Protecting your computer against VIRUSES

    With the advent of broadband Internet and the push of the spammers, Virus protection and a solid firewall are a necessity. Virus protection doesn't have to cost you anything either, for home use I recommend using AVG Anti-Virus available for free for personal use. Other great virus scanners are Symantec Antivirus and McAfee AntiVirus. But remember, your antivirus product is only good as long as you keep it updated, all of the above products have an update feature to keep it current with new viruses.
     EMail is probably the most common way to receive a virus. When some viruses infect your computer they get into your address book and send to everybody you know. The best way to combat this is to not open suspicious attachments. To recognize an attachment to be safe or unsafe, here are some guidelines :

Don't open filenames that end with any of these extensions : .exe, .com, or .scr. Be aware that they may try to fool you by using multiple extensions (ie. filename.gif.exe). Always go by the last three letters to recognize the filetype.
Word or Word Perfect documents can contain macro viruses, be extremely sure you know who sent the item prior to opening.
Microsoft does not send patches via email, delete these messages right away. Click here to view an example of an email containing a virus that I received the other day.
Manually scan every attachment you receive that you are even a little bit unsure of.
Check who the email is to and who it is from. If the email is not directly addressed to you, it is probably spam. Keep in mind that spammers can easily change the from address to be anything they want

Related WebSites and Articles :
Free Online Virus Scan - Housecall.Antivirus.com
Computer Associates - Virus Encyclopedia

SPYWARE Is your computer infected?

    Spyware, also known as AdWare, Malware, or Parasites, are more common than viruses these days. They are responsible for pop-up ads, slow computer performance, and computer crashing. These programs can infect your computer from a variety of sources and can be very troublesome to remove. They monitor your internet surfing habits and pop-up advertising to target those habits.
    Your computer can get infected by clicking on YES when an Active-X control window pops up or by installing software that is bundled with this spyware. Some popular programs that are bundled with SpyWare including Kazaa, RadLight, and Internet Washer. The best practise is not too download any programs that are advertised on a web-site, pop-up, or through e-mail and never accept Active-X controls except when you are on a reputable site such as Microsoft Windows Update or Housecall Antivirus. If you encounter a pop-up that says your computer is susceptible to hackers, it is all just marketing tactics, close the window.
    So now the question is how do I know my computer has been infected with Spyware, and how do I get rid of it. For a quick check you can visit our Spyware Test Page, but for a better check, it is recommended that you download a program called Ad-Aware from here. Ad-Aware is a great little tool that scans and cleans your computer of many SpyWare programs. It has an update feature where it can check online for the newest updates to target the newest Spyware programs. It is completely free for the home version.

Related Articles :
SpyWareInfo - Infected File Sharing Programs
Spy-Ware vs. Anti-Spyware by Salon
SpyChecker - What is Spyware

Guidelines to Online Purchasing