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Recently, someone over on Lockergnome asked if a router can be used as a hardware-based firewall. The short answer to this is – YES! Your best bet is to always use layers of security, though. A hardware-based firewall – such as a router – should be used in conjunction with a software firewall solution and an anti-virus program.

Most routers have features built in to them to help you lock down your home network and keep it safe. The router is your first line of defense. Even if you aren’t connecting other devices to it, it will afford you certain security measures you wouldn’t otherwise have.

There are some routers out there that come pre-loaded with software to give you even more control. If you feel you need something highly configurable, you can grab one of these as your router choice.

What type of router are you using? If you’re not already using one, will knowing they can help keep you secure cause you to start?

How Do You Protect Your Computer?

Malware is everywhere. You don’t have to download torrents or visit adult sites in order to have your computer infected. Seemingly innocent sites aimed at kids have been known to have drive-by malicious content embedded within their pages. These drive-bys install themselves silenty onto your machine to do their dirty work. There is no warning. There are no popups. You usually never even know they are there. This is why it is crucial to have a solid security foundation. CA Anti-Virus Plus Anti-Spyware is one program which can help you stay safe.

In order to help you keep your information and data safe, CA is offering a fantastic deal on their software until October 5th. If you use coupon code FGS7156 during checkout, you will save 40% off of the normal retail price on CA Anti-Virus Plus Anti-Spyware 2-Year protection for up to 3 PCs.

If that offer doesn’t suit your needs, CA has graciously offered up a few others:

• Use coupon code WGU2212 before October 31st to save 20% off of CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2010 for one year.
• Coupon code AFA2215 saves you 20% off of CA Anti-Virus Plus Anti-Spyware 2010 for one year if used prior to October 31st.
• Coupon code WKI2218 saves you 20% off of CA PC Tune-Up if used before October 31st.

CA has something for everyone, and now is the time to make sure that your information and identity stays safe.

CA Offers Savings to Stay Safe Online

There are more threats to the security of your computer than I can begin to count. New types of attacks are released on more than a daily basis… you have to be vigilant. You already know to use strong passwords. You also know to be sure and have a good anti-virus program and firewall installed. However, there are many other easy things you can do to help make sure your PC is safe. This is why I have come up with my Top 100 Windows PC Security Tips eBook.

You are free to set your own price for this Gnome Tome, with a suggested minimum of five dollars. Once you have downloaded the .PDF file, you will learn how to fully protect your computer from hackers, viruses, phishing attempts, trojans, worms and much more. Many of these little gems are likely things you didn’t already know how to do… or even that they existed. Much of the information deals with things already in place on your operating system – you just have to know how to use them.

Educate your family about the basics of malware and how to avoid becoming infected — and know where your kids go online.

The above tip may seem to be a no-brainer. You would be surprised to learn how many people simply do not take the time to educate their children and teenagers… or how many teens neglect to educate their parents. The 100 tips and tricks cover everything you need to know – from education to prevention to recovery.

On the last page, you will find several links to discounted security products that we have recommended in the past. We are grateful to those partners for continuing to offer these special prices to our community.

Education is the key to everything – including protection yourself and your information.

Top 100 Windows PC Security Tips

We know that some of our readers have not jumped to Windows 7 and are staying with their operating systems. For that reason, we want to make certain that some of the best security programs remain available to you. As many Internet users remember, the Kerio Personal Firewall used to be one of the standards of firewall protection. That firewall now is offered by Sunbelt and is called the Sunbelt Personal Firewall.

This firewall remains one of the best security products — not all firewalls are the same. Quality differs and how they function differs. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall offers protection in terms of incoming and outgoing traffic.

In very simple terms, you want a firewall that protects in two directions, and you want to stop unwanted traffic from reaching your computer. In addition, you want to stop some traffic leaving your computer if your security has been breached. Breaches do happen, even with meticulous attention to security. All it takes is an errant click. Further, there is absolutely no security program on the market that gives you a hundred percent protection. Cybercriminals are putting new dangers on the Internet daily. Sometimes, the hackers are a step ahead of the security people.

If you stumble upon a malicious Web site, a self installing malware program might escape detection and install itself. That program could broadcast information from your machine. A good software firewall increases your chances of detecting unusual activity on your machine and lets you know about unusual outgoing traffic.

We have been recommending the Sunbelt Personal Firewall, which fulfills the need for blocking unwanted traffic that is incoming and monitoring what leaves from your machine.

Outgoing information may be your confidential data, which might set you up as a victim of identity theft. It could be that your computer has been compromised and is now a part of a bot operation — perhaps used for spamming. A good firewall, which monitors the outgoing traffic, will give you an additional chance at catching some infection that already has occurred on your machine.

This offers expires on March 2, 2010. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall is really a gift at ten dollars. Yes, it is only ten dollars when you use this link and the coupon code SPFLOCKERGNOME when you place your order.

At this price, the Sunbelt Personal Firewall is affordable and a bargain. This firewall currently supports Windows XP and Vista and is being modified for Windows 7.

Many Gnomies have used this firewall for years. Sunbelt is offering this security program for about the price of a medium pizza. It is a great investment and money well spent, and we thank Sunbelt for the generous offer to our readers.

Protect Your Data with Sunbelt Personal Firewall

Happy Holidays! If you are one of those generous Santas who is giving a computer this holiday season, please remember to protect it with some anti-virus and anti-spyware software. It seems that the hackers / criminals are going to vary and increase their attacks in the new year. It has been reported that file sharing networks will be under attack.

The tragic death of Brittany Murphy has meant fake sites spreading malware and faked emails leading to bogus sites. It is simply dangerous, and any new computer needs immediate protection.

Sunbelt Software is offering our readers a generous discount on their premier product, VIPRE.

VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware is high-performance antivirus software that doesn’t slow down your PC like older, traditional security products. VIPRE is the end of antivirus as you know it. The press loves it. VIPRE got 5 STARS on download.com, and was just VB100 Certified…

This award winning software is suitable for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. And for a limited time, Sunbelt is offering our readers a ten dollar discount.

Please use the following coupon code: SPYINFO

VIPRE combines antivirus, antispyware, anti-rootkit and other technologies into a seamless, tightly-integrated product. Built with next-generation technology, VIPRE (Virus Intrusion Protection Remediation Engine) gives you powerful antivirus and antispyware software in-one that protects you against today’s highly complex malware threats including viruses, adware, spyware and rootkits, without hogging your PC resources like many traditional antivirus products.

This generous offer will be valid until January 5, 2010. Our thanks to the Sunbelt crew for this generous offer to our readers. This product will protect those new computers – and it is a great idea as a year-round gift that is functional every time your friend or family member turns on the computer.

Have a great and safe holiday.

Protect Your Computer for Christmas

Someone in my chat room earlier asked the crowd how often they check their email. I don’t think I actually ever “check” my email. My email program is never closed. I spend more time with my nose buried there than I likely do everywhere else combined. A lot of my business is conducted via email. I know that Kat is the same way. She doesn’t “check” her email so much as she does try to stop paying attention to it in order to get other things done.

What about you? How often do you check your email? Do you only do this once a day? Do you open it every few hours? Or are you like the rest of us Geeks, and keep your mail program open on a constant basis?

What else do you spend a lot of time doing at the computer? If you’re anything like me, you spend a lot of time checking out what others are up to in the community. It’s a great way to read about the latest news, hear opinions different from your own, and to learn about things you may otherwise not have known.

• The PS2 has finally been released – in Brazil.
• The 12-Sided IQ Pentagon may very well be the hottest new “must-have” Geeky toy of the year.
• Will customer ire over today’s fiasco stall WalMart seasonal sales?
• There are many steps involved when setting up a proper home network.
• There are hundreds of ways to make money using Twitter. I bet you can’t name 99 of them.
• Is the media taking over Christmas?
• Don’t waste your money on an extended warranty.
• What are your thoughts on the Windows 7 Resource Monitor?
• Maximize your screen space in Internet Explorer 8 using simple steps.
• Tweetwally lets you create a page that updates with only the tweets you truly care about.
• There’s still no free Zone Alarm firewall available for Windows 7.

Everyone takes a day off now and again! Yesterday, our Downloads team took a break to share the holiday with their family. Never fear! They’re back at their desks today, and finding you the newest deals on some amazing software!

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How Often Do You Check Your Email?

It is not good enough simply to say that you have a firewall. Not all firewalls are the same. Qualities – and functions – differ.

In very simple terms, you want a firewall that protects your computer in two directions. You want to stop unwanted traffic from reaching your computer. In addition, you want to stop some traffic leaving your computer if your security has been breached. And a security breach may happen. All it takes is an errant click. Further, there is no security program on the market that gives you a hundred percent protection. It is a cat-and-mouse game with criminals/hackers. Sometimes, the hackers are a step ahead of the security people.

If you stumble upon a malicious Web site, a self-installing malware program might escape detection and install itself. That program could be broadcasting information from your machine. A good software firewall increases your chances of detecting unusual activity on your machine, and lets you know about unusual outgoing traffic.

We have been recommending a firewall that was formerly known as the Kerio Personal Firewall. Now, it is called the Sunbelt Personal Firewall. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall blocks unwanted traffic that is incoming and also monitors what leaves from your machine. That cannot be stressed enough.

Outgoing information may be your confidential data. That might set you up as a victim of identity theft. It could be that your computer has been compromised and is now a part of a bot operation. Your computer could be part of a bot spamming operation. A good firewall, which monitors the outgoing traffic, will give you an additional chance at catching some infection that has occurred on your machine.

This offers expires on November 6, 2009. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall is really a gift at ten dollars. Yes, it is only ten dollars when you use our link, and the coupon code: SPFLOCKERGNOME when you place your order.

At this price, the Sunbelt Personal Firewall is affordable, and a bargain. This firewall supports Windows XP and Vista, and is currently being modified for Windows 7. As soon as it is Windows 7 ready, we will put out an article to that effect.

Sunbelt offers a free version of this firewall. There are some features that are not on the full version. We recommend the full version at this exceptional price. This firewall is one of the best; many ‘gnomes’ have used this program for years. The price is less than a couple of fancy coffee drinks and much better for your peace of mind.

Free Firewall (or a Bargain) from Sunbelt

For some of our readers, the new year starts very soon – it’s school time again. And with school, in spite of the economy, there will be purchases of new laptops and desktops. On those laptops and desktops will go some very important files – like lectures, papers, music, pictures and other personal “stuff” – including financial information. You want to have that personal information protected. Keeping that information secure is paramount, and we’ve been able to come up with a way to help.

One of the best ways to protect yourself is to have a good firewall on your machine. We’ve discussed the Sunbelt Personal Firewall before, and even Kat recommends it highly. We know that many of you in our community will need to protect your new machines once school starts again, and we know that the economy is tough. We’re very happy to be able to facilitate an excellent savings for you on this key type of protection.

Not all firewalls are the same. They differ in efficiency. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall blocks unwanted traffic that is incoming – but it also monitors what leaves from your machine. Protecting yourself from traffic in both directions is critical. That cannot be stressed enough.

If you are a student, you may do a fair amount of downloading. Even if you are super-careful, some malware may infect your machine. Hopefully, you will have some malware security programs for protection. (We try to suggest these programs regularly.) If you have not updated to the latest security definitions, a newer piece of malware garbage may escape detection. If that malware starts sending out information from your machine, you want to know that. For example, what is sent out may be your personal information. Furthermore, it may be that your computer is now part of a bot spamming operation. A good firewall, which monitors the outgoing traffic, will give you an additional chance at catching some infection that has occurred on your machine.

This offers expires on August 6, 2009. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall is really a gift at only ten dollars. Yes, it is only ten dollars when you use this link and the coupon code: SPFLOCKERGNOME when you place your order.

This firewall has been used and tested for years. It is good and can be trusted. At this price, the Sunbelt Personal Firewall is more than affordable protection. Look on your email contact list and see if there is a family member or some newbie who might be just learning about computers. Tell them about this offer. If they are wondering what a “firewall” is, then just buy this for them. The price is comparable to a couple of fancy coffee drinks – and you will be saving the person from a whole load of future problems.

Prepare for the New School Year by Protecting Your Information

Some days, it seems as though there is a never-ending barrage of new malware out there in the cyber-world. Hackers and criminals are increasingly creative in trying to get you to click the links, thus delivering you their malicious code. People using services like Twitter also have to be concerned about malware – just ask our friend Guy Kawasaki. The trend this week is to use Swine Flu updates, and the lure of a possibly exposed ESPN sports reporter to spread malware. There are just too many schemes to list. In short – they’ll try anything, and stop at nothing.

Without a doubt, there will be new and creative means to spread malware coming tomorrow and the next week.

Along with every major news story, the hackers / criminals will be first responders. They will use these news events as opportunities to infect more computers. If you are using services like Facebook and Twitter, you have to be careful about the links that you click. And even the most careful of computer users slip up once in a while. If you are on Twitter and engaged in reading the posts, the last thing you may be thinking about is protecting yourself from malware. Hackers are counting on that.

That’s why we urge our readers to protect themselves. You may think you are careful enough, however, no one can be vigilant 100% of the time. There are drive-by downloads that can install malware on your machine without your even having to click a link. This is the type of incidence that calls for an excellent security regime on your computer. You should have an anti-virus, a firewall, and at least one anti-spyware program running at all times.

We are very lucky to have Nick Skreptos, founder of the SUPERAntiSpyware program as a friend of our community, and even luckier that he has offered his program to all of you at an excellent discount. We well know how important it is to protect yourself and your data, and we’re happy to be able to help by passing this savings along to you!

SUPERAntiSpyware has Real-Time Blocking of threats! Prevent potentially harmful software from installing or re-installing! First Chance Prevention examines over 50 critical points of your system each time your system starts up and shuts down to eliminate threats before they have a chance to infect and infiltrate your system.

Nick and the SUPERAntiSpyware team have graciously extended to you a ten dollar discount from now until July 28th, 2009.

This is a program that is highly recommended within the security community. People who work on these pages use it and recommend it, too. We use it. We need it – and so do you. We are trying to make it as easy and as economical as possible for you to protect yourself and your computer. This program is easy to use and it is effective.

Save Your Computer from Malware – and Naked Journalists!

Some people who spend many hours online fighting malware requested that this top-rated firewall be brought back, as an offer for our readers. It was formerly known as the Kerio Personal Firewall. Now, it is called the Sunbelt Personal Firewall.

This firewall was discussed previously. Not all firewalls are the same. They differ in efficiency. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall blocks unwanted traffic that is incoming but it also monitors what leaves from your machine. That cannot be stressed enough.

Let’s say that for some reason a malware does infect your machine. If that malware starts sending out information from your machine, you want to know that. For example, what is sent out may be your personal information. Furthermore, it may be that your computer is now part of a bot spamming operation. A good firewall, which monitors the outgoing traffic, will give you an additional chance at catching some infection that has occurred on your machine.

This offers expires on May 20, 2009. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall is really a gift at ten dollars. Yes, it is only ten dollars when you use this link and the coupon code SPFLOCKERGNOME when you place your order.

There is one further note from the people who deal with malware, like our very own resident Malware-removal Expert Kat. It is a bit of a shock – but there are still people who do not use a firewall. That may be hard to believe but when these malware fighters inspect logs of what people have on their machines, there isn’t a firewall. At this price, the Sunbelt Personal Firewall is more than affordable protection. Look on your email contact list and see if there is a family member or some newbie who might be just learning about computers. Ask them if they use a firewall. And don’t be surprised if they ask you… “what is that?”. – Then just buy this for them. You’ll be glad you did.

Top-Rated Firewall Back by Request

Every major news service on the planet is carrying stories about the tragedies and possible escalation of problems concerning the swine flu outbreak. It is a serious problem with the possibility of becoming significantly worse. One of the first responders to this global concern is the hacking / malware community. Hackers and criminals are viewing this swine flu problem as an opportunity. Slick malware may be on its way, if it is not propagating at this very moment. It is only a matter of time. These hackers may be seen as first responders of the very worse kind.

The news is just one venue. Are you on Facebook? Have you joined Twitter? These are just some of the example of social media where people are sharing and clicking on links. If you are on Twitter and have a good number of followers, there are links posted every minute. It would be so easy for a hacker to play the social network and drop some malicious link there. And it will happen more and more often.

You may think you are careful enough. However, no one can be vigilant 100% of the time. There are drive-by downloads that can install things on your machine without your even having to click a link. This is the type of incidence that calls for an excellent security regime on your computer. You should have an Anti-Virus, a Firewall and at least one Anti-Spyware program running at all times. For an Anti-Spyware program, we are recommending SUPERAntiSpyware. We have an excellent deal for you that offers real time protection:

SUPERAntiSpyware has “Real-Time Blocking of threats! Prevent potentially harmful software from installing or re-installing! First Chance Prevention examines over 50 critical points of your system each time your system starts up and shuts down to eliminate threats before they have a chance to infect and infiltrate your system.”

The program offers much, much more and you can read about it at the links provided. This program is being offered at a special rate for our readers. There is a ten dollar ($10.00) savings until May 3, 2009.

Use this link for the discount when buying/.

This is a program that is highly recommended within the security community. People who work on these pages use it and recommend it, too. We use it. We need it and so do you. SUPERAntiSpyware will detect and remove Spyware, Adware, Malware, Trojans, Dialers, Worms, KeyLoggers, Hijackers, Rootkits and many other types of threats. This program is easy to use and it is effective. If you have any problems with SUPERAntiSpyware, let us know. We will tell the founder / director of the company and have any problems addressed. Nick Skrepetos is well known in the security community and he stands behind his products. And if you need this program in large numbers, let us know. We will see if we can help with pricing for your company.

Protect yourself. There are more malware programs coming and these malicious programs are becoming better and better. Let SUPERAntiSpyware give you and your data first class protection.

More Malware on its Way – Protect Yourself

What can you buy for ten dollars? It would be difficult to buy a large pizza for ten dollars, let alone much else. However, for a limited time it is possible to buy one of the best firewalls on the market. Those who have been online for a while will remember the Kerio Personal Firewall. Kerio is now a part of the Sunbelt Software product line and is called Sunbelt Personal Firewall. The Sunbelt people are the security experts who offer VIPRE, the anti-virus and anti-spyware program that has been featured on these pages.

This firewall has received high ratings from publications such as PC Magazine. In addition, it is recommended by security people because it looks at both incoming and outgoing traffic from your computer:

“The Windows firewall (both XP and Vista) is worse than useless: it gives you a false sense of security. Why? The XP version only filters incoming traffic — period. The Vista version only blocks incoming traffic when using default settings. Since most average users won’t know how to enable the settings in Vista to block the outgoing traffic as well, it’s not much better than the XP counterpart. That means if malware has compromised your PC, it is able to send out all your personal info. That’s right! The Windows ‘firewall’ does not stop it.”

If the latest malware, spyware, trojan, rootkit, or other infection does penetrate your computer defenses, it may be possible to monitor outgoing traffic and prevent a serious security breach. It is, indeed, another line of defense — and not all firewalls are the same. This generous offer is for one of the best firewall products on the market.

From now until April 22nd, you can buy Sunbelt Personal Firewall for yourself, for only ten dollars! Make sure you use coupon code SPFLOCKERGNOME when ordering. This is over fifty percent off the original price!

For those of you who know her, my assistant Kat is a four-year Microsoft MVP in the area of Windows Security. She has helped thousands of people clean their infected computers over the past seven years. In her blog, she has a list of her security recommendations, where the Sunbelt Personal Firewall is her number one recommendation! For the price of about two premium coffee drinks, you can purchase the peace of mind that your computer (and your personal information!) will be much, much safer.

Get a Top-Rated Firewall at an Amazing Discounted Price!

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Last week, we shared tips with you on things you can do with your old computers. One of those things was to turn it into a firewall. Of course, in order to do this you’ll also need software.


So what is a firewall? It’s a service that acts as a bodyguard of sorts, keeping bad traffic out and allowing good traffic in. Firewalls can be tricky to deal with. There are software firewalls, or hardware firewalls. There is open source software you can use, called IPCop. IPCop Linux is a complete Linux Distribution whose sole purpose is to protect the networks it is installed on. By implementing existing technology, outstanding new technology and secure programming practices IPCop is the Linux Distribution for those wanting to keep their computers/networks safe.


IPCop has many features, probably way more than you’ll take advantage of. It’s also very powerful. I highly recommend this if you have an old computer that you’d like to throw this onto, or just want to get yourself an excellent firewall.

FirstRSS ERROR: "http://shop.tagjag.com/products/firewall" NOT FOUND!

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How to Make your PC into a Firewall

Are you using Vista on your computer? If so… have you had any issues with the performance, and how your computer actually runs? These tips were sent in by a community member by the name of Elis.

When I used to be on Windows XP, I always had the problem of keeping my computer running smoothly. Now that I,’m on Windows Vista the job has become much easier. Although Vista uses more resources, somehow I think it has been brilliantly built if running under optimum specs. So here is my top 10 tips on how to keep windows vista running smoothly.

His suggestions are general guidelines…

• Leave your computer on for as long as you can. I leave my computer on for months on end. Every time I restart my computer, the cache to certain folders, files etc is deleted. This means that files will open slower than normal. No harm comes from leaving your computer running, and it has been proven that there is no long term damage… apart from receiving a higher than normal electricity bill

My note: I don’t know how that was proven, but I keep my primary computer on all the time as well.

• Firewall. The Windows Firewall now has the option to configure incoming and outgoing traffic, which I think is great. It comes in very handy when you need it most.

My note: I don’t fully agree with the above tip, about using Windows Firewall. Many free firewalls are much better at protecting you than the one from Windows… such as Comodo.

• Antivirus. Get yourself a decent anti virus. Personally, I prefer ESETs NOD32 Anti virus which does a magnificent job. It is also light on resources unlike its competitors Norton and McAfee. Every month or so I do a virus scan, but nothing is usually found.
• Defragment. Defragmentation of your hard disk is very useful, as files are spread all over the place. There is nothing wrong with the built-in Windows Defragmenter, but there is a better one which is faster and has better options. O&O Defrag 10 repacks fragmented files together and optimizes your hard drives. You should check it out. You can also save 5% off Purchase using coupon code ALEX-KCBH
• Disk Cleanup. The Disk Cleanup can come in very handy usually. It’s mostly needed when things get overcrowded. I recommend you DO NOT delete the temporary internet files and thumbnails. There is also an excellent free program called ATF Cleaner. It safely cleans things like temp files, cache, java cache, and more… at the click of a button. YOU decide what you do and don’t want ATF Cleaner to clean for you.
• Keep files organized. I keep all my pictures, videos, documents… everything is organized. I truly think it is very helpful to know where all your files and folders are. This way, they are also not thrown all over the place so you forget what you’re looking for.
• Have only one instance of each type of software running at one time., such as Browsers or Antivirus. I know most people stick to Firefox, but personally I like IE7. No, I haven’t mistyped. Thats correct: Internet Explorer 7 is my choice. Web sites pop up in under a second. I have tried Firefox. Although it is brilliant with all the nice features and plug ins, I find them irrelevant. IE7 does a marvelous job for me.
• Delete software that you do not need from “Remove Programs.” I used to have a ton of software on my computer. These were usually things I did not need or didn’t use. I know some software may be considered ‘cool’ to have so you can brag to your friends about them. But when they have no use… they are just wasting computer resources.
• Startup programs. MSCONFIG does a magnificent job on helping you choose what programs should start and what shouldn’t, although it is up to you. If you haven’t heard of msconfig before then here’s how to open it! Click “Start”, then “search”. Type msconfig, and click “enter”. After it has appeared, go to the “startup” tab, and choose what irrelevant programs you want to cancel from starting. Keep in mind that you cannot disable things like display drivers, and any other necessary system files/programs.
• Running Programs. Always check what programs/processes you have running on your computer through the task manager. It usually helps because some programs will stop responding in the background if you have one that is taking up a huge amount of resources. You might experience some lag.

Top 10 Tips to Keep Your Windows Vista Computer Running Smoothly

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Michael Downing emailed me to say that a friend of his had gotten a virus through Windows Live Messenger. He is wondering if Windows Defender can remove it, and is it for stopping viruses… or just spyware?

Windows Defender is just for certain types of Spyware, and it should be your last line of defense, not the first. A bit better bet is Windows Live One Care. Within a few days of this recording, the newest version of this is due out. It starts around $50.00 a year, and is a bit more comprehensive than this last version. Let’s hope it works much better, as well. However, I’m not going to get into the whole “what protection programs should you use?” debate. I’ll turn that over to all of you in just a moment.

Let’s look at a couple of ways you can keep yourself safe from viruses sent through Instant Messenging programs:

• Don’t set your messenging program to automatically accept file transfers. If your friend’s machine is infected (and thus the file they send), you will end up infected by auto-accepting the file.
• Don’t open files without first checking with your friend to make sure they really DID send it. Some types of Malware will cause your messenging program to send out fake links and files without you doing anything.
• Likewise, don’t open a file without first scanning it with your computer protection program.
• You can be infected just as easily by clicking a link… so beware what you click! Most of the MSN virus variants out there will make it seem as though your friend sent you a message. Most of these are along the lines of “Check out my newest pictures!” with a link. Clicking on that link will get your machine infected faster than you can sneeze. So again… check with your friend first to make sure it’s really a link to their pictures.

If you suspect (or know) your computer has malware that you cannot get rid of, why not try registering at one of the free malware help forums out there? There are plenty of reputable ones to choose from, such as GeeksToGo.com, WhatTheTech.com, and of course Lockergnome.com.

So now… it’s your turn. What protection programs do you recommend? We need your best shots for Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, Anti-Trojan, and even Anti-Rootkit. What firewall do you use? You can leave me a comment, or even send me an email to chris@pirillo.com

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Instant Messenger Virus