On Protecting your personal PC

[STUPID BOB]

I don't know if this topic is around in another guise so please forgive me if the information is redundant. Also, forgive me if I seem to assume you don't know these facts already.

If you are on a Windows PC, download Spyware Guard and Spyware Blaster from http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/products.html Spybot Search and Destroy from http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html and Adaware Personal from http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ Install these programs and run them. Keep them resident (always on).

A personal firewall is handy and a virus scanner is essential. There are free virus scanners and firewalls available but I believe you need to purchase one each of these from a well known and trusted vendor like Symantec, Computer Associates, McAfee or Trend Micro. CA, Symantec and TM all have free scans available directly from their sites, but these do not take the place of having your own copy.

Email programs and your web browser are the most likely sources of infection but this is changing rapidly as hackers become more sophisticated. Graphics files should always be considered suspect now and clicking on a link from within an email is playing Russian Roulette -- even if it is from a friend. Don't use Outlook if you can help it. Get a free copy of Eudora from Qualcomm. http://www.eudora.com or a free copy of Firefox (a nifty browser) and Thunderbird (email client) from https://addons.update.mozilla.org/?application=firefox

Keep up with security updates for your machine. In the coming months, attacks will be arriving in new and from previously unknown directions. The newest machinations observed from the recent Google attack are just a peek at the future.

Don't think for a minute your Mac is safe. New probes have been identified that are precursors to very sophisticated attack methods on the Mac OS. Mac users have become a bit complacent and the new attack methods are going to be just as harmful as the attacks on Windows based systems.

Linux boxes are another option. If you are running one of these right now, your exposure to direct attacks are also increasing. Be aware and keep up with security patches and updates to the Linux kernel.

Hackers and their ilk are after the unlocked door. As hackers gain experience picking the locks in operating systems they spread the word. It has become the fashion to publish holes in systems now so the hackers out there have ample opportunity to see the flaw and exploit it before the "fix" is in.

One more thing: If you have a Yahoo account, and you want your email content available in the event of your death, make sure you have your password available to someone you trust. If you die, no one will be able to access your mail or saved files there. They kill your account after 90 days of inactivity. This is true for almost all services of this type. If you want your friends and loved ones (and enemies perhaps?) to have access to this information and save it for posterity, please consider this.