| In order
to keep your PC and your personal details safe whilst 'surfing'
the internet, do make sure that
1. you have anti-virus protection on your PC
2. your anti-virus protection is totally up-to-date
3. you perform 'windows updates' regularly
4. you have some form of personal 'firewall' (to keep out 'worms'
and 'trojans')
5. you run a programme like Ad-Aware frequently
Virus Protection
An out-of-date anti-virus programme is nearly as bad as not
having one at all - below are links to three tried & trusted
a-v programmes - do make sure you download and install one of
them (if you don't already have a-v protection). Also,
do make sure that you uninstall all traces of any previous
a-v programme before installing an up-to-date one.
We have used both McAfee and Norton and can personally recommend
either of them. AVG also has a good reputation
although we have not personally used it
- and of course the free edition does have limitations.
Personal Firewall
Why do you need a firewall? Find
out here.
Windows XP comes with its own built-in firewall; make sure it
is activated! There are several FREE personal firewalls available
- however the one
we
have used
and
found
to be very
good
is Zone Alarm - available
here.
It is a bit time-consuming to set it up initially - it will
ask you to approve or reject every time a programme
on your computer tries to access the internet - however once
you have told it OK, and told it to remember,
then it won't ask you again. It will
also ask your permission before allowing anything
from the internet to access your computer. Until
you have Zone Alarm you probably didn't realise that things were accessing your PC!
Finally - Ad-Aware
Another extremely useful FREE programme which you can read about & download
here.
It removes 'spyware' and 'scumware' from your PC - until you
download and run this programme you can have no
idea of how much stuff is on your PC, tracking your movements
on the Internet and sending your personal data
to goodness knows where.
All the above components are really worth having - what's £23
(for McAfee anti-virus protection) per year, compared
to the cost in lost time, lost data - not
to mention possibly having to have a new PC if
you contract a virus which disables it (and many are capable
of this, and worse).
Mailwasher
Mailwasher is primarily a tool to identify and 'bounce' SPAM
e-mails, however it is also able to identify viruses which arrive
as e-mails - allowing you to delete them from the server before
they even arrive at your PC!
It is available as a free download
30-day trial, and if you like it you can buy it for just $US29.95
(less than £20, one-time fee) we think it's excellent value
for money. Click on the banner below to download the free 30-day
trial or to find out more about Mailwasher Pro
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