- Are You Safe?
The other day Enogg had to boot up the PC. Enogg’s partial to Macs, but it was on the blink, which is a rare occurrence. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was dropped three times. It’s been a long week for this Egg.
Enogg was forced to use the PC and waited 30 minutes for Windows to come to life. Come on Microsoft, Enogg doesn’t have all century to watch a boot-up screen.
It’s still booting… Wait. What? How long does it take to boot up? Tap tap tap. Now what? Norton antivirus software from Symantec is out of date? OK. Renew that little puppy because rumor has it there are some nasty viruses out there.
According to the National Cyber Security Alliance a virus infects more than 90% of all PCs. It’s not safe out there for PCs!
What a racket Symantec and McAfee have. A suspicious mind would suspect that a security company invents the virus and then turns around to claim cyberspace fiefdom when the antivirus software detects and fixes the little bugs. Those antivirus programs are a menace to the menace and ultimately both virus and antivirus software are a menace to the user. Antivirus software big brother is a bug-me that slows down productivity. But you have to have the software.
There are softer viruses. You may be involved and don’t even realize your compliance. Forwarding an email that directs you to forward it to 1,000 of your closest friends is a soft-form of participating in a cyber viral virus. Hah now that’s a sneaky way to move a virus in the guise of a friendly email. The soft virus may do nothing to your computer but junk it up with emails.
Spyware is one of the fastest growing Internet threats, right up there with the Trojan horse and recent hackers’ escapades
Here’s What Spyware/virus Can Do To Your PC:
- Monitor keystrokes.
- Snoop files on your laptop
- Install even more annoying spyware programs
- Read your cookies
- Swipe personal info
- Switch default settings on your browser
- Slip detection and mutate into a second or third generation of spyware
- Provide no uninstall option
- Cause a computer to run slower
- There’s more, this is just the tip of the iceberg
Spyware programs are designed to … make a mess. Go it? Here’s the rub: Spyware is designed to be annoying and aggressive in nature. Not only are you riddled with crazy PC operating issues, you have to run an antivirus software to play dodge ball with annoying programs targeted to make your already miserable PC life even more miserable.
Surprise, surprise Internet Explorer is often a contributor to the spyware proliferation. The pesky programs like to attach themselves to its functionality. Switching to Firefox is a great alternative. If you want to stick with IE, make sure to update your security patches often.
What Can You Do?
- Buy a Mac (Had to say that)
- Invest in a reliable commercial anti-spyware program
- Back up your data
- Change your passwords often. You are not using “password” right?
- Don’t hang out in bad cyber-hoods
- Don’t download an attachment or click a link unless certain
- Buy a Mac (Said it again)
Still waiting for the PC to update! Can it get a virus just sitting there? The PC-swine flu is contagious.
From The desk of EnoggEggbert
