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OK, so you’ve cured your infection. How do you keep it from coming back? Here are a few tips:
• Make sure Automatic Updates are turned on in Windows and always install them.
• Make sure you’re antivirus is up to date. Run a manual scan once a week.
• Use the programs referred to in the Major Geeks Malware Removal Forum. Not all of them at once! Start with Spybot. Keep it up to date and scan once a week. If you have kids you might want to add SuperAntispyware which scans in the background all the time. Don’t ever download, install or use any other programs not mentioned on MajorGeeks. Not ever!!
• Don’t install memory enhancers, Internet speed improvers, hard drive tuneup programs, registry cleaners or any other snake oil products until you check with your favorite computer professional. Yeah, that’d be me.
• Now I know you’re all good boys and girls, but in my opinion, about 90% of your spyware comes from porn sites and using file sharing programs like Limewire and Kazaa. Free music ain’t free, folks. Maybe your kids would like to pay for the next service call I have to make. Better they should buy their music on iTunes or Amazon.
• You can have all the software protection you can buy, but the number one preventer of spyware and other forms of computer malware is sitting in the chair in front of your computer screen. Don’t download and install software you don’t recognize. Never open an attachment in an email that comes from an unknown source. And never go to a website by clicking on a link in an email. Banks, online stores where you have accounts and other legitimate institutions don’t do business via email that requires you to give up any personal information.
OK, don’t mean to sound preachy, but a few precautions will reduce the cost of owning your computer and make your experience using it a happier one. It’s hard living in a technological world full of viruses, spyware, worms and spam. But by taking a few precautions, we can make this world happier and safer for all of us.
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