Malware. An odd sounding word created to lump all malicious software programs, including viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware, and other malevolent codes into one cause-your-computer-serious-hurt category. In 2005, Computer Economics released a report on malware. The good news was that for the first time since 2002, the total worldwide financial losses from malware actually declined to a mere $14.2 billion. That’s probably no longer true. The past year has seen multiple very large companies, government agencies and IT groups fall prey to hackers. Not always [...]

it is important that we say something up front. It is essential for you to understand that there is no such thing as a totally secure operating system or web browser. Doesn’t matter what Windows or Mac tell you. There is simply no such animal as an OS that can’t be hacked or cracked and is totally immune to virus invasion. While the use of security suites and other complementing products can significantly reduce your risks, they are not magic wands that you can wave [...]

Today, with so many older Americans using the internet, as well as so many very young people, taking the time to teach internet security is important. Not only adults, but also children who may be using your computer can download malware, and need to know where the major threats are. They need to be aware of how to avoid malware. The biggest single threat to your online security is not the links you may click or the email you may get, it’s what you don’t [...]

There seems to be a vast concern lately about spyware and adware, some of which places things that compromise your security on your machine. Others will simply keep downloading links that are making someone rich while your computer slows down to a disgusting crawl that you can’t seem to recover from. There are some great free spyware and adware programs, and also a few online places to go where you can test your own computer to see if you’ve been affected by adware or spyware [...]