Everybody knows that keyboard shortcuts can save you time – you just have to invest time in learning them first. But this one can actually prevent your computer from getting a virus or malware infection.
Alt+F4 closes the currently active program in Windows. Alt+F4 means you hold down Alt key (usually next to the space bar) and then press the F4 key (in the top row of keys that you usually ignore).
How can that prevent a malware infection? Many infections start with a pop-up window while you are browsing the web. Think about this – Can you really trust someone who writes viruses to make the “No I don’t want to install” button not do the same thing as the “Yes I want to install” button? Clicking anywhere on that window, even clicking the X to close it, could potentially allow it to install anything it wants on to your computer. This has been seen a lot recently with fake anti-virus programs. By closing the window with Alt+F4 instead of clicking on it you avoid the trigger that malware writers use to install their program. If you have many windows popping up faster than you can close them, just hold down Alt+F4 until all of them have been closed.
