Advice of the month

Many people have high speed Internet connects these days without adequate protection. They think if they have an anti-virus program that they'll be all right. Unfortunately that's far from the truth.

There are a number of "bad things" out there on the Internet. Unfortunately they each need a different tool to fight them.

• Hackers are people sitting at computers around the world trying to break into your computer. To prevent this, you must have a hardware Router. This device makes you invisible to the outside world. If the hacker can't see you, he'll go away and bother someone else. Inexpensive models are adequate for home users, but businesses will benefit from something more robust. Call us to discuss your needs.
• Spyware / adware needs software designed specifically for that purpose. There are many products available, but you can start with AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy. Both are available for free. They will not catch everything, but they will give you a fighting chance.
• Trojans sit in the background and collect information about you, then send that information back to "Big Brother" -- including login passwords! Some even punch a hole through software firewalls so "Big Brother" can pay a visit. Some trojans are caught by Anti-Virus software, some by anti-spyware software and some are at least detected by a software firewall, such as ZoneAlarm which is free. Software firewalls are not all that good at preventing hackers from getting in; but if a trojan tries to "call home" it will send up a warning flag letting you know that you are infected. At that point you should be on the phone immediately to have us come in and clean up the mess.
• While free products such as AdAware, SpybotS&D, and ZoneAlarm are helpful, There is no question that "you get what you pay for". True viruses require anti-virus software. We prefer Kaspersky Internet Security, which is an Anti-Virus product and a lot more. There are, though, many good products out there. Make certain that you get the new version of the program when it comes out each year and update the virus definitions every day. One reason we like Kaspersky is that it updates itself every hour.