Protect your computer from hackers! Learn how to prevent yourself from being a victim and a distributor of computer email viruses and worms. Take these simple precautions:

1. NEVER open an attachment in an email UNLESS you are sure you understand what it is and why it's been sent to you. When in doubt, delete. You can always write back to the person who sent it and ask if they intended to send an attachment and to please explain what it was and then resend it. Most viruses are triggered by unwitting victims opening an attachment.
      
2. INSTALL PROTECTION SOFTWARE -- NOW! Once you have it, you will help stop the spread of viruses. If you don't have it, you will sooner or later regret leaving yourself so vulnerable. It is absolutely worth the money spent for it! (See the list of anti-virus software on the right.)
      
3. BLOCK PORN and other spam, as well as viruses, with a program called MailWasher Pro. For a very low price, MailWasher will look inside your mailbox before you run your email program, identify the porn and spam and viruses, and delete it for you. It will even help you fight back by sending a bounce message that tells the spammer that your address is invalid (so that it's removed from their mailing list). Then you can safely open your email.
     
4. Find out what's NOT a virus and don't clog up the internet spreading false alarms. When you get word of a virus, take a minute to check it out first, before forwarding the message to others and embarrassing yourself. Here's a great site for this research:
   urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/blhoax.htm
      
5. BEWARE OF SPIES, HACKERS & KEY LOGGERS!
   There are programs that can spy into your computer. It happens when people download a program (such as a game) that comes bundled with "Sputnik" or "VX2" or another brand of spyware. It installs itself silently on your computer and then monitors your "clickstream" as you navigate around the web, sending information about your activities (including credit card numbers!), back to the originator. Disclaimers claim that credit card info will not be used (sooo -- why get it then?)
   
   To make matters worse, there seems to be a connection between this and an increase of popup ads while surfing the Internet!
   

   You can tell if you're infected with VX2 by searching for the "VX2.dll" file on your system. Instructions for uninstalling the software are located at http://www.vx2.cc

6. Always be careful about what you download. Is it from a trustworthy software manufacturer? But since "trust" is only a guess, the best advice is to extend your anti-virus protection to include anti-spyware (to block your personal information from being taken without your permission), anti-hacker-tools (to prevent hijackers from accessing your PC), anti-key-loggers (to safeguard your passwords and other private stuff) and anti-worms (to hack away at hacker tools that can exploit your computer even after they're gone).

God bless you and your computers!

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Get your anti-virus software:

• Benign @ Firetrust.com
• sophos.com
• housecall.antivirus.com
• mcafee.com
• symantec.com
• antivirus.com
• grisoft.com (free)
• datafellows.com

Scan your computer to find out if it's been infected:

• Panda ActiveScan (free)
• HouseCall (free)

Use anti-theft software to protect your computer from spies and other invasions of privacy:
pestpatrol.com

Discover and remove spyware:
Spybot Search & Destroy
and
Spyware-Guide

Clean out spam, porn, and viruses from your mailbox before opening it, with MailWasher Pro.

Related Info:

Can worms bite your mailing list?

What's real, what's a hoax?