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I'm getting more and more viruses on this PC. So much time and effort and no monetary return from this contraption. Maybe it's time for me to get a Mac and take a sledgehammer to this monster...

fisherman bob wrote:I'm getting more and more viruses on this PC. So much time and effort and no monetary return from this contraption. Maybe it's time for me to get a Mac and take a sledgehammer to this monster...

If you have an install disc around for windows, just wipe your computer then reinstall the O.S.
Then...

Does your computer have only one account on it? (yours?)
Or, is your account an 'Administrator' account?

If you are doing your day to day stuff under 'Administrator', that's bad juju.
Make 'one' seperate admin acount with a really good password.
Then make your personal account. (non Admin)

Only log into the admin account when you are installing software, making changes to the hardware, etc.


Thats my 2 cents...

After having my computer serviced I use Firefox & AVAST.
No more viral infections.

Mozilla Firefox or Opera

DO NOT USE MS IE, it's #1 for hackers writing malware etc.

spybot s+d
lavasoft ad aware (free one, all of these are free btw)
bazooka (trojan detection)
ccleaner
Trend Micro free virus scan (min 1/month)


If you can afford nod32 or Kaspersy, they seem to be slightly more effective.

And any antivirus program is better than none.

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR BROWSERS AND JAVA TO LATEST VERSION or you might have issues.

It considered understood that if you do not update your anything to the latest version, someone probably has figured out a way to gain access/do damage.

Avast works great ....

Yes it does.
Thank you for your recommendation of it earlier.

Sledgehammer! My favourite cheesy sitcom of all time!

Good Gabriel song too.

Go with what Zip and Capt said . I've been a computer tech for 12 years, they basically told you what I would do. I never use Internet Explorer (IE), in fact I remove all IE icons so nobody can sit down and use my computer and open IE. I also very rarely LET anyone use my computer...use your own...

I use Firefox, and quite frequently Linux. I'm running win2000 on this laptop with no antivirus, over a year now and still squeaky clean...but I'm really careful online because I have no antivirus...The only thing I've done is use Firefox.

IE is a malware magnet. Period. It's had one glaring security hole for years, Active X. Microsludge still hasn't fixed it, it's sitting there waiting for spyware and trojans right now. Get away from IE, use Firefox or Opera.

User account...Very good idea. Right out of the box, most computers are running Admin, and wide open. Create a user account with limited access, and a good password on the Admin account. I use 8 character passwords, both letters and numbers. I never use anything that requires the Shift key, too easy to forget it. Something like jd4nh3b7 would be good, but NEVER, EVER use things like your birthday, dog's name, anniversary etc for passwords. Too easy to guess.

Look up Spyware Blaster, it's pretty good at keeping spyware from ever installing, AVG is a decent free antivirus, Avast is good too.

Also use the Expert or Custom install option when installing software, watch every screen and NEVER let software install any toolbars of any kind. Everything wants to install Google or Yahoo toolbars these days, and I hate those crappy things. Useless space hogging garbage...If you already have some toolbars showing, look in the "View" options, you should find options there to shut them off. Then go to Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel and uninstall them. Close any webpages they try to open.

Never, ever click on any windows that pop up online telling you your computer has a virus or spyware, 99.99% are fakes, most install the virus/spyware then want you to buy a program that doesn't remove it...ONLY trust a window produced by your antivirus/spyware software. You'll recognize it if it pops up...

Did I mention SHUT IE DOWN????

One thing Capt said that I disagree with, I use win2000 because everyone is focusing on XP, Vista and 7 now. Win2000 is largely ignored and forgotten, and is actually a lot safer these days since most malware targets newer operating systems. BUt you have to be more careful too...if you do use a newer OS, keep it updated and use the software mentioned above. I haven't used Adaware in several years, they went seriously downhill in about 2005, weren't getting out decent updates and had some serious quality issues, most techs stopped using it. Everything else listed should be ok.