Surf the Internet Safely

Here we aim to give a few hints on safe surfing, protecting your computer from the ever increasing threat of virus and spyware, and your email from spam and phishing.

First let's deal with virus protection. There is a bewildering choice of anti virus software available and let me tell you from the start that none of them will totally prevent virus attack. Having said that most will minimise the risk. It is most unwise to surf the internet without any form of virus protection at all. So here are a couple of recommendations.

For anti virus we strongly recommend AVG antivirus, you can purchase a complete package which will give you protection against virus attack and spy ware while at the same time deploying a firewall to protect from any form of hacking. There is also a totally free version of the antivirus program which includes some spyware protection.

AVG Antivirus and antispyware protection from the world's most trusted security company. Use the Internet with confidence.

In our experience we have found the firewall in AVG Internet Security Package a little difficult to manage in a large network environment but the package should be ideal for the average home user. ZoneAlarm is another product perfect for multiple computer networks . Most people have routers now rather than modems and most routers have a built in firewall system. Versions of Microsoft Windows also have a built in firewall from WinXP onwards. We have found the free version of AVG antivirus to be effective for most people. Remember that new viruses are released every day and so any antivirus software must be updated regularly. Also you should NEVER run two different antivirus programs at the same time, they are very likely to conflict and operate less efficiently.

Take a look at Zonealarm Award Winning PC Security here. This is a complete internet security suite and certainly worth looking at.

Most people have routers now rather than modems and most routers have a built in firewall system. Versions of Microsoft Windows also have a built in firewall from WinXP onwards. We have found the free version of AVG antivirus to be effective for most people but it is only a basic version and as such has no firewall. Remember that new viruses are released every day and so any antivirus software must be updated regularly. Also you should NEVER run two different antivirus programs at the same time, they are very likely to conflict and operate less efficiently.

Spyware, what is it? Well every time you surf the internet different websites might cause a small program to be remotely installed on your computer which tracks and reports back your surfing habits. Ostensibly this is for legitimate market research but I still consider it and invasion of privacy and the effect it has on your computer is to slow it down. I have seen computers at a virtual standstill with 4,000 or more items of spyware installed. Not all spyware is so harmless either some might include a keylogger which eports back every key pressed the originator then scans the log of your keystrokes with a special program which looks for personal details. It is there fore very important you scan for this kind of parasite regularly. We can recommend SuperAntispyware which is also available as a free version from http://www.superantispyware.com?rid=4265. SUPERAntiSpyware is the most thorough scanner on the market. Multi-Dimensional Scanning and Process Interrogation Technology will detect spyware other products miss! Easily remove pests such as WinFixer, SpyAxe, SpyFalcon, and thousands more! Repair broken Internet Connections, Desktops, Registry Editing and more with the unique Repair System. A Dedicated Threat Research Team scours the web for new threats and provides daily definition updates.

To prevent spam emails it is important that you avoid using your email address to register on a site wherever possible, especially if that site is not for a well known company. Most legitimate sites have a checkbox or some other way to opt out of unsolicited emails. Many less scrupulous websites sell any email information on so that once you begin getting spam it snowballs rapidly. Another point to remember is that very often replying to an email to unsubscribe only confirms that your email address is active and again opens the door for more spam.

One other important thing to remember, rarely is anything free on the intenet, there is often a hidden cost and sometimes the cost is a virus or spyware or something equally undesirable. This is doubly the case if what you think is free would also break copyright or if it's not strictly legal. Adult content sites and music sharing sites/software like limewire are the most likely to cause problems.