How to Protect Your Computer

Just a quick note to say that I am now starting a multi-part series on securing your computer. Over the past month or two I’ve spent many hours removing viruses, spyware, and adware from the computers of friends and family. Not to say that I mind helping, but it would be great if we could find a way to keep all of our computers safe and secure in the first place. You may think that having an anti-virus or firewall program is enough, but sadly it isn’t. The new security features Microsoft has included with Windows XP Service Pack 2 are a huge improvement (they offered no security before), but still aren’t enough. You really need to be running an anti-virus program, a firewall, a spyware program, and an adware program. My favorite trio consists of Trend-Micro’s PC-cillin (includes a firewall and anti-virus program), SpyBot Search & Destroy, and Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware. I’ll be following up with posts detailing each of these products, as well as other products available in their respective categories. Stay tuned!