For people new to computer, there are some risks that need your attention. Spyware and viruses have become major problems. It is even been said that every fifth call to Dell support is about spyware. In this article, I will give an overview and mention some free tools to remove viruses, spyware, and adware.
For people new to computer, there are some risks that need your attention. Spyware and viruses have become major problems. It is even been said that every fifth call to Dell support is about spyware. In this article, I will give an overview and mention some free tools to remove viruses and spyware.
Viruses, Spyware, and Adware plague many computers these days. It is becoming a problem for many home and business users. Anti-Virus companies are capitalizing on this trend. Their products are not subscription based, and it forces the consumer to purchase a subscription annually.
I myself have bought a subscription to Norton System Works 2004 Professional Edition. It includes Norton Anti-Virus 2004, and it also has Norton Ghost 2003 which I use to backup my entire system onto an external storage drive. This is a really great feature in the event that you encounter a virus your program can not handle, or if your hardware fails. It allows you to put your computer programs and data back to the way they were before the problem. However, many people do not have the patience for this. It is mainly well suited for people using their computer for business purposes.
If you happen to be one of those folks that purchased a new computer and you did not renew the free trial subscription of the anti-virus that your computer came with then you may be in trouble. If you did get a virus, it may make it difficult for you to install anti-virus after the fact.
The first thing you can do is download this free anti-virus tool from Mcafee called stinger. It will remove the top 50 most popular viruses. This is not a be all end all solution, and it is recommended that you call a professional in your area to really be sure the virus is gone. Here is a link to the stinger tool free virus removal tool
The next big problem on today’s computer is spyware also called adware in some cases. Spyware hides on your computer, and it can record personal information about you. It can monitor the websites you visit, it can record the passwords you type, and it can even record the credit cards you enter in websites. Spyware can come from a variety of websites, free programs, and even through some instant messenger programs. I recommend that you choose the programs carefully that you run on your computer. I would recommend using FireFox instead of Internet Explorer to browse web pages and to go on the internet in general. Firefox is free, and it has a lot less security holes in it than Internet Explorer. Secondly, I would recommend using Thunderbird instead of Outlook or Outlook Express for email. Again, Thunderbird it has less security holes than Outlook does. Finally, if you use instant messenger, I would recommend GAIM. It allows you to talk to AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, and MSN chat friends. It does not have all the advertisements displayed on the program windows, and it is much safer to chat with.
However, you still may get some spyware in the end. To help remove the spyware, I recommend running two free tools. The first tool is called Ad-aware, and the second tool is called Spy Bot Search and Destroy. Both of these programs are great, and they are free. Do not forget to run the updater to get the latest signatures of the newest spyware.
Finally, if you live in the Norwalk, Darien, or Stamford area of Connectict, you can reach me by phone or email for computer help. My rates are very reasonable.