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One of the things that the internet does is makes it easy for the "little guy" to make his views known, and to be able to cheaply distribute music and software. This is a great thing when used well, but it also makes it easy for those people with bad intentions to put out software that's designed either to harm you or to benefit someone else at your expense. So, when you're downloading software from the internet, please take some sensible precautions. Firstly, virus check everything that you download before you install it. Secondly, download software from established sites with a good reputation. We recommend www.download.com . Thirdly, run regular scans of your PC to protect against and remove viruses, adware and spyware. | |
Your PC, if you're anything like us, is where you spend a fair proportion of your time. It may even be key to you making a living, so you want to make sure that it's secure and well protected against those people out there who'd love nothing more than to wreck your computer, get access to your personal details, or simply use your PC for their dirty work, sending junk mail out to millions of users. So, we've put together a selection of programs that we recommend you install and use on your computer to provide the level of protection that you need. Please be aware that these are all produced by other companies - we can't suport them in any way. We just want to make you aware of what's out there! A firewall is a way of keeping unauthorised users away from your PC, and especially for users with a broadband connection to the internet, this is a "must"! Windows XP (with Service Pack 2) comes with a built in firewall - we recommend activating this. However, If you so wish you can use ZoneAlarm - this is a free firewall (although it has versions you can pay for to get extra features), and the free version adds another layer of security to protect your PC. You can download ZoneAlarm from: Anti-virus software is essential to stop programs being installed that are designed to harm your computer. We recommend Norton Anti-Virus. Norton Internet Security - this will cost you, but is is produced by one of the recognised leaders in internet security solutions. Adware is software which will typically monitor your activity on your computers, then pops up those annoying adverts that you may have seen, normally in a browser window that you never opened yourself. If you're happy to have software you didn't install running and watching your every move, don't bother installing this. However, if you want to get rid of adware and the cookies etc. that it uses to track your activities, we recommend you install this and run a full scan on a weekly basis. http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/ Spyware is notoriously dangerous, and is typically installed without your knowledge by other programs that you may download from the internet. Spyware will watch your use of your computer, potentially logging your keyboard presses as you use internet banking etc. and can then forward your details on to the author of the spyware to use as he sees fit (and you can be sure it won't be what you'd want). Spyware can also cause your PC to dial premium rate numbers via its modem, leaving you with a massive phone bill, or can redirect your browser to pornographic or other inappropriate web sites. Spybot - Search and Destroy is one of the most popular programs for getting rid of spyware and it's FREE - we recommend you install it, and run a scan once a week. http://www.safer-networking.org/en/ This is essential for any Windows PC or server, and keeps your computer up to date with the latest updates for Windows and for Microsoft Office. This replaces the original Windows Update site. http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate
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Safe downloading. |
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