving is never worth it.
WHAT TO CHECK BEFORE INSTALLING
That it is genuinely what you intended What permissions it requests Whether you need it at all
WHAT TO DECLINE DURING INSTALLATION
Additional bundled software.
Read the screens rather than clicking through.
WHAT TO REVIEW AFTERWARDS
Whether anything unexpected was installed.
WHAT TO REMOVE
Software you no longer use.
Every installed program is exposure.