Do You Need Spyware Protection?
Most individuals on the internet do not realize they have spyware on their computer. Many think, viruses are more to agonize about. Everyone has heard about viruses because they are so wide spread and spoke of so often in the news. These days, spyware blockers are phenomenal and can prevent infections from ever getting installed onto your computer.
The best way to prevent malicious software from being installed on your computer is to have the proper defense. You should learn how to be familiar with malicious content and the proper form of prevention. Don’t be afraid of spyware, adware, and malware. It can be removed!!!
It’s usually easier to recognize a spyware infection than it is a virus infection. Many times viruses go unnoticed. Spyware is easily detected by spyware blockers and by the effects the spyware will have on your computer. Not always, but more often than not spyware will team up with adware. These adware programs will show you unwanted ads and attempt to get you to click on these ads. Once clicked, it will redirect you to a malicious website in hope of infecting your computer more or stealing your information.
Here are some common questions regarding whether or not you have spyware software on your computer:
Q: There is an increased number of in pop-up advertisements such as text ads, picture ads, and sometimes adult advertisements. Do I have spyware on my computer and can I remove it?
A: Yes – More often than not the signs mentioned in this question relate to spyware tied in with adware.Spyware and it’s little sister, adware, can be easily and safely removed with Spyware Doctor, one of today’s leading spyware blockers.Spyware Doctor can also restrict spyware from getting installed on your computer in the future.
Q: My browsers home page defaults have been changed, why?
A: Sometimes spyware will change your browser settings.The reason it does this so that the main “home” page is now the malicious software’s website. This “malicious” site can then in turn cause more unwanted programs to be installed on your computer. It can allow for attacks against your computer without you even knowing these attacks are taking place. It’s highly likely that you have spyware on your computer.
Did you know you can get a free scan using PCTools Spyware Doctor?
Q: I’ve noticed lately when I try to go to one of my favorite websites I have problems. I get redirected to a website I’m not familiar with. I thought the site I’ve been going to had moved but I’m not sure that’s the case.
A: This is a sure sign you’ve been affected by spyware and it’s one of the most dated tricks in the book. Site redirection by spyware has been around for years, it was one of the first methods employed by spyware programs to steal and spy on your activities. Don’t enter any information into this website you’ve been redirected to. The information you enter could be stolen and used against you.
Q: Ok, I know I have spyware now what do I do? Can I get rid of it?
A: Yes! Most people don’t realize that spyware is different than a virus. Spyware will have different signatures and are made up a little different than a virus is made up.What this means is that a virus is designed to spread to other computers or open a backdoor into yours.These are facets that anti-virus programs look for. Just like a virus, spyware will have signatures too.
Leading spyware blocker manufactures, such as PCTools, keep on top of these signatures and update their anti spy ware programs accordingly.
What does this mean for you?
It means you get the same industry level protection from a spyware blocker manufacture, as you get from industry leading anti-virus manufactures. Spyware blockers, such as Spyware Doctor, can not only get rid of spyware spyware that is already on your computer but block new spyware from ever being installed.
Spyware, Spyware Blockers and the Tragedy of The What Not to Do Family!
There is a lot of advice out there in regards to what many people believe are the “best practices” of computer security and maintaining your computers health but what about the “what not to do”? What we are going to talk about here is an invented family of “What Not To Dos”.
The - What Not to Do Family
The hypothetical “What Not to Do’s” is a family that thinks they can get by without any spyware and antivirus protection and also does not update their computer with the latest patches. They follow all the best practice rules - opposite of the way they are supposed to.
They open attachments from people they don’t know, like Mother “What Not to Do” who receives an email from someone that she doesn’t know. Although the subject line says I love you, the email still comes from an un-trusted source. Unknowingly, by opening the “I love you” email mother “What Not to Do” has opened a virus/worm that makes nasty changes to the family computer. The virus then starts a worldwide computer virus pandemic by sending a copy of the “I love you” email to everyone in her address list. Nice! The lowdown about her worldwide pandemic can be found by searching Wikipedia.org for “I love you virus”
Father “What Not to Do” thinks that updates are not necessary for the family’s computer. He uses a computer at work and now prides him on being a computer genius at home. Father “What Not to Do” never updates his computer at work so why should he at home? What Father doesn’t realize is that every night after he leaves the office, the office computers automatically update themselves with the latest operating system patches. The computer administrators at his work have set this up so the company will stay safe from viruses, worms and spyware that try an attack their corporate computers.
Little Jonny “What Not to Do” is a computer freak. Jonny is always on the computer when he gets home and is constantly downloading free music to feed his nifty little mp3 player he got for his birthday. Instead of using iTunes or another honest program to buy his music, Jonny uses BearShare. Jonny doesn’t care that BearShare may be harmful to his family’s computer; Jonny is only concerned with downloading as much music as possible. He is also spacey to the fact that he is illegally downloading the music because all the music he downloads is commercial music. 2500 mp3 files at $.99 a song… That’s… $2475. Hey, that dollar amount counts as a felony little Jonny.
In every case of their day-to-day lives the “What Not To Do” family unintentionally does something to harm their computer. They may think that they are safe but come to realize they are not when one day they find that Father “What Not to Do’s” identity has been lifted. The culprit? A computer hacker in a foreign country who made his way in to the family’s computer through back doors left by a spyware program he invented.
The “What Not to Do” family may have been invented but everything described in their actions is true and happens every day to families and people all across the world. Operating system updates, spyware removers and antivirus programs are fundamental tools to keeping your family safe. Use them! It will cost you far, far less down the road than you think you’ll save now by not using them.
Below are a few ideas of what not to do:
Do not open attachments that you are not familiar with.
If the subject line looks curious do not open it. If it is from a friend stop and wait until you talk with your friend to make sure they themselves sent the email.
Do not use P2P or “peer to peer” sites for downloading music, video, games, software, etc.
Do not open or install files sent via instant messenger from concealed people.
Below are a few ideas of what to do:
Scan attachments with a virus scanner or anti spyware programs before downloading it.
Never turn your antivirus or spyware blockers software off for an extended duration of time.
Never turn off your firewall.
Update your computers operating system.
Don’t be like the “What Not To Do” family. Look into getting spyware blockers and antivirus protection. We’re on the internet together.
Why Clean Windows XP Registry?
Many users are confused about the need to clean and repair Windows XP registry, this articles outlines the reasons and main remedies
Reminder about Windows XP registry -Windows XP registry is a core component of you PC’s operating system. PC user should clean Windows XP registry regularly. IT experts often refer to the registry as the brain, heart soul and mind of Windows. The registry is used by Windows XP to store the devices and file associations of the computer. Registry is also used to store critical information on directories, drivers, Windows applications and much more. Using registry repair software is usually preferable to any manual method, unless users are also experts with Windows XP operating system.
Click on clean windows xp registry for more information
Are you already Very familiar with Windows XP operating system? - If so, Read on
Backing up your files should be the first step - When cleaning out Windows XP, it is possible to do something wrong and as a result make the system inoperable. Therefore, you should always take a backup of your files. Fortunately there are now many proven registry cleaning software available. These tools can find the potentially questionable or unused references, and they prompt the user to review any entry that may cause a problem once removed.
Start menu - To begin cleaning Windows XP Registry manually, go to the start menu, and click on run. Type “regedit” in the text field, and press enter.
HKEY sections - Windows XP registry has many different entries separated in sections namely HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_USERS, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and HKEY_CURRENT CONFIG. There are different entries in each section, which are related to various aspects of Windows XP operation. Expand the plus sign to clean Windows XP Registry. You will notice a + sign alongside the root directory. This action will open a detailed list of directories, and this will make it easier to find the entries needed to correct the registry.
Entries causing conflicts - Next step to clean Windows XP registry is to erase the entries which are causing conflicts or are no longer required, such as redundant ActiveX components for example (click on repair activex for more information)
Clean boot records - It is also advisable to clean the boot records. This can be done easily by changing the list of programs that load when the system starts up. Click on the CURRENT_USER and LOCAL_MACHINE directories until you reach the “Run” and “Run Once” option. This makes is possible to remove redundant registry entries which can cause certain programes to run at start up.
Bi-annual clean - It is highly recommended to clean Windows XP registry at least twice a year to drive high computer performance. This removes items which are no longer needed. Machines which are extremely slow usually have a large number of software, or those where drivers are constantly being installed and uninstalled, require more frequent cleanups (click on computer extremely slow for more information).
However tempting a manual clean or repair may be, remember that, using the appropriate registry cleaner to repair windows XP registry is usually a superior solution than attempting this manually . Many programs also prevent data loss by automating backup and also offer optimisation functionality which will greatly improve computer performance.