I am. And you should know that, statistically speaking, many of your computers here are generating that exact spam. In 2005, an estimated 50% to 80% of all spam was generated by user PCs that are infected with a security cracker, computer virus, or a Trojan horse--all three of which could have infected you through Internet spyware.
Not only are many of your computers probably contributing to this spam generation, but you've left yourself wide open for identity theft, because many of these same programs can intercept your personal information if you do any online banking or shopping.
But really...I'm mainly being selfish here. I'm tired of reading spam! So for my sake and all your sake, here's what I suggest all of you do:
1) Download any and all Windows Updates.
If you're using Windows XP, you should be downloading them automatically. But maybe you turned them off, so either right click on "My Computer," hit "Properties," go to the "Automatic Updates" tab, and select "Automatic." You'll receive all the ones you missed and any future ones automatically. If you want to review them ahead of time, feel free to choose the other two options allowing you to review them before installation, but, whatever you do, don't check to turn them off, unless you're a computer geek and know what you're doing.
If you're using Windows 2000, ME or 9x, you should have a link in your "Start" menu that says "Windows Updates." There, you can select and install them manually. It's not hard, so I wouldn't feel intimidated if I were you!
2) Install and update your antivirus program regularly.
No, it's not good enough to buy a PC and let your McAfee, Norton and/or Symantec trial installation expire. New computer viruses and worms appear nearly every day, and you might as well not have it installed at all if you're not updating it.
But hey...I understand. You don't want to pay for it. In that case, I point you to AVG Anti-Virus Free:
http://free.grisoft.com/
Before you download and install this, however, you have to uninstall any previous anti-virus installation. To do that, go to your Windows "Control Panel," which should be available either in "My Computer" or in your "Start Menu," and double click the icon that says "Add or Remove Programs." Look for the name of your anti-virus program, which is usually a variant of McAfee, Symantec, or Norton, and uninstall it. Then install AVG or your preferred anti-virus program. But, most importantly, update it regularly!
3) Run a spyware removal program.
There's many who advertise and very few who perform. In fact, in some instances, some shady spyware dealers will actually package an infected "spyware remover."
There are, however, two free programs that are undeniably reliable:
Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition - http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE...045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5
Spybot Search and Destroy - http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html
Ideally, you'd install and run both, because, for some reason, neither program is particularly great at finding removing absolutely everything, but together, they tend to get everything that you'd ever encounter.
Unlike an antivirus program, however, free solutions here don't do automatic real-time scanning. As such, you'll have to make it part of your weekly routine to do a manual scan.
4) Use some common sense.
You might find a "free program" here and there, and file sharing programs are some of the worst offenders. Since they don't generally make money off of your "free downloads," they make money in other ways, which is usually related to advertising and, yes, spyware.
Your best bet is to research any software that you download ahead of time. An easy Google search like "Kazaa spyware" will generally give you a lot of information about what you're downloading. And if it looks like spyware and smells like spyware, run away from it and search for a better program.
In addition, avoid any kind of "toolbar." Not only are they unnecessary all of the time, but they are also some of the worst offenders.
In other words, there's generally no such thing as a "free ride." However, just as I showed above, there are some real free gems out there with computer security if you know where you're looking.
(To the mods: I could have posted this in the computer forum, but I think this advice is best where everyone will read it! But if you really insist on moving it there, I understand and please accept my apologies.)
Happy security, folks!
Not only are many of your computers probably contributing to this spam generation, but you've left yourself wide open for identity theft, because many of these same programs can intercept your personal information if you do any online banking or shopping.
But really...I'm mainly being selfish here. I'm tired of reading spam! So for my sake and all your sake, here's what I suggest all of you do:
1) Download any and all Windows Updates.
If you're using Windows XP, you should be downloading them automatically. But maybe you turned them off, so either right click on "My Computer," hit "Properties," go to the "Automatic Updates" tab, and select "Automatic." You'll receive all the ones you missed and any future ones automatically. If you want to review them ahead of time, feel free to choose the other two options allowing you to review them before installation, but, whatever you do, don't check to turn them off, unless you're a computer geek and know what you're doing.
If you're using Windows 2000, ME or 9x, you should have a link in your "Start" menu that says "Windows Updates." There, you can select and install them manually. It's not hard, so I wouldn't feel intimidated if I were you!
2) Install and update your antivirus program regularly.
No, it's not good enough to buy a PC and let your McAfee, Norton and/or Symantec trial installation expire. New computer viruses and worms appear nearly every day, and you might as well not have it installed at all if you're not updating it.
But hey...I understand. You don't want to pay for it. In that case, I point you to AVG Anti-Virus Free:
http://free.grisoft.com/
Before you download and install this, however, you have to uninstall any previous anti-virus installation. To do that, go to your Windows "Control Panel," which should be available either in "My Computer" or in your "Start Menu," and double click the icon that says "Add or Remove Programs." Look for the name of your anti-virus program, which is usually a variant of McAfee, Symantec, or Norton, and uninstall it. Then install AVG or your preferred anti-virus program. But, most importantly, update it regularly!
3) Run a spyware removal program.
There's many who advertise and very few who perform. In fact, in some instances, some shady spyware dealers will actually package an infected "spyware remover."
There are, however, two free programs that are undeniably reliable:
Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition - http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE...045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5
Spybot Search and Destroy - http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html
Ideally, you'd install and run both, because, for some reason, neither program is particularly great at finding removing absolutely everything, but together, they tend to get everything that you'd ever encounter.
Unlike an antivirus program, however, free solutions here don't do automatic real-time scanning. As such, you'll have to make it part of your weekly routine to do a manual scan.
4) Use some common sense.
You might find a "free program" here and there, and file sharing programs are some of the worst offenders. Since they don't generally make money off of your "free downloads," they make money in other ways, which is usually related to advertising and, yes, spyware.
Your best bet is to research any software that you download ahead of time. An easy Google search like "Kazaa spyware" will generally give you a lot of information about what you're downloading. And if it looks like spyware and smells like spyware, run away from it and search for a better program.
In addition, avoid any kind of "toolbar." Not only are they unnecessary all of the time, but they are also some of the worst offenders.
In other words, there's generally no such thing as a "free ride." However, just as I showed above, there are some real free gems out there with computer security if you know where you're looking.
(To the mods: I could have posted this in the computer forum, but I think this advice is best where everyone will read it! But if you really insist on moving it there, I understand and please accept my apologies.)
Happy security, folks!
