To start with, what exactly is AI? http://www.dictionary.com defines it as follows: 1. The ability of a computer or other machine to perform those activities that are normally thought to require intelligence. 2. The branch of computer science concerned with development of machines having this ability. If you take a look at this you may notice that field of AI is actually far broader than many people give it credit for. Even Google search engine can be said to incorporate some of research done in AI. The definition of AI and intelligence itself sometimes varies but it's probably safe to say that a simple explanation is that if a machine exhibits a measure of intelligence in some area it can be called AI. The AI of movies is usually entirely self aware, emotive, and for all intents and purposes 'alive'. It is capable of learning, reasoning, explaining and deceiving. The AI I've experienced (and this is very basic, scratching only surface of depth of studies into AI) is far more specialized, focusing on just one aspect of a problem that could potentially be much larger. There are various areas of research being carried out into creating humanoid machines of science fiction, but as yet most are still restricted to realms of imagination. One very impressive piece of technology is Honda ASIMO project. This project has created a humanoid robot with some remarkable features. I'm not entirely sure if there's really a practical use for this (I think they're just trying to justify their funding with applications mentioned on website) but it scores points for being one of coolest uses of technology I've ever seen. You can see some videos of ASIMO in action here: http://world.honda.com/HDTV/ASIMO/

By Jim Shutes LapeerTechGroup.com

Spyware has become an epidemic on Internet. A lot of computer users have Spyware and don’t even know they have it, much less how to get rid of it. If your computer has been taking you to websites that you don’t want to go to, or if you get pop-ups when you aren’t even on Internet, or if your computer has been running extremely slowly lately, for no reason, you probably have Spyware.

So what, exactly, is Spyware? Spyware is a wide range of benign to malicious programs that get unknowingly downloaded and/or installed on your computer and perform various tasks. They are similar to viruses, but antivirus software doesn’t detect these little bugs. Spyware can be in many forms, from basic information-gathering applets to intelligent, self-protecting and controlling programs.

Primarily, intent of Spyware is to collect information about your Internet-browsing habits and report that information back to home base, where it is sold for advertising purposes. In doing so, some of your Internet connection bandwidth is taken up in constantly sending this information. And if you only have a dial-up connection, I have seen entire dial-up connection used just for this purpose, leaving nothing for paying customer with which to surf.

Still, other types of Spyware actually take over your Internet-browsing experience and force you to go to websites that advertise for makers of Spyware (or their customers), and no matter how many times you close windows, they keep coming back. They are like pop-ups that won’t go away. And a lot of times, these windows can appear even before getting on Internet. This should be illegal!

So what can be done about Spyware? Well, if it is caught in time, a user can install AntiSpyware software to get rid of Spyware. And as a preventative measure, AntiSpyware software should be installed BEFORE getting Spyware and computer should be scanned on a regular basis for Spyware.

On all of computers that I setup, I install two different AntiSpyware programs: AdAware SE and SpyBot. These two programs are highly recommended by TechTV (G4) and other computer authorities (including my own research on Spyware) and work very well together. They compliment each other and catch Spyware that other misses, but together, do a very good job.

SpyBot is not only a good program for getting rid of Spyware, but also as a preventative Spyware-catcher. It sits there and looks for known Spyware coming into your system, as well as suspicious-looking content. If you use Tea-Timer feature, it can be a little annoying, but ANY suspicious-looking program, trying to be installed on your system, is flagged and your permission is asked for it to be installed (now and always). If you don’t have this program installed on your computer, get it NOW by downloading HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp Download all updates and run Immunize option a couple of times (for preventative purposes). Scan with it every day if you can.

AdAware SE has a little better Spyware database in it, but is not setup as a preventative AntiSpyware program. It does do a good job when you keep up on updates and manually scan your system with AdAware. If you don’t have this program on your computer, get it NOW by downloading HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp Download all updates and run Smart Scan daily (if not, at least weekly).

If, after downloading and installing, updating, and running both of these AntiSpyware program, you still can’t get rid of your Spyware, you may need to enlist services of a professional. Some Spyware is so intelligent that it looks to see if AntiSpyware programs delete Spyware part of its programming and, if it’s gone, reinserts it back in place. This can be very frustrating for user (and in some cases, even for professional). There are stronger measures that can be taken to get rid of Spyware, in cases like this, but can be very devastating to user’s computer, if not handled perfectly. At this point, leave it to professional. Call a local computer repair company and have them come out to your home or business and get rid of Spyware for you.

In some cases, when Spyware has become too entwined into your system, even a computer repair technician can’t get rid of Spyware. At this point, it is better to just backup only what you need and have operating system reinstalled. Believe me, when your computer gets to this point, you don’t want to just put a “band-aid” on it. Just start from scratch with a clean system. It’s best way to go.

Since Spyware is similar to viruses, a few Spyware can be caught by a good AntiVirus program. Some Spyware are actually Trojan Horses (hacker’s worms) that get onto your computers and allow hackers to get into your computer (without you knowing it) and doing malicious-type things to it. They can take over your computer, erase your hard drive, use your computer as a server, give you a bunch of illegal music or programs and tell all of their friends to download it all from you – leaving you holding bag and supplying computer space and bandwidth for their hobby. So, protect yourself with a good AntiVirus program. One of my favorites is AVG. It is not only a really good AntiVirus program, but it is also FREE! If you don’t have any AntiVirus software on your computer, get AVG AntiVirus NOW by downloading HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp If you already have an AntiVirus program, and you want to use AVG instead, do NOT install AVG. First, uninstall your current AntiVirus program, reboot and install AVG. You do NOT want to have two AntiVirus programs installed at same time. They will work against each other and can cause problems.

So can a person avoid getting Spyware? Not entirely, but if you know where not to go, you can definitely slow it down. You can get Spyware from ANYwhere! However, most of Spyware comes as a trade-off for FREE stuff. If you read license agreement (which no one does) of most FREE stuff, you will be amazed that, in most cases, you are giving them permission to give you Spyware (but not in those words). Read all license agreements before installing anything (I know, I couldn’t even say that with a straight face). It will save you a lot of grief. If you are like me, and you don’t read all of legal stuff whenever installing anything, here are some rules of thumb to help avoid bulk of Spyware.