Computer Viruses and Other Nasties: How to Protect Your Computer from These Invaders

Can you protect your computer from all possible viruses and other invasions?

The quickest answer to this is "no." It's just flat impossible to protect your computer from all viruses, registry attacks, worms, spyware, malware, popups, and other such nasties.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that you can clean up and protect your computer against almost all of these undesirable intruders.

The first thing you need to do is download a program called Mozilla Firefox. It's a newer and better browser than anything offered by those guys in Seattle. For one thing, hackers have been concentrating their efforts on Microsoftâ products like Internet Explorerâ and MSN Explorerâ. This makes these browsers more likely to be attacked, whereas Firefox, at least as of this writing, seems more secure. And it does offer great popup protection.

Another thing you will like about Firefox is a feature called Tabs that lets you have numerous Web pages up at the same time with the ability to click back and forth between them. For example, you could have your favorite site, eBay's home page, a phone number directory, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and your favorite blog all loaded at the same time ? then just click amongst them as the moment moves you.

Here's what you'll really like about Firefox. It's free from the Mozilla.org, which is a sort of consortium of public-minded software engineers who develop and distribute freeware (free software). Mozilla is also responsible for a great, free email program called Thunderbird.

Thunderbird is a fast and efficient way to get and send email and has great spam filters. I've personally been using it for more than a month and haven't gotten a single piece of spam mail to date. Compare this with the stuff you get when you use other free email services such as MSN Hotmail.

Before you install either of these programs, you will want to rid your computer of any nasty software it has fallen victim to. A good way to do this is to download another great, free program, Ad-Aware SE from Lavasoft (Lavasoft.com). This program detects and eliminates objects such as a registry invasion. The Webopedia defines your registry file as "a database used by the Windows operating system (Windows 95 and NT) to store configuration information." A registry invasion happens when a "free" program changes your registry to automatically load spyware or some undesirable program. For example, a Web site called I-Mesh allows you to download free programs, share files, and search for music and videos ? but will alter your registry file to incorporate a service called GAINâ (GAIN Publishing) that you may find very annoying.

Ad-Aware will also find and eliminate known data-mining programs, aggressive advertising, parasites, and scumware, as well as selected traditional trojans, dialers, malware, browser hijackers, and tracking components.

You can also find and eliminate spyware with a program called Spybot Search & Destroy. It's available free at spybot.info/en/index.html. Install this program and then click on Search & Destroy and it will scan your hard drive in a matter of moments and then show you a list of "problems" it has found. It also tells you the type of problem, for example, "registry change."

Once the scan completes, all you have to do is click on a button titled "Fix selected problems." Spybot will first create a restore point (in case you delete something you wish you hadn't) and then fix all the problems that are check marked (if there is any problem you do not want fixed for some reason, just remove the checkmark next to it).

Finally, there is a great anti-virus program you can also get free. It is AVG Free Anti-virus and is available at Grisoft.com. AVG will scan your hard disk, then report and eliminate any viruses found. In addition, it automatically downloads information on new viruses from time to time to help keep you protected. This automatic download service is free as well.

Article by Douglas Hanna. Douglas is a retired advertising and marketing executive and long-time Denver resident. He is the webmaster of http://www.all-in-one-info.com, a free resource for information on a variety of subjects. Please visit his site to subscribe to his free newsletter, "Tips & Tricks to Save Money & Live Better."

---

How to Protect Yourself from Viruses, Spyware, Adware, and Other Nuisances

Spyware/adware is a new major concern for PC users everywhere.... Read More

Are They Watching You Online?

When surfing the Internet you probably take your anonymity for... Read More

Email Scams ? Ten Simple Steps To Avoiding Them

According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) email scams also... Read More

Protect Your Little Black Book

The movie Little Black Book features a young woman, Stacy,... Read More

Information Security for E-businessmen: Just a Couple of Ideas

If you constantly deal with bank or electronic accounts, it... Read More

Network Security 101

As more people are logging onto the Internet everyday, Network... Read More

How to Get Rid of New Sobig.F Virus?

As you know, this time the virus under the name... Read More

Online Cell Phone Scams and Spam

They're out there. Individuals trying to make a quick buck... Read More

How to Fight Spyware

If you are wondering how to fight spyware for safe... Read More

7 Ways to Spot a PayPal Scam E-Mail

Paypal is a great site and is used by many... Read More

How to Prevent Online Identity Theft

Identity theft rates one of the fastest growing crimes in... Read More

Mail Forwarding - Why Would You Do It?

First of all we need to get some terms stated.... Read More

Make Money Online - Latest Scam Disclosed

Before we start, I want to make it clear that... Read More

Identity Theft Article ? A Phisher Is Trying To Steal Your Identity!

Sooner or later everyone with an email account will receive... Read More

A Basic Introduction To Spyware

Spyware is the most troublesome software to appear on the... Read More

Consumers: Shop Online and Get Information Safely

Do you really have to know how feeds work? Not... Read More

Dont be a Dork ? Protect Yourself

There are folks out there who use their powers for... Read More

The Move to a New Anti-Virus Model

This is the second in a series of articles highlighting... Read More

Preventing Online Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the most common criminal acts... Read More

Internet Shopping - How Safe Is It?

Millions of people make purchases online, but many people are... Read More

How to Protect Your Child from the Internet

When the Internet first came about, it was realized it... Read More

Just Whos Computer is this Anyway?

Well, this is an article I never thought I would... Read More

Protecting Your Identity On The Internet

Afraid that someone is monitoring your PC or installed a... Read More

Top 10 tips for Safe Internet Shopping

Over £5 billion pounds was spent on online shopping in... Read More

Parental Control - Dangers To Your Child Online & Internet Child Safety Tips

Did you know...? 1 in 5 children who use computer... Read More

Internet Scams: Dont be a Victim

As the number of people using the Internet as an... Read More

How To Be Your Own Secret Service Agency

So you want to know who your kids are chatting... Read More

5 Simple Steps to Protect your Digital Downloads

A couple of days ago, I was searching for a... Read More

Breaking Into Your PC: News...

You'd better learn news from media, not from emails, security... Read More

Identity Theft - Dont Blame The Internet

Identity theft ? also known as ID theft, identity fraud... Read More

IPv6 - Next Step In IP Security

IPv6, IntroductionThe high rate at wich the internet continualy evolves... Read More

If You Sell Anything Online Your ePockets Are Being Picked

You and I are a lot alike. We are both... Read More

5 Tips For An Unbreakable Password

Despite the current wave of identity theft and corporate security... Read More