5 Simple ways to keep your computer secure and virus free

By: William McRand Sr

These simple tips will help you stay virus and spyware free,
even if

you're connected to the internet 24 hours a day.

1. Protect yourself

Good protection on the Internet these days consists of 3
components:

anti-virus software, anti-spyware software and a firewall.

As for a firewall, Windows XP ships with a decent enough
firewall. Just

make sure it is always enabled. Alternatively you can visit a
site like

www.download.com and search for Zone Alarm, which has an
excellent free

version.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to
keep your

anti-virus software up to date. An anti-virus program that uses

definitions that are months old is just about useless.

Update your anti-virus and anti-spyware software at least once a
week.

2. Stop opening every attachment you receive.

Most of the devastating worms and viruses of recent times were

distributed via email. These viruses feed on the curiosity and
also the

ignorance of a huge number of email users. People will get an
email

from fakename@weirdsuspiciousdomain and they'll just open
whatever file

is attached to it.

If you don't know the sender, don't open the attachment - just
delete

it. It doesn't matter if the subject promises you'll see Britney
Spears

dancing nude on the kitchen table, just delete it.

If the email is from someone you know, always scan any
attachments

first before downloading or opening them.

If every email user in the world followed these simple
guidelines the

distribution of viruses via email will grind to a halt.

3. Stay clear of pornographic and illegal software sites

If you want to pick up viruses and spyware quickly, visit some

pornographic web sites. One wrong click on a subtle little
pop-up or

security warning window (which you'll run into often on these
type of

sites) and you'll have infested yourself with trojan horses,
spyware,

dialers and other unfavorable software that could leave your
computer

wide open to further attacks.

The same goes for web sites distributing software, serial codes
and

cracks illegally (warez).

Simply put - keep out of the dark side of the web and the odds
of

keeping your computer clean shifts decidedly in your favor.

4. Watch out what you download

Spyware is embedded in a lot of software on the Internet -
especially

those related to ripping, converting and playing music and
videos. That

free MP3 player or DVD Ripper you just downloaded may have
installed a

bunch of harmful spyware without you even knowing about it.

5. Keep yourself informed

Major anti-virus software developers like Symantec and Grisoft
updates

their sites regularly with the latest virus alerts. Visit these
sites

frequently to keep yourself aware of what threats are doing the
rounds

and how to avoid them.

Using this simple software I have kept my computer virus-free
for

the past 3 years. It's not rocket science. Just stay alert, use
some

common sense and you too can stay bug free while still enjoying
your

Internet experience.

About the author:
By William McRand Sr 1908 Clinton Ave Mobile AL 36617 Your P.C.
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What You Need To Know About Adware And Adware Stoppers

By: Jackson Summers

What is Adware?

Adware is software application incorporated into or bundled with
a program, and when installed, display or download advertising
material to a computer. Adware is usually a method used by many
programmers to recover development costs when a software program
is provided free of charge, or at a low cost. Adware can drain
the computer's resources, spy on user's surfing habits,
adversely affect Internet connection speed, and even redirect
web browsers without permission. Owing to this, a host of adware
stoppers has sprung up, which clean an infected system and
prevent new infestations with real-time protection, and becoming
some of the most downloaded programs on the internet.

Adware, Malware, and Spyware:

The three terms, and related terms such as adware stoppers,
spyware removers etc, are often very easy to confuse since the
concepts overlap. Adware is usually installed with the user's
consent and comes with an uninstaller, while spyware installs
itself without permission and can be almost impossible to
completely uninstall without assistance. Spyware is intended to
track, report, and re-sell user's activity and information
without consent, and malware refers to a worse form of spyware
in which the operation and functioning of other software
applications can be negatively affected. The problem of
distinction occurs, for example, when an adware that comes with
a tracking feature, when activated by the user, becomes a
spyware. So, an adware stopper can also refer to a program that
prevents an adware application from performing spyware
activities.

Well-known Adware Programs and Adware Stoppers:

Some of the most well-known adware programs include 123
Messenger, 180 Solutions, Bonzi Buddy, ClipGenie, Comet Cursor,
Cydoor, Direct Revenue, Ebates MoneyMaker, Gator, PornDigger,
WinFixer, Hotbar, ErrorSafe, and Smiley Central.

Popular adware stoppers, which have been around for a couple of
years include NoAdware, ErrorDoctor, Spynukker and PC-Cillin.

Top Adware Stoppers:

PC World evaluated ten existing adware stoppers and anti-spyware
utilities devised to detect and get rid of spyware and adware
from computers, based on -

* rates of detection, * scanning speed, * ability to prevent
unwanted applications from installing themselves, * and ease of
use

Seven spyware/adware stoppers in the price range of $20 to $40
were noted for their outstanding performances, which include

1. Allume Systems' Internet Cleanup, 2. McAfee's AntiSpyware, 3.
Computer Associates' ETrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware, 4.
InterMute's SpySubtract Pro, 5. Aluria Software's Spyware
Eliminator, 6. Webroot Software's Spy Sweeper 7. Sunbelt
Software's CounterSpy, and

Three other adware stoppers, which are available for free, were
also tested and found to be equally effective. These include
Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE Personal, Safer Networking's Spybot
Search and Destroy, and http://Merijn.org's HijackThis.
However, HijackThis was not included in the charts because it
does not scan for infections. Microsoft's new Windows
AntiSpyware was the only product in beta that was tested.

About the author:
Protect your computer from best free spyware remover and adware stoppers. For free trials, and
recommendation visit the adware critic.

How Do Viruses And Worms Affect Your Computer

By: Jeff Clark

Unlike viruses that most commonly infect an individual
computer, the worms usually attack a computer network. A
computer network functions by using a collection of servers and
routers. This is what the internet is comprised of. A server is
like a PC but has more speed and storage and a router is a
server with specialized functions, it directs traffic through
the network. PC Security - Worm Viruses, Deadliest of All

A virus attacks the unit used to run programs on the computer
called the central processing unit or CPU for short. It does
this by running programs and being constantly busy, so that none
of the functions you select can be opened. Similarly, this is
how a worm functions on a network. The routers rely on memory
and processing time (similar to the CPU functions). These are
attacked and as a result the network drastically slows down.

Worms carry payloads which are comprised of other types of
malware, backdoor installations or spyware. Spyware is a
monitoring program that can keep an eye on activities on your
computer and backdoor programs set up hidden access points used
by hackers to steal your information or send spam.

"My Doom" sent out at the beginning of 2004, was the fastest
spreading worm to date. The worm came in the form of an email
with the message "andy; I'm just doing my job, nothing personal,
sorry."

Although the culprit was never found, its intended victim is
thought to have been a software company called Santa Cruz
Operation or SCO for short.

When a person opened this email, the worm was programmed to
overwhelm SCO's website with traffic. The worm spread through
the internet and caused a massive slow down.

For the individual computer, the worm's payload is more serious
because it allows ports to be opened on the computer where
hackers have access to steal or delete information. In addition,
a payload may come with a program to attack your antivirus
software and disable it.

De worming

Using firewalls will help protect your computer. Firewalls
reduce traffic and "hide" your computer. In this state, you are
less likely to be attacked by worms spread over the network.

Be careful not to open suspicious emails and if you don't know
the person or get and unexpected email don't open it. If you
find your computer is slow and reboots by itself or the internet
is sluggish, you may have been infected. Try running antivirus
software to check it out. If that doesn't work, try to manually
removing the virus. Information as to how this is done can be
found on the internet.

About the author:
Jeff Clark is a staff writer at Technology Digest
and is an occasional contributor to several other websites,
including Games
Enthusiast.

Recovery From PC Failure Using Windows XP's Restore Point

By: Otis Cooper

Have you ever done something to make an improvement and later
regretted it?It would be awesome to be able to go back in time
and undo the the thing that were supposed to make an improvement.

While life in general will not allow us to return to an earlier
time to make changes, we computer users do have such an option
should we experience problems with our Windows XP operating
systems.

If you update or install the wrong device driver for your video
card, and you delete accidentally delete a critical Windows
file, so what.

You can simply use Windows XP's Restore Point feature and, Tada,
you're back on track and recovered that deleted file.

Restore Points are snapshots of the state your operating system
was in during that time.Windows XP automatically creates a
restore point when it senses a major change in your operating
system.And Restore Points are created every 24 hours as a safety
measure.But you can create a Restore Point manually any time you
feel there is a need.

If you have a change of some sort that causes problems with the
operating system, you can tell Windows XP to revert to any
Restore Point established before the problem occured.After the
rollback, every change in the operating system that happened
after that Restore Point is eliminated.

Restore Points are generally used when you experience such pc
problems as extremely slow performance of the system. Your
computer responds far more slowly that it did before you
installed or updated something.

Other times to run Restore Point is when your system stops
responding after an update or installation. Be sure to create a
Restore Point before making any significant change to your
computer's software or configuration.

To set a Restore Point, click on Start, point to All Programs,
click on Accessories, System Tools, and then click on System
Restore.When the System Restore windows appears, click on the
button labeled "Create A Restore Point" and click Next.

Enter a description of the restore point, something like "Before
scanner device driver install" and click the Create button.A
notification will inform you that a Restore Point was made.Now
click the Close button and you're all set.

Reverting to a Restore Point is as easy as create one.Click on
Start, point to All Programs, click Accessories, System Tools,
and System Restore.When the System Restore window appears, click
on the "Restore My Computer To An Earlier Time" and then click
on the Next button.

Choose the date on which you set the Restore Point and click the
Next button.Review the information presented and save any open
files.Shut down any other programs that may be running.

Click on the Next button and now your computer will restart. As
it restarts, it will present a message informing you of the
restore point. Click OK and you're done.

After reading all about setting and reverting to restore points,
you should make a known restore point if you have not done so
already.Whatever you do after reading this article, don't say
I'll get to it soon.Familarize yourself with this feature and
create a restore point one.

You should try Restore Point and see how it works before you
need it.Create a Restore Point now and update something.You can
update Windows Media Player for example.

After the update or the installation of a program,wait a day or
so and go back to Restore Point.Revert to the Restore Point you
created and see if the old version of Windows Media Player comes
back.Or see if that old device driver is present.

Doing a simple task like this can and will boost your computer
skills and give you much more confidence in yourself and the
Windows XP operating system.

About the author:
Otis F. Cooper is solely dedicated to boosting the knowledge and
confidence of every computer user. Sign up to receive his
informative articles every month and learn PC Repair absolutely
free.Sign up now at http://www.repairarticles.com

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