Mike
01-12-2005, 07:53 AM
With the widespread proliferation of virus's and spy-ware that seem to attack our beloved pieces of electronic junk called "computers" every day, it's amazing that they seem to continue to work for us.
There are several good "virus protection" programs out there. The one I use is McAfee, but I don't allow it to simply "sit there". At least once a month, I set it in motion for a complete scan of all of the folders and sub-folders on the machine.
A couple of years ago, I downloaded and began using two specific "freeware" programs. To give credit where credit is due, one of them was suggested in a post from kentay.
They are...
Spyware Blaster...available at http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/
Spybot Search and Destroy...available at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/index.html
Though they are "freeware" they accept donations (recommended). Using them together provides a remarkably good shield against infestations of spyware. In my view, at least, "Spyware" is almost as insidious as a virus, since soon you can find your computer deluged with "popups" and email from advertisers who've gained a foothold by the installation of micro-programs reporting your computer use and browsing habits to advertising firms.
The bottom line?
Though some may have "regimes" at least as complete as mine (or even better) here's what I do on a regular basis...(I use Windows 98SE, incidentally)
Disk "Clean up" and "Scan Disk" from the program "Start" menu once a day.
Disk Defragmenter every third day
A session with both Spyware Blaster and Spybot every two weeks
A total system scan with McAfee every month (it takes well over an hour)
One specific precaution that I observe pretty scrupulously...
When I receive attachments in email, if I don't know the poster, they're discarded, period.
If I do know the poster, and generally trust him/her, rather than opening the attachment I save it to a folder I've established for the purpose, and use a McAfee scan of that specific folder before opening it. That scan takes only a few seconds.
The result? (Fingers crossed, here) The machine remains "clean" month after month.
Tailor the above to fit your own needs, but it works.
There are several good "virus protection" programs out there. The one I use is McAfee, but I don't allow it to simply "sit there". At least once a month, I set it in motion for a complete scan of all of the folders and sub-folders on the machine.
A couple of years ago, I downloaded and began using two specific "freeware" programs. To give credit where credit is due, one of them was suggested in a post from kentay.
They are...
Spyware Blaster...available at http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/
Spybot Search and Destroy...available at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/index.html
Though they are "freeware" they accept donations (recommended). Using them together provides a remarkably good shield against infestations of spyware. In my view, at least, "Spyware" is almost as insidious as a virus, since soon you can find your computer deluged with "popups" and email from advertisers who've gained a foothold by the installation of micro-programs reporting your computer use and browsing habits to advertising firms.
The bottom line?
Though some may have "regimes" at least as complete as mine (or even better) here's what I do on a regular basis...(I use Windows 98SE, incidentally)
Disk "Clean up" and "Scan Disk" from the program "Start" menu once a day.
Disk Defragmenter every third day
A session with both Spyware Blaster and Spybot every two weeks
A total system scan with McAfee every month (it takes well over an hour)
One specific precaution that I observe pretty scrupulously...
When I receive attachments in email, if I don't know the poster, they're discarded, period.
If I do know the poster, and generally trust him/her, rather than opening the attachment I save it to a folder I've established for the purpose, and use a McAfee scan of that specific folder before opening it. That scan takes only a few seconds.
The result? (Fingers crossed, here) The machine remains "clean" month after month.
Tailor the above to fit your own needs, but it works.