I agree with all that Bill has said. It amazes me at the number of computers that I have to fix because their owners were to cheap to install a good anti-virus program. I have had very good success with
"PC-Cillian" (
http://www.antivirus.com) for many, many years. It's only available on the Internet, which is why you don't see it advertised all over the place like some other products.
Personally I don't like software firewalls (although I have XP's turn on - because it's already there), so I use a good hardward fireware (never given me a problem, unlike some software), plus I run
"Adaware" (free) &
"Spybot" (free) at least once a week. What one doesn't find, the other will. :hello1:
I firmly believe in layers of security, therefore my computers run just fine 24/7, and in all these years I have never been hacked or been taken down by a virus. If you want to see how secure you are, here is a good site that will check it out for you
for free:
http://www.grc.com/default.htm. Click on the "Shields Up" program and follow the instructions. At least you'll know how vulnerable you are to the "hackers".
Every four months I take the covers off my computers and clean them out with a small round horse-hair artist brush, a vacuum cleaner, and a can of air to finish up the job. I swear some people use their computers as vacuum cleaners, because when I service them, it's incredible that amount of dust that I see in there. Then they wonder why their computers are giving them fits. :roll: Lots of dust acts as an insulator, allowing heat to build up & computers do not like excessive heat, so keep them clean.
I also keep my computers up-to-date with all the
Critical Updates as they come available. I have not yet downloaded SP-2, as there is no pressing reason to yet. I will wait for another month or so for Microsoft to tweak it first. Besides, they don't pay me to be their Beta Tester. :joker:
Happy computing!
Reg