Protect Your Computer

There are many products for protecting your computer against attack by a virus on the market. The main drawbacks are some are very expensive plus the fact a lot of these products can slow the computer down considerably.

Just take a look at the three products the author has installed on her computer. All of these systems are free, very effective and save money and all designed to protect your computer.

1. AVG 9.0 free. This software is issued by www.grisoft.com The free version offers Anti-Virus protection and is truly remarkable. Regularly checking your system and installing free updates to protect your computer. Grisoft also have a fee paying service that is also worth investigating.

2. The next piece of free software on the list is Spybot to be found at www.safer-networking.org and according to PC World and PCMag.- is the best privacy software to protect your computer.

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Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies.

If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven't intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been "hijacked" (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware.

Even if you don't see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer. Go to www.safer-networking.org 3. For some unknown reason some folk seem to derive pleasure from sending hoax emails threatening all sorts of dire viruses that could do potential damage to your computer system. To sort these out and to avoid getting caught, there is an excellent site www.hoax-slayer.com which deals with almost all subjects from true emails, phishing scams to Nigerian scams. Using this site will save your temper and waste of time.

4. If you have your Broadband package from BT, do remember they have their BT Net Protection Plus on this package which you have paid for and is inclusive.

5. A good site for checking out these scams is Snopes - Rumour Has it It may not or not protect your computer, but it will protect your temper. Just look on the Home Page centre for Virus Hoaxes and Realities. What's real and what's not.

6. Children are now so savvy about computers these days. If you are concerned about who they are talking to and what they are planning, but cannot watch over their shoulder the whole time, this site just might ease your fears and solve your problem. Worth investigating? Take a look at Internet Protection and find out all about it. This is another free download site.

7. The latest free software added to the computer here is A-Squared Free system which was downloaded from www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/ The first scan with this programme took quite a few hours, which was not unexpected, but hopefully this will be a good, additional back-up to AVG. A belt and braces job to proect your computer!

8. Another free addition is from Malwarebytes and is now undergoing 'road testing'. It will perform a quick or full scan on your computer, and so far has been fine.Thanks to Steve in Norfolk for this tip.

9. Do you have a friend with a web site? Are they struggling to obtain publicity? Help them save money and send them in the direction of www.articlerich.com This site gives clear and exact instructions on publishing articles that will direct people to their web site. The author has used this service - it works and is excellent.

10. No matter what you use your computer for, backing-up your work is essential. The easiest, most efficient and cheapest way of doing this is via a memory stick. Go to www.picstop.co.uk This will most definitely protect your computer and keep your data safe. Just make sure you don't lose the memory stick!

Another advantage is their excellent delivery service. We road tested this site and just 19 hours after placing our order, our memory stick arrived. An excellent service and definitely recommended.

11. An added cost is a Broadband service and it will pay you to have a look around and sort out a good deal for yourself. Don't throw your money away.

It will also pay you to keep an eye on the amount of downloads you are undertaking. Some Broadband contracts only allow for 1 gigabyte (GB) or up to 1024 megabytes of data each month. This is the equivalent of about 1 1/2 hours of television programming or less than many feature films. Take a look at the small print on your contract before you run yourself up a mega bill. You can be charged up to £2 for each GB if you exceed your limit. Be careful, otherwise you will waste and not save money.

12. If you would like to test your Broadband speed, just click on the logo to the right and use their free service. You may or not get a pleasant surprise depending on how close you live to a telephone exchange.

13. HowIPromoteMyWebsite.com - This site is a little gem if you are trying to establish a web site. It's unusual to find so much practical and genuine advice helping you to promote your own site, given away for free online.

13. Shredder. Once a month, or depending upon usage, drip a few spots of three-in-one oil on to a sheet of paper and pass it through the machine. This will keep the cutter teeth working well.

15. Don't neglect your computer 'housework'. A regular clean-up and de-frag will help to keep things running smoothly. Go to All Programs - Accessories - System Tools and make your selection there - Clean up and Disk Defragmenter. Save time and leave this system running in the background whilst you do other work, or it can be set to operate when you have finished working. If you have not defragged for some considerable time, this process could take about two hours to complete. This will protect your computer in that all unwated files and space will be eliminated.

16. Another tip, again not on software but for printer cartridges. The following site gives excellent service and is worth a visit

We have tested these cartridges and find that they give a much longer 'print run' than branded cartridges. Therefore we must conclude the ink content is much more generous. On one brand this amounted to double the output of copies. Delivery is also free and quick.

17. Another non-software tip. If you are spending long periods of time at the computer,then every 20/30 minutes it will pay you to stop, get up stretch your arms and legs, before starting work again. It will also keep you and your brain feeling fresher. Don't always think how to protect your computer, think how to protect the operator - you!