Re: O/T computer help needed

Posted by Kerry on July 16, 2004 at 19:12:15 from (208.180.127.142):

In Reply to: O/T computer help needed posted by john in la on July 16, 2004 at 07:11:34:

You've gotten some good suggestions with Spybot Search and Destroy and AdAware. If you have a lot of infections, get both. AdAware is easier to use but Spybot may be more effective. Still, use both to be sure you get all the spyware.

Be sure you use a good anti-virus software like McAfee or Norton to keep the bad stuff away, but it won't keep out the spyware. If your kids download a lot of junk, run these spyware programs regularly to keep the machine clean. I do this all day long at work, the 2 spyware programs are what we use and the personal versions are both free but they do a great job. Be sure you tell them to check for updates before you run them. The anti-virus software isn't free but it's a very good investment both to keep your machine clean and to keep your machine from infecting other people's computers. Running anti-virus software is just being a "good neighbor" on the Internet. If you can't or don't want to spend the $30.00 or so for anti-virus software, you can find a freebie at www.grisoft.com, I think. Contrary to one poster's opinion, these free programs I mentioned are as good or better than commercial versions. Some free operating systems (like Linux) are better in some aspects than commercial versions like Windows and are much less vulnerable to infections like you're experiencing now.

Something that is more XP-specific, if you know where to find the Administrative Tools you can go to Services and turn off Windows Messenger Service. This is not the same thing as MSN Messenger, it won't hurt anything unless you're getting pop-up messages from a printer or something like that. It WILL keep you from getting those awful uninvited porn and ad pop-up messages.

Something else that can help is a personal firewall. XP has a little bit of a built-in firewall but it's a little hard to use if you want to really set it up right. You can download another free (for home use) program called Zone Alarm, it will be a firewall you can put on your own machine and set to block or allow whatever traffic you like.

Good luck, the 2 spyware programs should make it a much easier job to get your computer cleaned up. Putting on a good a/v program and Zone Alarm should help you keep it clean. Using a different browser like Netscape, Mozilla, Opera or Firefox can help too, and they also have pop-up blockers. IE has a lot of security problems but if you tighten up the security settings sometimes that can help a little.

Good luck!

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