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Personal Computer Security |
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From the amount of inquiries recently received regarding security, it would seem to be more of an issue nowadays than in the past. As more & more people spend more & more time on the Internet, security has become a MAJOR issue for a lot of them. New users seem to be more wary & wish to set up as secure a system as possible prior to spending a lot of time on the Net. The main questions asked are........ "What insurance measures should be taken to maintain a reasonable security level ?"......."What System do you have in Place ?" and "What do you recommend ?" All of these Questions prompt the same answer from me. So for those interested here it is.... The first place that I recommended people to start was to pay a visit to Steve Gibson's Site. He has been a leading player in writing some beautiful programs on areas of concern. Primarily OptOut which found all the Spyware on your system, hidden in a lot of free downloads . OptOut is no longer supported, but has been taken over by AdAware (See Below) Steve's research has been too extensive for a mere mortal. Before you do anything else visit Steve and download some of his FREE programs to help you. I think you will be Very Impressed (Don't forget to join his mailing list.) The Link here will take you directly to his freeware page. This Great little Program. is Ad-Aware. The Program that took over from OptOut. I am sure that you will be surprised in what it finds on your system. This little fellow scans your system and finds the Spyware for you. It's continually being up-dated as new Spyware is found, so check back with "Lavasoft" on a regular basis for the latest Version, at the time of writing it was 6. You can configure to remove automatically or set it to show you what was found, selecting the Items you wish to be deleted. Set it to fire up with Windows or place a shortcut on your Desktop. We think you might find it Indispensable. Another Bonus is, it's Free. Once you have answered a lot of your own questions with Steve, the next thing to do is get your-self Firewall Protection. The one that we use (and have been for about Five years) and recommend is ZoneAlarm. This Firewall is Considered to be the Best of the Best by many. Earning many accolade's. Visit the page we have set up with extensive information and Press Release's Whilst we are trying to cover Security here, we must cover the area of Password Savers or Helpers. Since passwords are often a random combination of numbers and letters, a convenient method to store them is very welcome. Especially with an extensive number of passwords to remember at various websites. Continual reports & growing suspicions that Gator were doing something more with your shopping history than one might think acceptable, was at the very least, disturbing. When the news broke about their "gatoring" ads (covering other pop up windows with their own) it was too much. I believe that it would be very hard to justify the use of this freeware. Luckily, there is an alternative - AI RoboForm. It works as an add-on to Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4 or later, all browsers based on IE, and Netscape 6. & 7. If you have or are using Gator! RoboForms website gives instructions on how to convert your Gator passwords into RoboForm - this works quickly and easily. It does put a small g_ in front of your passwords (called PassCards by RoboForm) showing they were converted from Gator, however, you can change the name on the drop down menu. The toolbar has a drop down menu, that you can fill in and change on the fly, allowing you to view all your PassCards by name and changing descriptions to better suit your file titles. The "Go and Fill" feature of Roboform is one of its best and useful features. Select a PassCard/password and click on Go and Fill - it will take you to the page affiliated with the form/password and automatically enters the data. This is a really great feature as it allows speed of access. (A Real Time Saver) Filling out the form about yourself is far more extensive then Gator's. Like Gator it also allows you to have different accounts, (RoboForm calls them Identities). A very handy feature here is password protection of this information, should you feel the need. An operational problem with Gator, that RoboForm circumvents very nicely is that Gator had to contact "Gator-land" with a sign in; Because Gator had to contact Gator-land, it sometimes delayed in opening or didn't open at all. Some days, when going to a password site, Gator just sat there. RoboForm is ready as soon as you open your browser. Also, Gator had the irritating pop up ads. Roboform has none. Overall my experience with RoboForm (Three Years) has been flawless. Easy to install. Easy to convert the Gator passwords and info over to the new system. It just sits there quietly waiting to be of service, & with no ads or pop ups. RoboForm is Definitely a much better (and safer) partner to surf with than Gator. Just Click the Icon below to immediately start downloading your Free Copy Now. You can read the rest of this page whilst Downloading. The next page we have set up covers the other side of things. The Personal Computer is supposed to be personal, Right? Right. However did you know that a lot of information you thought you deleted is still in fact on your computer, and can be accessed by others? The Program we use & recommend to keep a tight ship as they say is "Evidence Eliminator" To read our own Story regarding our experiences with "Evidence Eliminator" plus more information, Click on the Link Below. |
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