Welcome and thank you for taking the first steps in learning to protect yourself from the internet "Evils". While we would like to say the internet is safe and you can do whatever you want online without hurting your computer, we can't do that. We would be lying if we said otherwise. There are a lot of nasty things on the internet that can cause your computer and your internet to slow down to a crawl or just stop working all together.
What we have here is a quick list of friendly reminders for you, so you can keep the internet "Evils" at bay.
First, what you need to do is update your computer's software. Updates come out all the time. I know you just bought your computer, but guess what... it's out of date. Microsoft has an update website just for you. And not only is it FREE but it is good for your computer.
Second, a good program to have is a firewall. Firewalls block access from hackers and other threats. Windows XP already has a built-in firewall. Not running Windows XP? No problem, there are free firewall systems out on the internet.
Third, get a hold of an Anti-Virus program. While we do scan for viruses on all incoming emails, that doesn't mean you won't get one. There are still other ways of getting a virus. Also, you will need to update your anti-virus program everyone once in a while. We suggest once a week. Our system checks for updates every 15 minutes. New viruses come out all the time. If you are still running your old Norton Anti-Virus from 2000 and have not done any updates, I hate to break it to you, but you may be infected already. Luckily you don't have to buy an anti-virus program. Here are some free programs:
Sorry to say this but we are not done yet. There is more. Over the past couple of years the internet has evolved. Websites are becoming jam-packed with more code to give us a better experience. But webmasters and marketers have found they can use the internet as a massive money making machine by using Ads. But we like to call them popups.
There are two different kinds of Popups. Both can be annoying. One is when you go to a website. The other is software known as Spyware or Adware that sends ads, or collects private information off your computer, or changes settings like your homepage without your permission. The real kicker is you may have downloaded the spyware yourself without knowing. When installing software no one ever reads the long Term of Agreement written in legalese. We all do it. We just hit next, next, next, next, finish. But sometimes in there is a phrase that allows that program to install extra freebies that are spyware.
To get rid of website popups download one of the following, or search Yahoo!, or Google for a free popup blocker.
Now for the Adware and Spyware. Because Spyware is so new, there is not one single program out there that gets rid of them all. We suggest using a few of these. You are more than welcome to use them all. We do. Just like anti-virus programs, there are updates for these programs too. Please update these programs after installing them.
I know it sounds like a lot of work, but you will be amazed at how much spyware your computer has on it, and how fast it runs after cleaning it up. If you don't feel you are up to installing these programs because you have never installed anything on the computer before, thats ok. We can do it for you.
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