| In the time we have been poking around the
internet we've learned this one lesson. No matter how careful
you might be, you will pick up adware and spyware from
somewhere, somehow and without knowing it. There are greedy
people out there who want your money and are unethical enough to
use any subterfuge to install unwanted, unasked for software on
your computer in an attempt to get it. Not to mention that
spyware uses up system resources, CPU time, memory, disk space,
and Internet bandwidth, making your system slower. The only way
to avoid it is to throttle down your curiosity to the point
where you only visit the same safe sites time after time. What
fun is that. After all, the purpose of the internet is to
satisfy your curiosity, not to curtail it.
Added to the nastiness of adware and spyware are viruses
which seek to damage or destroy your files and those of your
contacts and hijackers which take over your browser and only let
you see what the developers of the software want you to see.
Enough said. Now here's how to prevent, protect against,
disinfect and disarm this malicious software.
- Use Your Anti-virus to it's Full
Capacity
It's not enough to have your anti-virus running in the
background. Do a full scan often, at least once a week. Make
sure that your anti-virus is updated daily by either using the
automatic updates feature or by manually updating it each time
you log on. We have learned from experience that viruses can
slip through the cracks in even the best protected computers
since their developers are continually looking for
vulnerabilities and the anti-virus can only react to the
latest virus as it is found. If you do not have an anti-virus
program installed on your computer, get one immediately. We
use
Panda Titanium Anti-Virus on
our computers and highly recommend it. Other reputable,
reliable and effective products include:
Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal Pro ,
McAfee VirusScan
and
PC-cillin from Trend Micro
 .
If you feel that you cannot afford the protection of a
commercial anti virus, AVG offers a
free edition of their
Anti-virus for home users.
AntiVir
is also free for personal use.
- Get Windows Updates and MS Office
Updates (for Windows & Microsoft Office Users)
Get the
latest updates from Microsoft
available for your computer's operating system, software, and
hardware. Windows Update scans your computer to see what
updates are required and provides you with a list of updates
tailored just for you. Then make sure you have enabled the
automatic updates feature.
The vast majority of viruses target Microsoft Windows users
simply because they are the majority. Most updates concern
security threats. Take heed!
- Use a Firewall
Use a personal firewall to make sure no one can gain access to
your computer. If your PC is already infected, a firewall will
stop offending applications from reporting your data back to
their makers. Free firewalls provide sufficient protection
against attacks, but the paid versions offer more features
that might be worth your money.
ZoneAlarm and
Kerio Personal Firewall. are
programs that let you use a wizard to immediately get started
and defend against almost all types of attacks. Both also
offer free versions that provide basic protection until you
decide whether you want to buy the whole suite of security
software.
- Use These Free Spyware Removal
Tools
That's right, tools in the plural. We use
Ad-Aware
from Lavasoft and
Spybot Search & Destroy on a
regular basis, running them one after another. No one utility
has ever eliminated all the junk, but in tandem they are
extremely effective. We recommend you download these free
programs and use them. Make sure you update them regularly for
best results.
- Use your E-mail Wisely
Most viruses arrive via e-mail. Many of them exploit
vulnerabilities in Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. To
counteract this, Microsoft has tightened up security with
Windows XP Service Pack 2. If you have not installed this
update, or if you are using an earlier version of Windows, we
recommend that you err on the side of caution and do not use
Outlook at all.
Never open an attachment from anyone you don't know and be
very careful about opening or accepting e-mail with
attachments from people you do. If you have any questions
about a file sent to you by a friend or acquaintance, send an
e-mail back to them to verify it's authenticity before you
open it.
Open an account with one of the free e-mail providers and use
that address when you sign up for any offers or newsletters
from any website. We use
Yahoo Mail. With it's huge
storage capacity, ability to weed out the "bulk" spam mail and
it's virus scan on all attachments, we find all the e-mail
perks offered by the best ISP with only a moderate amount of
advertising to clutter things up.
- Consider an Alternate Browser
Because Internet Explorer is the most popular browser, it is
the most popular target for the creators of Adware and Spyware.
Use an alternate browser like
Mozilla Firefox if you want
to avoid the majority of nasties. Firefox 1.0 empowers you to
browse faster, more safely and more efficiently than with any
other browser according to it's developers.
- Visit PC Pitstop for Free PC
Diagnostics and Tune Ups
PC Pitstop online tests check
out your PC looking for security risks, Windows configuration
issues, or performance problems. The test uses a small ActiveX
utility that you load before starting the testing; it takes
less than a minute to download, and you're on your way to a
faster PC. The full check-up does all this: measures disk
fragmentation; checks available system resources; analyzes
device drivers; benchmarks the CPU, memory, video, disk, and
Internet connection; looks for viruses and spyware in running
software; and checks for common security problems. The
analysis doesn't change any settings on your PC, and you'll be
able to review their advice before making any changes.
- Examine Freeware Programs
Carefully
It's tempting to get something for nothing, especially if that
something has apparent value. Many file sharing programs and
the majority of utilities that bring weather and news to your
desktop are just mechanisms to deliver ads to your computer
and to track and report your internet habits and other
personal information back to their mother ship. Even worse,
some free programs that purport to help eliminate spyware and
adware actually deliver these malicious programs right to your
computer. We recommend that you do not download or install any
downloaded programs that you are not 100% sure of. Read the
licensing agreements of any unknown program carefully to make
sure you are not giving the vendor permission to put something
you do not want on your PC.
- Just Say No
Often dialog boxes will pop up to tell you that a program,
plug in or characters are needed in order to properly view a
webpage. We advise you to answer no in all cases unless you
are absolutely sure of the source of the content. We have also
seen follow up boxes that show up after we have declined the
installation that change the wording so that saying no to the
follow up question gives a "yes" answer to the original
question.
- Use Hijack This
Hijack This is a tool, that
lists all installed browser add-on, buttons, startup items and
allows you to inspect, and optionally remove selected items.
This tool safely removes browser hijackers.
Intended for advanced
users.
Click Here to learn more
& then download.
- Don't Click On Pop Ups
Don't click on pop ups, even to close them. It's too easy to
activate something nasty while trying to push "close'. We use
a free utility called
POW
to close them for us. You choose the pop
ups to delete and then POW remembers them and zaps them as you
surf. When a new pop up surfaces, open the POW utility,
select the offending window and you are done.
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