1. Geek Superhero http://www.deprice.com/geeksuperhero.htm

Geek Superhero watches your computer for changes, immediately notifying you when a change is made to confirm you want to keep or reject the change. This saves you from lots of headaches. (A "Computer Setting Firewall" is an excellent description.)

2. CleverCrypt Enhanced http://www.deprice.com/clevercryptenhanced.htm

Using the latest developments in information security, CleverCrypt has been designed to use the best encryption technology legally available. The product uses 4 encryption layers to protect your data. Using just one of CleverCrypt’s encryption layers it has been mathematically calculated that the famous "DES Cracker" machine, if sped up several thousand times, would still take over 149 trillion years to crack a CleverCrypt secure drive. And that’s if your using just one of CleverCrypt’s four layers.

3. Clean Disk Security http://www.deprice.com/cleandisksecurity.htm

Clean Disk Security gives you secure file deletion, making sure that deleted files cannot be undeleted again. Deleting a file normally just removes the file’s directory entry, but the data itself remains on the disk. This program completely eliminates the contents of deleted files. The highly acclaimed Gutmann disk cleaning method is now available as an option. This program can also clean the Window’s swap file, and can optionally clean unneeded temporary files from your hard disk, such as your Internet browser cache, files in your system’s Recycle Bin, and can clear the "recent files" list.

4. Cryptainer PE http://www.deprice.com/cryptainerpe.htm

Phenomenally easy to use, Cryptainer PE’s encryption works on all versions of Microsoft Windows and works with all known file types. You can protect your files and folders and ensure total privacy with Cryptainer PE. Simply drag and drop the files and folders you want to hide and voila! your files are hidden. With Cryptainer PE you can hide the very existence of your confidential files and folders. Additionally, Cryptainer PE allows you to send encrypted email files. The recipient need not have a copy of Cryptainer PE installed to decrypt the files.

5. Desktop Armor http://www.deprice.com/desktoparmor.htm

Desktop Armor watches dozens and dozens of important settings on your computer and warns you if any program has changed them. This catches many of the changes a virus, worm, or trojan program will make to your computer and lets you immediately fix them back! Plus Desktop Armor includes a lot of other useful features like a Popup blocker, checks to help you avoid Phishing scams and much more.

David D. Deprice reviews top encryption and security solutions at http://www.deprice.com

File sharing on p2p is soaring despite the music and movie industry efforts to curb the practice. Regardless of which side of the arguement you are on it is likely that sharing of copyright material will continue in one form or another for the foreseeable future.

With the advent of p2p file sharing it is possible to download music, movies, movie trailers, MP3’s, TV shows, software, games and ringtones all for free. All that is required is a fast internet connection and some P2P software. A peer to peer computer network is a network used for sharing content like audio, video, data or anything in digital format. The best known example of p2p file sharing application was Napster. Napster was shutdown following a lawsuit with the music industry.

Today, Napster has been replaced by a new type of application which required no central server and allows the anonymous sharing of files. The most common peer to peer networks today are Kazaa, Grokster, eMule and Morpheus.

Be warned however that much of the content on p2p networks is copyright material and therefore downloading or sharing this material can violate copyright laws especially in light of the recent US Supreme Court rules against file-sharing services. There is also the risk of downloading viruses and spyware as these file-sharing networks are not secure. Spyware and adware programs are frequently bundled into P2P file sharing software. Downloaded material could also contain pornography. More file sharing info

(c) Noel Hynes, 2004. Reprint rights granted to copy and publish this article so long as the article and by-line are reprinted intact. File sharing info

Ok, ok, I know you’ve seen them. All those pop up windows claiming that "You’re being watched!" or banner ads saying "Your computer is under surveillance!" And all you need to do is buy their product and your computer’s visbility will disappear from the Internet. Well, to state the obvious, that’s just not true.

We have to give those companies some credit though - they are giving you half of the truth. If they were giving you the whole story, what they’d be saying is that their software will make your surfing tracks disappear from your personal computer. Not from the Internet.

Now, with that said, don’t just blow off these products saying "if they can’t get rid of all my personal surfing records then what good are they?" These products actually address the more important half of the issue. The effective ones really do clean up your personal computer! To me this is very important because it’s easier for people to get your computer’s Internet records, via hacking, tracking or outright theft, than it is for them to get any other type of Internet records.

Want proof? Just ask Gary Glitter, a 1960’s pop star who took his personal computer in to have a repair done. The shop found both pictures and other evidence of illegal Internet activity and called the cops! Glitter spent time in jail because he didn’t "clean up his act" before he took the computer in for a repair.

The other half of this issue and the one that is a bit more complicated to address is made up of all the records established and held by your ISP (Internet Service Provider), Internet routers (computer "traffic cops" that route Internet requests around the web) and website hosting servers.

These computers are completely outside your scope of influence. You can’t just call up your ISP and tell them to delete all records that pertain to your account! Once they are done laughing, they will let you know that to do that they would have to cull through literally millions of records for any given day to pull out your two or three hundred records. The effort would be enormous and they don’t have the resources to do this kind of work.

Besides, these logs are used mostly to trouble shoot server / router errors and to help stop hacker abuse and other kinds of DOS (Denial of Service) attacks.

But you can affect the information that gets stored in these logs. To understand this you need to know how the process works. Here are the basic steps:

-You sign on to your ISP.

-Your ISP assigns you an IP (Internet Protocol) address. An IP address is a series of numbers that tell the computer where you are connecting from and who to send information to.

-You type in a web address in your browser and send that request to your ISP.

-Your ISP logs the request, along with your assigned IP address and then goes out to the Internet to request the web page.

-The ISP’s request goes through multiple routers, each one logging who made the request and forwarding on the request to the next until it gets to the server hosting the web page.

-The host server logs the request and sends the information back out, often through a completely different set of routers, each one again logging the request and passing it on to the next until it gets back to your ISP.

-Your ISP looks up in it’s log who made the initial request and sends it on to you.

-You get the page, a temporary copy is stored on your hard drive.

-You click on a link or enter in a new web address and the process starts all over again!

So for every request you make to your ISP, not only does that request get stored on your computer, it gets stored on a number of other computers as well! Comforting right?

Well there is a way to hide, or mask would be a better term, your web surfing activities. You need to use an anonymous surfing tool. Sites like Anonymizer.com or the-cloak.com offer an online proxy type service that takes advantage of SSL and encryption to keep your surfing tracks to yourself.

All requests made to them through SSL are encrypted so even your ISP can’t read what you requested. This secure connection is the same type that ecommerce sites use to protect your credit card data. Then all requests they make for you reference their computers as the originator of the request so all the routers and web host servers see is their IP address! Your personal and or browser information is blocked from the Internet.

So, if you really want to protect your privacy, give the snoopers a one - two punch. Clean up your act by using one of the history / cookie clean up tools available for download AND surf through one of the anonymous surfing providers out on the net.

Michael Ameye has been developing web sites since 1995. He started writing about online privacy issues to answer questions from family, friends and co-workers. Visit http://www.canyourspam.com to see his latest work.

He is also the chief editor of PSS Online, A Privacy, Safety and Security eZine dedicated to bringing important information to people in order to foster a safer more secure environment - online and off. Visit http://www.pssonline.info to subscribe.

Did you know…?

• 1 in 5 children who use computer chatrooms has been approached over the Internet by pedophiles.

The Internet is a wonderful tool for communications, education or leisure. It is a library with an incredible 100 million books on every topic known, easily accessible for research and study . It gives you the ability to chat in real time to anyone, anywhere across the world. Its high speed electronic mail routes link up the entire world into a true global village. Its an exciting and essential resource for all our children - as essential as learning to read, write and do Math.

But there are some risks to our children when they are using the Internet, risks which parents need to be aware of. Internet technology is a tool. A tool can be used or abused.

For a long time now the biggest concern for parents about the Internet used to be pornography. Today there is an even greater fear, live chat rooms.

The live chat rooms are the main areas of the Internet where sexual predators cruise searching for vulnerable children.

Due to the relative degree of anonymity online predators are able to deceive children. They may lie about their age or gender. Online predators often establish intimate relationships with children under the pretense of being part of the child’s peer group. Since age identification is impossible, kids need to be careful when chatting online with who they think is part of their peer group. Children are curious and trusting. Unless they are well prepared for what can happen in live chat, they may innocently believe what they are told online by strangers.

Predators target children online who appear lonely, have low self-esteem, and lack parental supervision. It is not uncommon for a pedophile to become the online "confidant" of a lonely child, and they will often teach the child how to keep the online friendship a secret from their parents. Online, just as offline, it is the child who is left alone who is most at risk.

Children who have been seduced, lured or abused online in real-time chat generally have parents who are not Internet experienced.

So whats the solution for todays parents?

Top 10 Internet Safety Tips:

• 1. You need to educate yourself in the use of the computer and the Internet. Both pre-school and school children generally have more of a working knowledge about computers and the Internet than their Parents.

2. As with any other topic, you should openly and frequently talk with your children about the usage and expectations of the computer and the Internet usages.

3. Put the computer in a common room so it and the child activities can be easily observed.

4. Get to know the Internet and any services your child uses. Are the services appropriate for your rules and your child’s age?

5. Tell your child to NEVER EVER give out identifying information such as: home address, school names, grade, age, telephone number, etc. With the information available on the Internet and a little time and effort, it is easy to locate information about a person.

6. Keep track of the amount of on-line time your child spends on-line, and what your child is doing while on the Internet.

7. Never allow your child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with another computer user without your permission and supervision. If your child has a special friend, have they received gifts, computer programs, phone calls or any other favours?

8. Never respond to messages or bulletins if they are from an unknown source. Do not reply to the remove me from list or similar message. This will confirm your email is a valid one.

9. If there is a problem or suspected problem with a Chat Room report it immediately. Try to obtain:

a) What is the name of the chat channel or chat room?

b) What is the nickname or screen name or the suspect?

c) Time and dates are very important.

d) If possible, save the chat or at least print a copy of the chat log or user list.

10. Use technology to help you protect your child. Internet Monitoring Software gives you the ability to review your child’s Internet usage. Even if you don’t look at each and every email or instant message they send, you’ll have a good idea if they are making smart choices online.

By following these steps and becoming an aware and informed parent you can help keep your child safe.

Profile: SavvyApps is a privately owned software company which specialises in leading Internet Monitoring & Surveillance Software Solutions for parents who want to monitor their child’s Internet usage.

If you would like to learn more about how Internet Monitoring Software can help you or would like some more ideas please use the link below:

Internet Monitoring & Surveillance Software

So you want to know who your kids are chatting with. Or if your spouse has a blossoming e-mail romance. Or if one of your employees is leaking confidential information on the side. These tools will allow you to find out the truth and get the evidence you can present to court.

Spytech SpyAgent
http://www.deprice.com/spytechspyagent.htm

Spytech SpyAgent is a powerful and easy-to-use software utility that allows you to log all keystrokes typed and applications launched. All logs are easily viewed with the built in log viewers and can be saved to a convenient, easily viewed text format.

SpyAgent can be run on Windows startup in active monitoring mode with an optional splash warning screen. This allows you to have the option to let others using your workstation that they are being monitored (or not). A built in stealth mode is available to keep users from task-ending or knowing about SpyAgent. SpyAgent gives you the power to log all websites visited, windows viewed, applications ran, internet connections made, passwords entered, documents printed, AIM/AOL/ICQ/Yahoo/MSN conversations made, documents opened, emails sent/received, and even capture screenshots of the user’s activities.

iSpyNow
http://www.deprice.com/ispynow2.htm

SpyNOW is the critically acclaimed, award winning remotely deployable computer monitoring software used by hundreds of thousands of people across the globe. Make no mistake about it, iSpyNOW is first of its kind. iSpyNOW offers it’s users the ability to remotely monitor a machine via a web interface, without ever having physical access to the PC! Unlike competing products, iSpyNOW offers a totally seamless online-based control panel system, backed by intuitive wizards and powerful log viewing capabilities - no external client modules are necessary to download.

IamBigBrother
http://www.deprice.com/iambigbrotherspy.htm

Do you need to view the captured activity from work or another computer at home?IamBigBrother records all of the internet activity for many programs including America Online, MSN, Outlook Express and more. And it logs all keystrokes typed in EVERY program along with screen shots. So basically IamBigBrother monitors EVERYTHING on your computer.

ActMon Home Edition
http://www.deprice.com/actmonhome.htm

The Home Edition records EVERYTHING (including Web sites, Chat, Email and AOL). It is the best choice for parents who wish to monitor what their children are doing online. It is an excellent alternative to standard filtering and blocking software. To avoid tampering of the software, it features a unique file protection that makes the ActMon files truly invisible to every user and every windows software.

SpyBuddy
http://www.deprice.com/spybuddy.htm

SpyBuddy comes equipped with the functionality to record all e-mail’s sent and received, all AOL/ICQ/MSN/AIM/Yahoo/Trillian chat conversations (including MSN Messenger 6.0 and up), all web sites visited, all windows opened and interacted with, every application executed, every document printed, every file or folder renamed and/or modified, all text and images sent to the clipboard, every keystroke pressed, every password typed, and more.

SpyMyPC Pro
http://www.deprice.com/spymypcpro.htm

SpyMyPC PRO is a highly flexible, all-round desktop security monitoring solution written for the Windows operating system. SpyMyPC PRO allows you to secretly record ALL keystrokes typed on your PC without the user ever knowing! SpyMyPC PRO also includes advanced stealth mode features to prevent users and/or programs from detecting and disabling it, an e-mail delivery feature for remote monitoring, and much more.

John Deprice has tested a variety of internet/chat monitors, spying software and keyloggers. For results, visit http://www.deprice.com/utilities.htm

Afraid that someone is monitoring your PC or installed a keylogger to record every single keystroke? Find out which tools you need to get to make sure you are protected.

X-Cleaner Deluxe
http://www.deprice.com/xcleanerdeluxe.htm

X-Cleaner is a top ranked privacy software solution from Xblock, one of the most trusted names in anti-spyware technology. X-Cleaner not only deletes browser and system usage tracks, shreds pictures and generates secure passwords it also features unique anti-spy and anti-adware technology and inoculation features that help prevent infections.

GhostSurf 2005 Platinum
http://www.deprice.com/ghostsurfstandard.htm

GhostSurf Standard is a suite of Internet privacy tools. GhostSurf stops the prying eyes of hackers, Web sites, your Internet Service Provider and even your boss by ensuring an anonymous, untraceable Internet connection. GhostSurf lets you customize your privacy level in real-time to suit your surfing needs. A variety of privacy options enable you to block personal information, mask your IP address, route your data through anonymous hubs and even encrypt your Internet connection. GhostSurf’s TracksCleaner component protects your privacy by erasing your Web history, files, cache, clipboard, cookies and more to Department of Defense standards, and it prevents undelete tools and aggressive hardware recovery systems from retrieving your deleted files.

Outpost Firewall Pro
http://www.deprice.com/outpostfirewallpro.htm

The firewall provides Security, Control, Privacy and Ease of Use. Outpost Firewall starts protecting as soon as it is installed. The program detects and blocks hacker attacks, guards the privacy of data stored on your computer, monitors network activity of your system and applications, provides secure web surfing, and prevents Internet worms from activating from your inbox. Outpost can place your computer into stealth mode, making it invisible to hackers. In addition, the program can remove annoying pop-ups and ads and increase connection speed. To ensure your protection against new threats, Outpost updates information frequently through a custom utility.

CyberScrub Professional
http://www.deprice.com/cyberscrubprofessional.htm

CyberScrub’s Internet clean up erases all evidence of your on-line activity to ensure your valued privacy. Most people are shocked to learn files have been placed on their computer (without their knowledge or permission) that create user profiles and document their Internet activity. Sensitive data can easily fall into the wrong hands. And because Windows is not capable of deleting information beyond recovery, you are at risk. CyberScrub allows you to purge, wipe and erase data with methods that far exceed US Department of Defense standards for file deletion (DOD 5220.22).

CleverCrypt Enhanced
http://www.deprice.com/clevercryptenhanced.htm

CleverCrypt Enhanced represents the latest generation of security products from Quantum Digital Security. Create impenetrable encrypted virtual hard drives to store all of your confidential files in. CleverCrypt Enhanced provides more protection than ever before, with up to 1280 bit military grade encryption. Simply create a secure hard drive and drag & drop your files for ultimate protection. Even if your whole computer (or laptop) is stolen nobody will be able to access information inside your CleverCrypt drive without knowing your passwords.

John Deprice shares his tools and ideas for protecting your identity at http://www.deprice.com

Today the internet is a mine field of malicious code looking to harm your computer. Hackers want to have access to your PC for both fun and profit. You must be diligent in your ability to detect and then protect your important computer data.

Understanding what hackers are looking for, what doors they use to gain entry into your computer and which programs are available to help you protect your PC against any illegal entry will give you greater peace of mind and protect your valuable data.

There are three types of threats to your computer that you need to be concerned about. The first are viruses. The definition of a computer virus is a piece of code or a program that is that is loaded onto and run on your computer without your knowledge. They can attach themselves to other programs on your computer. Some Virus’ can reproduce at a great rate and in turn use up a lot of your computer memory. This eventually can cause your computer to crash. You get Viruses most commonly via email or downloading programs and files. One way is in form of .exe files. If you receive an .exe file you should never open it unless it has been checked and approved as safe by your virus protection program.

Viruses can come into your computer in many other forms. You have to be careful with flash files, movies, mp3 and even .jpeg files. This is a good reason to have virus protection software installed on your computer. Companies like Norton, McAfee (McAfee.com), Trend Micro who makes PC-cilliin (trendmicro.com) and Grisoft (grisoft.com) among others make excellent virus protection products. Grisoft makes AVG Pro which is competent virus protection software. They have a personal edition which is free to use and is very good.

The next piece of software that is needed to protect your PC computer is a firewall. A firewall is used to block illegal access to your computer or network. It will block suspicious data from flowing into your PC and block unapproved programs outside your computer from taking data from your PC.

Think of a firewall as a doorman whose job it is to open a large locked door. When the doorman knows who is knocking at the door either by an announcement or because he recognizes the person he will let them in. With your firewall the firewall is unlocked only on your authorization allowing data to be passed on or received. It learns after awhile who is trusted and who is not.

A firewall comes standard with Microsoft Windows XP (Microsoft.com). But in order for it to protect, you must turn it on. Other solutions are Symantec’s Norton Personal Firewall which you can buy by itself or bundled in the Norton Security Suite (symantec.com). McAfee (McAfee.com) also has a good firewall as well as the free version of Zone Labs firewall called Zone Alarm (zonelabs.com).

And, finally you should have good spyware software to protect against hackers or companies from snooping to find information about you through your internet connection. It is commonly used by companies for marketing purposes. Free spyware software that is widely used is Spybot’s Search & Destroy (safer-networking.org) or Lavasoft’s (lavasoft.com) free version of their Ad-aware spyware application. Spy Sweeper from Webroot (webroot.com) is an excellent choice and does not cost very much. Spy Sweeper has received many top reviews from the computer magazines.

If you install a virus protection software, Firewall and spyware software your computer will be well protected and you will have peace of mind. And, you needn’t spend a lot. In each category you can find a free version that is very good and will help keep your computer problem free.

Ken Katz runs a Dating site:Web4Love.com. He has written this article for his viewers to help inform them on easy and mostly free software to help protect their computers.

Spyware, viruses and worms… oh my!

If you are connected to the internet, you need to make sure you get your computer set up properly if you want to avoid problems down the road.

With all the viruses, spyware and other threats on the internet today, no computer should be set up without the proper protection.

And that protection needs to be in place as soon after you hook up your new machine as possible.

The following five steps will make your computer a much harder target for threats. You still won’t be completely immune to problems, but 99% of the time the threat will pass you by, looking for the easy mark.

1. Running a Personal Firewall

A personal firewall is software that basically makes your computer invisible to hackers, worms and other threats that can infect your computer over the internet.

Setting up a firewall is the absolute first thing you should do if you’re going to connect to the internet. Without a firewall, your computer could get infected in as little as one minute after connecting.

If you have a brand new computer running Windows XP Service Pack 2, there is a firewall built into Windows. It will already have been turned on when you first set up your computer.

If you’re running an older version of Windows, even an earlier version of Windows XP, there is no firewall automatically set up for you. In this case there are two possibilities:

• Your computer came pre-loaded with a firewall such as Norton Internet Security or McAfee Internet Security
• You have no firewall installed and should download one ASAP.

If you don’t have any personal firewall software installed, you should do so right away. Zone Alarm is a very good firewall program that has a version that you can download and install for free.

You can download the free version of Zone Alarm from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/zonealarm.

2. Turn on Windows Updates

Again, if you’re running Windows XP Service Pack 2 this is already set up, but otherwise you should turn on Windows Updates. Microsoft releases updates for security problems and other bugs in Windows on a regular basis.

These updates will keep your computer running better, and they often fix security issues that could compromise your information or privacy.

If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2, you can double-check that automatic updates are turned on by clicking Start, then click Control Panel, then double-click Security Center. The window that opens will tell you if automatic updates are turned on, and lets you turn them on if they’re not.

To turn on automatic updates in earlier versions of Windows XP, click on the Start menu, click Control Panel and then double-click on System. On the "Automatic Updates" tab, click the option to "Automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."

To turn them on in Windows 2000, click on Start, click Control Panel and then double-click on Automatic Updates. Again, click the option to "automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."

Now when Microsoft releases updates, they will be downloaded for you automatically and Windows will tell you when they are ready to be installed.

3. Install & Update Antivirus Software

Most new computers come with antivirus software these days. You might have Norton, McAfee, PC-Cillin or another brand. No matter what program you have, you will need to update it when you get connected to the internet.

It doesn’t matter how new your computer is - there will be new viruses, and new updates for the antivirus software, since it was loaded.

The exact process is different for each brand of antivirus program, but most of them will have an icon in the bottom right corner of your desktop, beside the time. The icon might be a picture of a shield (McAfee), a stethoscope (Norton) or something else.

In most cases, if you point to the icon for your antivirus and click the right mouse button, a menu will pop up with an update option. It could be simply called update or could be something like Live Update or Download Latest Updates. If you click on the update option (with the left button this time) it will install the newest updates for you.

If you’re not sure which icon is for your antivirus software, just point to each one for a few seconds and a little title should pop up telling you what it is.

4. Install Anti-Spyware Software

Spyware - and other things known as adware and malware - is becoming as big a problem as viruses. Spyware programs can cause a lot of problems with your computer, not to mention they can track your personal information and you never know where it’s being sent.

Some new computers might includes antispyware software, but most of them don’t yet. There are quite a few anti-spyware programs available, some free and some not. The one I recommend is from Microsoft and is one of the free ones.

One of the reasons I like it is because it always runs in the background and will automatically catch a lot of spyware before it gets on your computer.

Many of the other programs don’t catch it until you run a scan. Not only does this allow things to get on your computer, it also means you have to actually remember to run a scan.

You can download the free Microsoft Antispyware from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/antispyware.

5. Set up a Free Email Account

This last item is not as critical as the first four, but I would highly recommend you set up an email account with one of the free services like Hotmail or Gmail.

Once you’re on the internet, you’ll find a lot of useful information that you want that requires you to provide an email address. In some cases, these people will end up sending you a bunch of spam.

If you use a free email account to sign up for anything that you don’t know for sure you can trust, it’s not going to fill your main email with a bunch of junk.

This goes for anything really, not just online information. If you’re entering a contest or signing up for anything offline and you don’t know where your information could end up being used, I would suggest using your free email address.

If worse comes to worse, and your free email address gets inundated with spam, you can always just set up a new one and let the old one expire.

Some of the better free email services are www.hotmail.com, www.gmail.com and www.yahoomail.com.

If you’ve had your computer for a while and never done any of these things, you should still take these steps to get it set up properly. It will definitely save you a lot of time - and possibly money - as you use your system.

John Lenaghan offers easy-to-understand computer help at the Computer Help Squad website. Find out more about these 5 steps - sign up for the Computer Help Squad newsletter and receive your free 5-part guide.

We all get the odd virus now and then, but sometimes that one virus could cause so many problems. In this article I shall be going though just some of the problems that these virus software programs can do, and how to fix them.

One of the worst type of virus is one that effects the Boot Config, if this happens you will notice an error such as "Invalid boot sector" or "unaccessable boot device", there are many other errors for the same problem, if you don’t get even a windows loading screen then your issue may be the Boot Config, sounds like a hard problem to fix don’t it, infact its pretty easy. For this we shall need a Windows XP install CD, if your computer never come with one then please go down to where you paid for your PC and ask for one, insert the CD and then turn on your PC, you will get a text messege saying "To boot from CD press any key", so press anykey!, now wait for a few mintues untill it says the terms and conditions, read though them and then follow the onscreen instructions untill it warns of another operating system already installed. It will give you a option to go into the recovery console by pressing R, this is what we want to go into. Wait, and a Dos like screen will show itself, type the following "/fixmbr" and then "/exit", and then load up your PC and windows should load up. Now I would advice for you to do a virus scan using what ever software you use!

Another type of virus is one that cuts you of the network or internet often, these can be hard to fix as they most of the time merge with the system files. First of all check that you can’t just fix it by using MSCONFIG (Start - Run - Msconfig - Startup - Disable all), if you can then do so and then run a virus checking peice of software, if this fails then read on. Load up in Windows safe mode (Press F6 before the windows loading screen and then select safe mode) and now wait for safemade to load, once loaded use your virus checking software to rid yourself of the virus that is creating this problem, almost all viruses can be removed from Safemode. If this fails then seek professional help or reinstall Windows.

Yet another type of virus is not really a virus its spyware and adware, this is the type of problem most people get and it is the most common caluse for computers to slow down over time, you may ask where you could get spyware from and the most common places are p2p software such as Kazaa or websites offering Illegal content or even porn sites, but you may also get it from any other type of site. Spyware and Adware are big issues for slowing down your PC so I am sure you want to get rid of them, to do so you will wish to download Anti-Spyware software and I reccomend Spysweeper by WebRoot, others may wish to try Ad-aware, download the anti-spyware tool you want and then UPDATE the softrware, now do a full system scan and go make a drink, when you get back the scan should be done and it will list all of the spyware and adware, right click and click remove all and then wait again for it to remove the software. When done it may ask you to reset, do so as surgested, but now you will want to get another peice of software called Spybot S&D, this is free and can be downloaded from http://www.security.kolla.de, download and update that then run scan, it will find more spyware and adware so don’t be shocked by thinking the other software did not work, in turn they work together to make a better peice of anti-spyware, Spybot also gives you the chance to immunize from some spyware, click that and now your system won’t get the same spyware again. I reccomend doing a spyware check every 1 week.

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Created by Daniel Nethersole who works on Dimensionet.com, check out Daniels Wallpaper site at http://www.walls.dimensionet.com

The internet is undoubtedly a fantastic resource for families and offers a rich vein of educational content.

However, there are potential dangers - welcome to the seedy world of viruses, spam, trojans, pornography, spyware and other nasties.

These are the Top Twelve Threats No Computer User Should Ignore.

1. Viruses - A computer program that copies itself. They often disrupt your computer system or damage your data. Viruses are usually received by email attachments so be careful opening anything from a dubious source. They can affect anyone, for example, the destructive Mydoom worm affected one out of three small and mid-sized businesses.

2. Spyware - Sends information about you and your computer to somebody else. Spyware may send the addresses of sites you have visited or worse still, transmit personal information. With today’s concerns about identify theft this is a real worry. For example, CoolWebSearch may hijack web searches, home page, and other Internet Explorer settings. Spyware is normally received as part of shareware or freeware downloaded from the web.

3. IP Spoofing - A technique to gain unauthorized access to computers, whereby the intruder sends messages to a computer with an address indicating that the message is coming from a trusted host.

4. Trojans - An apparently legitimate computer program that is really intended to disrupt and damage computer activity by sending information, perhaps even passwords onto a third party without you knowing. As an example, recent emails entitled "Osama Bin Laden Captured" attempted to download the "Trj/Small.B." Trojan if the embedded URL was clicked. This trojan attempts to hijack the PC.

5. Spam - Unsolicited mail often promoting products of a dubious financial or sexual nature. Don’t leave your email address on websites and internet bulletin boards as they are harvested by spammers.

6. Adware - puts advertisements on your screen. These take many forms including popups, popunders and advertisements that appear later, even if your browser is closed. Some are sent using the Windows Messenger service which allows a spammer to direct an advertisement straight to your computer by sequentially sending messages to IP addresses. Always irritating, they are also often of a pornographic nature.

7. Diallers - for those of us still with dial up modems, dialler programs redirect calls to a very expensive number. You won’t know until you get the bill.

8. Hijackers - Hijackers take control of your web browser and may reset your home page, search bar and search pages. They can redirect you to undesirable sites or stop you going to particular sites.

9. Hackers - With so much personal data available online to anyone with a password you must be sure your password is secure. If you are using your mother’s maiden name, your cat’s name or your birthday then your password is at risk. Here are two tips for making a secure password. Method One - pick two random unrelated three letter words and two digits. Mix them up and what do you have? A secure password such as "red19cat" or "hotpin73". Method Two - pick a short sequence of words such as Now Is The Winter Of Our Discontent Made Glorious’ and you have a password of "nitwoodmg". You could even change the I’s and O’s to digits.

10. Phishing - Emails purporting to come from reliable sources such as Paypal, Ebay or your bank. Often wanting you to verify your account details, they can look very realistic but are generally scams to harvest usernames and passwords. Always open a new browser winder and type the address there, rather than clicking on the link provided.

11. Hoaxes - Chain letters, scams, false alarms. At best they take up time and bandwidth but at worst vulnerable can be victims of fraud. Pass it on!

12. Stranger-danger – For those of us with children - do you know what they actually do when they are online? Are they working on homework tasks, downloading illegal music or pornography? Or are they chatting to strangers in chat rooms? You should consider blocking access to undesirable sites and logging their activity with a surveillance tool. Oh, and don’t forget that where children are concerned, computers should always be kept in a family room and never in their bedroom.

Three Step Action Plan

There are three basic, essential steps that should be taken to ensure your PC is kept threat-free.

Firstly , be sensible when opening attachments or following email instructions from apparently reputable sites.

Secondly , make sure you are using the latest service pack of Windows as Microsoft is continually closing loopholes to tighten up security.

Finally, there’s a range of low cost tools such as firewalls, antivirus, spam blockers and spyware killers available. Like everything else they vary in quality and you tend to get what you pay for so always do your research first and perhaps try a free trial before getting your credit card out.

The author, Kai Chandler, edits http://www.surfcontrols.com which specializes in providing reviews and recommendations of top-rated tools to help protect your online experience.