Re: One hand tied OT, but not OT

One very important thing to keep in mind is that spyware (malware, keystroke logging apps, etc) are mostly targeted at the vulnerabilities in Microsoft Explorer. There are alternate browsers available for free. Yes, for free.

Personally, I recommend and use Firefox by Mozilla. It is a very nice browser with features only MS Explorer could dream of (like tab browsing). About the only downside to Firefox is getting all the plugins downloaded so your browser does not prohibit certain flash/media features built into many sites. Firefox can be downloaded, installed, and your Internet Explorrer settings imported within 5 minutes of clicking on the download link. It has a very easy install wizard.

Another very popular alternative is Opera. It is not for the casual internet surfer as the setup is slightly more complicated.

Both Firefox and Opera are CONSIDERABLY MORE SECURE than Internet Explorer. These companies actually addressed security holes as they developed the product ... not after it was released to the consumer like Microsoft did.

Give it a try once you have completely rid your PC of spyware,, malware, and any virus resident on your box.

Best of luck.

• Mozilla's Firefox

Mark

I would never say anything bad about Panda.

I run XP Pro with SP2 and Firefox. I have a hardware router/firewall, software firewall, Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware, & Shred-it. I have not had one spyware app make it onto my computer in months.

I had such a huge problem with spyware using Internet Explorer my PC was nearly useless. I spent roughly 24 hours cleaning and recleaning. I learned a lot about this malware. Some of it actually runs in your RAM. This means that you must (in some cases) reboot your machine immediately after "cleaning" it using one of the tools already described. If you dont reboot the malware rebuilds itself as soon as you launch Internet Explorer. The specific malware I am talking about are called hijack malware. These apps actually make registry change to your PC making your home page something like a porn or Viagra site. Talk about a pain to fix.

In my "real" job, I am a computer security and disaster recovery manager for a company in St Louis. This was such an eye-opener for me that I had to go and check out our corporate machines. WOW! Talk about a complete infestation. We've spent a couple months cleaning and immunizing machines. So far, the free tools have been very functional.

Best of luck to anyone with the spyware problems. I'd be glad to help if I can.

Thanks,

Mark

Protection from spyware:

1) Consider alternate browser to MS Internet Explorer. See my prior post - I prefer Firefox.

2) Always use spyware blockers and finders. Freeware includes Spybot S&D (general spyware protection - the best I have seen for free), Ad-Aware (pop-up and spyware control), HijackThis (for hijack malware - Caution: this is a somewhat complicated program to use. If you do not know or are not comfortable making registry changes, DO NOT USE this application), ShredIt (very good fixer). With any of these freeware apps, you end up having to remember to get updates to the software and remember to run the app at least weekly if you do a lot of surfing. Do a googel search for any one of these.

3) Retail spyware blockers - like McAfee & Symantec. I have not been impressed with these apps. They are less effective than the freebies and they cost money. I am sure there is a pay-version of good spyware protection somewhere but I have not found it.

4) THIS IS A BIG ONE - Create a user account in Windows that does not have administrative rights/permissions. Most spyware assumes the user account has admin rights. If your active user account (the one you are browsing with) cannot write changes to the hard drive, then most spyware is rendered ineffective as it attempts to execute on your machine. One word of caution, log in to make changes to your machine as the administrator but do not surf the web unless you are specifically downloading something you are certain is 100% safe. Otherwise log in as the user with fewer rights/permissions.

5) Keep up on Windows security patches at all costs. Do not fall behind. Even if you do not use Internet Explorer as your browser, installing Firefox does not remove Internet Explorer from your machine. Keep up on patches and security fixes. Yes, you should be cautious of service pack updates but that does not mean you should fall too far behind.

Bottom line: Get spyware protection, anti-virus (active) protection, firewall (software or hardware router and learn how to use it), consider alternate browsers. Do most of these things and you are light years beyond 90% of the home users and 60% of the corporate users who touch the internet. Never assume you are protected or unnoticed. Be paranoid when it comes to the internet - lots of freaks and criminals use it all day long.