Protect your computer system with a
good defense
You
may have spyware or a virus if...
- your computer has suddenly slowed to a crawl,
- you are suddenly bothered by pop-ups ads even when you are not doing anything on the computer,
- your toolbar has been replaced by a search bar you can not close.
Spyware
and Malware (malicious spy programs) make money by selling data on
Internet traffic and pushing advertisements to unsuspecting computer
users on the Internet. Some also report your personal information to
advertisers.
Spyware
removal is different than anti-virus. We recommend you download AdAware
free from www.lavasoft.de and run
it every week to clean off malicious programs. Spybot is another
recommended program, available for download from CNet.com at no charge. CNet.com reports
the average computer has 28 spyware traces.
In the first half of 2004, Computer Clarity has found and cleaned as
many as 3,500 spyware and malware programs from client computers. One
computer was so badly infected it had 538 malicious programs running.
Spyware
may seem less destructive since the goal is not to destroy your files,
but to hijack your browser or track your Internet usage. To those
of
us who value our coputer investment and our privacy, spyware is much
more malicious than viruses. It requires vigilence to keep your
computer clean, but the first line of defense is to avoid visitng sites
like Kazaa music download software, which plants dreadful programs on
your computer.
Read more about Kazaa and the effects of spyware here: http://www.cclarity.com/kazaa.html
Anti-virus
- Have a valid subscription
to an anti-virus program
- Update it software every
week so it can protect your computer from the latest known viruses.
- Run a full virus-scan by
clicking Scan Now after you’ve downloaded the update with the latest
known viruses.
- Make sure the program is
also set to run automatically, to scan your incoming and outgoing mail.
- Make sure it is set to
alert you when you open a document that contains a virus.
It will then suggest cleaning or deleting the file. Choose delete whenever possible.
If you get a virus
If
you have a virus or worm, write down its name when the
warning message comes up. Then visit the vendor web site, search for it
by
name, and follow instructions to remove it.
While most viruses can be removed by anti-virus software, some
viruses
disable the software, and some are actually worms, which embed
themselves in
your system and become active at another time.
Just like in real life, finding worms usually requires digging,
so call
for help if you can’t clean it yourself.
Don’t
ignore the need to take these measures to protect your
computer investment, and always keep good back-ups. It’s never been
easier to
make backups and keep them safe. Here
are some of your options:
Floppy
disk, CD, tape, large capacity external back-up drive, remote backup
such as
mydocsonline, or a USB back-up jump drive.
Do one, do them all, but do backups!