In My NOT So Humble Opinion

You have all your defensive tools in place right? Your anti-virus program is up to date? Remember, McAfee does not count as an anti-virus program because it doesn't work. Norton, Symantec (why won't they use just one name?) seems to work most of the time, but it is an expensive resource hog that slows down machines that do not have ample memory (1gig or more). AVG works fine and is free for use on your persoanl PC. The upgrade is really awesome for a nominal price. If you have read this far then you are probably wondering why there are no links yet. They'll be listed at the bottom in neat order so you can go to one place to download instead of picking thru paragraphs. Now on to the number one problem in online computing.

Spyware just sucks. This includes all adware, thiefware, malware, dungware, garbageware, badware, etc. ALL the people that write spyware suck. C'mon folks, get a real job not working for Satan! If you Yahoo there's a great chance you have adware/spyware on your computer. Again: IF YOU YAHOO THERE'S A GREAT CHANCE YOU HAVE ADWARE/SPYWARE ON YOUR COMPUTER. Stop it! They call it "adware" and sue people that call it spyware. But hey, it invades my computer and seeks personal information so that, in my opinion, qualifies it as spyware. Besides, you can't get blood from a turnip. Claria and 180solutions are all over Yahoo and Claria says on their website that 30 something percent of their revenue comes from Yahoo. There is a way to use the Yahoo Instant Messenger without the rest of that horrible stuff. Email me and I'll reply with the procedure. BTW, it is very likely that Yahoo is watching this site. There are tell-tale signs. Creeps!

You have to be very careful about anti-spyware programs. Several contain spyware. Yes, that's right - many anti-spyware utilities are, indeed, spyware. Some anti-spyware companies are scared of rat companies like Claria and permit garbage to slip thru their software. A good examplle is Microsoft. Last I heard Microsoft was letting Claria pass through their scan. If this has changed please let me know. Anyway, you have to use more than one program. The beach house network swears by Lavasoft AdAware, Spybot Search & Destroy, JavaCoolSoftware's SpywareBlaster, and CCleaner. CCleaner is not anti-spuyware, but it goes a long way to remove useless files that may harbor the possible return of spyware. Don't use any other programs. If these are installed and tweaked properly, they will prevent the bad guys from making your life miserable. If you need help installing, please contact me; cybersouth@gmail.com. You won't be successful in your defense if you do not set up these programs properly. Also, update.

Here are the links to the programs used at the beach house. All are found at MajorGeeks, which is the best download site on the web! They also have an uber selection of things geek - like, really kewl T-Shirts. If you download these programs please consider donating or using their upgrades. These people work long and hard to provide us these awesome tools.

AVG Free Edition

SpyBot Search & Destroy

AdAware SE Personal

SpywareBlaster

CCleaner

"Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another."
-Homer

EDIT:Ashby Rhett Culpepper, III, ESQ., brought an important matter up in the comments. All the programs listed above are free downloads. Some companies accept donations (I donate!) and others have upgrades for minimal fees. This post was written to show everyone how you can keep your PC safe without spending money. I apologize for the oversight.
Dock