Recently I got one of those "odd" e-mails from a man I'd only e-mailed twice - with a suspicious attachment. I e-mailed him back and asked if he'd gotten a virus...
Yes, I must have a virus. in fact, may have a couple. one of them makes my icons rlocate randomly. I wish I knew how this sort of thing happensWell, that's what we're here for; here's a bunch of resources (both primers and software) that you might find helpful, whether you're a net newbie or a seasoned pro. All these resources are, of course, free (or have free versions).
AVG Antivirus - the free version works well, and has an e-mail plugin for Outlook:
ZoneAlarm - a personal firewall that's easy to configure and use (Choose the free version. I feel the pay version is too "swiss army knife".)
Here's two good primers:
"A few years ago [we] came up with what we call the "weekly fab five," the five things you should do every week to keep your computer running in tip- top shape. Here is what we have been recommending."
Those last two are from The Internet Tourbus - Learn how to avoid the pitfalls of the Web, master the search engines, debunk urban legends, and more. Net gurus Bob Rankin and Patrick Crispen (aka the "Click & Clack" of the online world) explain Internet technology in plain English with a dash of humor, in a FREE twice weekly email newsletter. They're the ones who have written the "how-tos" I reference above.
Fred Langa also runs a bi-weekly free e-mail list that talks about all sorts of computer-related issues. It's a wonderful resource, and while a "step-up" from the Internet Tourbus, is still written in a clear, easy-to-read style.
You might also want to check out Spybot - Search & Destroy; it can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies. Spybot- S&D is free, so there's no harm in trying to see if something snooped into your computer, too
I also use WebWasher to filter ads and popups. It's still free, although you have to look a little bit for the personal version.
Happy computing!
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