Spyware or Virus Problems?You have a computer that is infected with a virus or spyware. What do you do?
So you got one of these. That's great. It's wonderful. You can get email. You can chat with people on line. You can surf the internet. There are a millions of thing you can do with these things.
But you know what else you can do. You can get a computer virus, you can have spyware downloaded to your computer, You can have your browser Hijacked. Your system can be hacked and all your passwords and personal information could belong to someone else. Or your entire system could crash, and you would be the proud owner of a very expensive and bulky paperweight.
Don't let this happen to you. I am going to give you some very valuable information on keeping your computer safe. And best of all this information is completely free. Take a look at the list below, for the information.
Links For all of these programs can be found below.
First you need a good antivirus program. Most people suggest Norton Antivirus or McAfee. You can purchase this software directly from them, or you can purchase them at your local software store.
There is also a very good online virus scanner called House Call from Trend Micro. It scans for and finds some virus that Norton and McAfee don't catch. It is a free service, but I highly recommend only using this as a backup to one of the other two. Sometimes a virus will keep you from accessing the net, and then what do you do if you don't have a downloaded version on your computer?
Then you need a firewall to keep as much of the unwanted hackers out of your system. Try Zone Alarm, It is great for keeping unwanted intruders away.
Next very important. Spybot Search and Destroy. This program deletes most Spyware that enters your system. It is a must have.
Then there is AdAware. It is a good program for deleting spyware. But I recommend that you use both this and Spybot. They seem to both catch things that the other does not.
Now another must is Spyware Blaster. This program is not for removing spyware. It is for safegaurding against it. Before I downloaded it I was using Spybot everyday to remove the same 20 entries. Now there is only 1 that actually slips through that I have to kill.
Another great website I have found is PC Pitstop. PC Pitstop is another free online scanning program. But they handle more than just virus and spyware. They scan your entire system looking for any problems that might be present to hinder or slow down your computer usage. Once they scan your system they give you a detailed list of problems and explain how to fix these problems yourself. This program was recommended by the gentleman that custom built my computer. He uses it on almost every computer that goes through his repair shop. And from personal experience, it definately works.
Those are the nessecities. The following items are helpful to have but not as vital.
Another way to keep this junk out is to download IE Spyad. This download ads a list of known internet spyware sites to your Restricted Sites list in your security section. You can still visit these sites, but they cannot download anything to your computer.
Okay a very important program is Hijack This. Hijack This creates logs of suspicious entries. What ever you do though if you are not a computer tech person do not use this to fix anything unless a tech person tells you to. If you delete the wrong entry you risk deleting vital parts of your programming.
Now for tech support I suggest using two forums that I have found. My first choice is The Tech Guys Forum. And my second is Spyware Info Forums. Personally I just like dealing with the first forum better. They are good at understanding that I am a computer dummy.
A website that I have found that is good for finding virus cleaners is Eset. They have a list of over 50 virus cleaners. So if you know what virus your pc has you just have to look it up by name and download the cleaner for it.
If anyone has any suggestions for new programs to ad to this list, or just a question please email me at the following address.
