MySedalia Tech Tips
Tidbits of Technology

Something you may have heard about recently is spyware, but what is spyware? Here is a definition from Wikipedia:

Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer, without the user’s informed consent.

While the term spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user’s behavior, the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, such as Internet surfing habit, sites that have visited, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, redirecting Web browser activity, accessing websites blindly that will cause more harmful viruses, or diverting advertising revenue to a third party. Spyware can even change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and loss of Internet or other programs.

No doubt, spyware can be nasty. Ever opened up your browser and noticed a brand-new toolbar there? That’s spyware. I don’t want anything else taking control of my computer. So, how can we protect ourselves from this stuff?

Sometimes your computer will become so effective that you need to seek professional help, but there are ways that you can take care of the problem yourself. There are two programs that I trust on my machine to seek out and destroy any spyware that has crept in. There is also a new free software that I’ve discovered that will actually help prevent spyware from getting into your computer in the first place.

The two removal softwares are our Lavasoft’s AdAware and Spybot’s Search and Destroy. I run both programs on my computer about once a week. Both softwares update themselves with new definitions and Spybot will actually help you immunize your machine against future attacks. As I say, both of these are free for personal use.

The new software I recently discovered is called Spyware Terminator. The software runs in the background and presumably protects me from attacks with real-time monitoring. It also comes with an extra WebCrawler, which is supposed to alert you before you enter a suspicious website. However, I’ve noticed that the WebCrawler sometimes prevents me from going into legitimate websites, which can be a hassle.

There are a lot of unscrupulous companies out there and hackers with too much time on their hands just thinking of new ways to infiltrate your machine. You must be aware of the threats that are out there and protect yourself, but it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. There is other free software out there, but beware-some of the so called cures are actually loaded with spyware themselves.

The Internet is a wonderful place, but you have to be wary of the people out there that will do you harm. We’ll be back next week with another tech tip.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.  We’ve all heard it all our lives.  However, it’s not entirely true, at least as far as software is concerned.  I love stretching my money as far as it can go but when it comes to software those prices can be staggering for some of the things that you need.  Well, I found some software that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.  In fact, it’s free!

Free is a very wonderful thing and just because it’s free doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.  I have spent countless hours scouring the Internet trying to find the best open source and free software, and I believe I have.  Everything from protecting your computer to writing letters to creating graphic designs and manipulating photographs can be found out there for nothing. And that’s what will be covering here in the first few installments of Tech Tips.

I want to begin the series by talking about antivirus software.  Now everyone knows the names Norton and McAfee, but those names cost great deal.  Now, even need protection on your computer there is no doubt about that, but there are at least two sources for free antivirus software that will protect your machine as well as the big names.

The first is AVG. This is a great piece of software that’s easy to use. It comes with automatic update functionality, which keeps your virus definitions up to date.  I’ve used this software on my home computer myself.  It seemed to be quite capable of protecting me, however, I don’t think it updated nearly as often as choice number two.  It’s important that your antivirus be up-to-the-minute up-to-date.

Which brings us to antivirus software and number two  – avast!.  I like avast! because it definitely updates often, sometimes twice a day.  In fact, your computer even talks to you and tells you that your virus definitions have been updated.  Yes, that is the one drawback of avast!.  I don’t like my computer talking to me.  Fortunately, there is a setting to turn that off. If you choose to use avast! you can find that setting by right clicking on the utility tray icon, going to program settings, then choosing sounds from the left  menu and checking the option to disable avast! sounds.

Now, it’s important to mention that neither one of these antivirus software is comes with any anti-spyware or other malware protection.  Norton and McAfee do come bundled with those.  However, next week I’ll talk about some anti-spyware that is also free.  One other important note, these programs are only to be used on home computers.

Protecting and maintaining your computer does not have to be an expensive proposition. There is software out there to help you not only with antivirus, but also with routine maintenance.  We’ll be getting into all of those here in Tech Tips.