Reducing
Spam:
SPAM—electronic
junk mail, junk newsgroup postings, and unwanted / unsolicited mail from the Internet. Generally, spam is advertising for
some product. Pop up messages are not considered spam. Because the Internet is public, there is little that can be done to
prevent spam. However, there are some quick tips below to avoid spam.
-Do not reveal your
main email address in any contest, query, profile, or guest book.
-Set up an alternate
e-mail address from your main one and use this when signing up for any sort of promotion, mail list, etc. Sites like
Yahoo and MSN offer free e-mail addresses and are great for such purposes.
-Do not reply
to “unsubscribe” spam links. What this does is actually verify to the sender that your e-mail address is valid,
and will generate more spam from other sources.
-Do not forward your
personal email to people you do not know.
Virus
Threats:
What is a virus?
A computer virus is a small program written to alter the way a computer operates, without the permission
or knowledge of the user.
Some viruses are programmed
to damage the computer by damaging programs, deleting files, or reformatting the hard disk. Others are not designed to do
any damage, but simply to replicate themselves and make their presence known by presenting text, video, and audio messages.
Even these benign viruses can create problems for the computer user. They typically take up computer memory used by legitimate
programs. As a result, they often cause erratic behavior and can result in system crashes. In addition, many viruses are bug-ridden,
and these bugs may lead to system crashes and data loss.
Please
see the Symantec and/or McAfee website for further info on viruses and how to prevent them.
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ent-security.nsf/pfdocs/1999041209131148
http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?cid=10371
Spyware/Adware:
What is
Spyware?
Spyware is software
or hardware installed on a computer without the user's knowledge which gathers information about that user for later retrieval
by whomever controls the spyware.
Advertising spyware logs information about the
user, possibly including passwords, email addresses, web browsing history, online buying habits, the computer's hardware and
software configuration, the name, age, sex, etc of the user. Some of the biggest culprits of spreading Spyware are Bearshare,
Kazaa, Imesh, Limewire, just to name a few- all of these products install multiple advertising spyware applications.
The following are clues that your PC is
infected with Spyware:
·
You see pop-up advertisements
even when you're not on the Web.
· The page your Web browser first opens to (your home page) or your
browser search settings have changed without your knowledge.
· You notice a new toolbar in your browser that you didn't want, and
find it difficult to get rid of.
· Your computer takes longer than usual to complete certain tasks.
· You experience a sudden rise in computer crashes.
