WHAT IS ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE AND WHY DO I NEED IT? Written by Dean Erickson
Anti virus software is important for your computer's (and your) wellbeing and Internet can help out with some free utilities. How long have you been on Internet? And you don't have any Antivirus software? That's certainly a big risk. Antivirus software utilities are expensive? Yes, it is true. Many of these programs are expensive, but they are absolutely essential. Once installed on your system, and if kept properly updated of all virus definitions, an antivirus software utility will scan all files and separate suspicious from safe. It will alert you if a file is infected and either delete it or quarantine it so it cannot cause havoc with your machine. That way you system is constantly protected from destructive behaviour of viruses. You will not be at risk of infection and, since a virus replicates itself, you will not risk infecting your friends. Still, if your budget is too limited to include some of heavyweight antivirus solutions such as Symantec's Norton, McAfee or Kaspersky, there are some free options available if you know where to look. You basically have two options when it comes to free antivirus protection. You can use a free antivirus software package or you can do an online virus scan. Choosing an online virus scan is basically a good introduction to a product. Trendmicro.com scans your hard drive for free using its House Call antivirus software program. You allow program access to your hard drive. It scans, locates and clean your infected files, if any, but won't collect personal information or log you IP address.
| | WHAT IS SPYWARE AND HOW DO I REMOVE IT FROM MY COMPUTER? Written by Dean Erickson
Spyware is a menace to any computer, but there are many free Spyware removal products online to help out. It sounds rather sinister, doesn't it? In a way, it really is. Spyware (another name for Malware or Adware, which is Internet-speak for "advertising supported software") enters your computer without your explicit consent. You see, Spyware normally comes packaged with other programs, which you do want and actually choose to download. If you aren't too cluey about how to detect Spyware in a potential download (and let's face it, who is), you simply won't know that you've downloaded and activated Spyware software. What does Spyware do? It collects information about you and your business or organization to help advertising companies place better targeted advertising copy on websites you visit. That is, advertising that may actually be of interest to you. OK, in theory, it's a reasonable idea. You are going to be surfing anyway and these days websites survive thanks to their advertising, so wouldn't you rather see ads that may be of some relevance to you? For example, if you are sitting at a computer in New York, Spyware will tell advertisers your geographical position and hence target ads that are relevant to New Yorkers (restaurants and stores in area or events taking place in area). If you happen to visit same website from Paris, those ads will be French ads. How does Spyware work? Once software program sneaks into your computer (via some download you've made, for example, Kazaa) it follows you around as you surf net. It collects information about you from your hard drive. It sounds illegal doesn't it? Well, it isn't. Not yet anyway.
|