I got so sick and tired of the spam that is everywhere!!!! Also pretty mad about the viruses and the Nigerian scammers, too. So I decided to get really pro-active about fighting all this***** off and now I am doing pretty good overall. Getting much less for now anyway. Here's what I have now: For fighting pop-up's: 1)Google toolbar-- the best! 2261 blocked so far!! I no longer have any need for the effective but annoying "Pop-up Killer" program. 2)MSN toolbar-- for additional search engine really, but it has also blocked 63 that Google didn't catch. 3)Yahoo toolbar-- again, just an extra bell/whistle, but it has blocked 65 pop-ups that Google didn't get. For fighting Spyware: 1)SpywareBlaster, it's a free download that has a register of over 3,000 known spyware programs and keeps them from getting installed on your computer in the first place. 2)SpyBot Search & Destroy, a free program that comes highly recommended and is pretty effective at cleaning your computer. 3)GIANT AntiSpyware program, I downloaded the free version and it says it has since detected 169 threats. It also has a cleaner, plus an innoculation feature that closes security risk loopholes on your computer. This program also has a file cleaner, so you can sweep out things like cookies, etc. For fighting adware: 1)Ad-Aware, another highly recommended and free program that helps clean your computer. I find it effective. For protection against viruses: 1)Norton's 2)Zone-Alarm (I just have free version, but it seems to be really effective as it says it has blocked 250,087 access attempts since installation. I like it. One note-- turn off its MailSafe feature if you are running Norton's-- that feature is redundant and conflicts. I go with Norton's for e-mail anti-virus scanning. 3)AVG Anti-Virus, free edition. I also like this one, it has caught a couple worms that Norton's didn't. For protection against hackers, spying from outside sources, etc. etc.: 1)As mentioned above, ZoneAlarm. Works great, and I imagine does a great job of reducing spam which comes from being seen from the outside. For fighting e-mail spam and also some of the messages from the Nigerian scammers that still makes it through to my Outlook Express e-mail: 1)click on "tools", then "message rules", then "mail". Then start setting up parameters based on keywords that appear in the heading or in the body of the e-mail, like "housewives" or "rolex" or "deals" or "mortgage" or "enhancement". Or "Africa" or "Congo" or "Congolese" in the body to reduce those Nigerian scam attempts. Add more keywords as you discover more, just be careful to not put them in there if there's a chance you'd wind up inadvertantly blocking e-mail's that you really do want. There, that's what I've done so far, and things are MUUUUUCH better. If you have any GREAT, WONDERFUL suggestions, share 'em!
I went to Adware.com and ended up downloading "Free" software. It scanned my system and found a lot of stuff it said was bad. The trouble was, if you wanted it to get rid of this bad stuff you had to register and pay $29.95 (a one time charge) to make it happen. I already had Spybot and it really WAS free but it hadn't found all the stuff this did so I spang for the $29.95 and signed up. Hope it is OK, I have heard that there are some of these Spy/Ad ware blockers that actually put the***** in instead.
I have been using this cookie preventer http://www.downlinx.com/proghtml/390/39005.htm and it works real well. I usually clean all my cookies and cache every computer use, but with this blocker and dogpile (like yahoo pop up blocker) there are no cookies in the files. It acts like a pop up blocker for cookies. I also use most of the same adware programs, but since using this cookie blocker this programs have nothing to catch or report. THIS is another real good site to read about Protecting Your Privacy & Security and how haft the adware programs are all the same and most are*****. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/main-nf.htm Very informative site. Good Luck ....H
Twjoyse you must've downloaded the trial version of adaware professional. The personal version is and always was free, even after scanning. Being on the internet is hard work these days, but adaware is the best tool out there.
I musta pushed a wrong*****on, I actually loaded and paid for "NoAdware". Please tell that isn't a Communist one or something. Probly don't do anything my Spybot don't do but you know what they say about a fool and his money.
"Ad-aware" is the one you want. There are many programs with "ad" and "adware" in their****ales. Get "Ad-aware".
I do tech support for a major computer mfg, and the only thing I buy and install on the computer is McAfee (without all the bells and whistles). I check for updates before I do anything else when I connect, and I only connect when I'm using the internet connection (a lot of people stay connected the whole time they have the PC on). I don't use Norton Internet Security because although it's more thorough, it's too invasive (always wants permission to do stuff it should know is OK to do). I also use Yahoo mail (free) and let it screen out spam. With web-based email (like Yahoo or MSN), you can delete it w/o opening it to see what it is, so if some spam reaches your inbox, you can see the sender and subject line without opening it and wipe it out without touching it. To keep out hackers trojans and worms, I NEVER load filesharing software on the PC, and use the built-in software firewall in WinXP and also use a router (which has a built-in hardware firewall). I don't use popup blockers because I dont need 'em and some of them actually have their own popups! It's been running fine since WinXP came out over 2 years ago, and I never have popups, or problems with the system. Just my 2 cents...
I still have Win 98 SE and have no plans to dump more $$ on new software. So no XP for me at this time. I have had 10 people tell me of all the wonderful things that a Mozilla Firefox browser does for them instead of IE. Any thoughts on that?
Well, it's true that a lot of the stuff that's out there is designed to exploit weaknesses in IE, but I would say you can use the steps above, and even w/o XP do OK. I like IE 'cause it's easy to use, but it wouldn't hurt to use Mozilla tho if you want to be double sure.
If you are using Norton antivirus- try this...... Buy PcCillin from Trend Micro-[49.99] install it and delete Norton....... that will be a better route.
Best thing I downloaded was mozilla. Blocks pop ups and doesn't automatically download***** into your computer like IE. Personally I've never had a problem with spam, but I never use my email unless its somewhere I trust and I never put it online on a webpage and stuff. Mozilla is pretty easy to use also and suits my mulitple window surfing which I like. I just had to get used to it.
I use Mozilla Firefox and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! It has BUILT IN pop-up protection, it's easy to use; just like the old Netscape Navigator before it became bloated; you can EASILY clear your cache, history, cookies, download history, and even resize large images to fit your browser window. And it's a LOT MORE SECURE than IE. I think it even loads webpages faster. It's free, downloads quickly, and a breeze to get the hang of. EVERYONE should use Mozilla Firefox. Did I mention I love it?
The Jalopy Journal
