Buying a Used Computer Online - What to Look For Step by Step Before You Make Your Purchase

There's one reason and one reason only to buy a used computer online, lack of money which is a good reason. For the purpose of this article, the term computer shall include laptops. This article will tell you what to look for and what not to look for in a used computer, step by step.

I would only consider buying a used computer if you can't afford to buy the computer you want new and can't afford a new computer at a level below that computer provided its features still have what you want. IE, if you can't afford to spend $750 for a new Core 2 Duo computer but can afford to spend $500 on a new Core Duo computer or $500 on a used Core 2 Duo, I would probably get the new Core Duo Computer unless the features on the used Core 2 Duo you found you couldn't do without. The main advantage of buying a computer used is the warranty and the ability to extend it, free technical help from the computer company and the fact that you know there is no spyware, adware and viruses on it and in all likelihood no pre-existing problems on the computer waiting to be discovered.

Once you decide you can only afford to get the computer you want used then the first thing I would do is look to to see if it's available online from a large company that sells refurbished computers with at least a 45-90 day warranty. Refurbished computers include computers whose boxes were opened and never used as well as returned computers with no problems and returned computers with problems. These companies usually buy refurbished computers in mass and test, repair and restore them as applicable to their original factory setting before they are resold, so you're not likely to get a stiff. If you are, you will be covered by their warranty. You usually can extend your warranty for a few years beyond the original 45-90 days, as long as it's before your original warranty expires.

The next step below that is buying your computer used online. Usually when you are buying a computer used online, there is no warranty. If you are not sure if a computer includes a certain feature on it, you need to contact the seller and have him confirm by email if it does or doesn't have that feature before you purchase it. Sellers are notorious for being deliberately vague on used computers. For instance, a few years ago I purchased a computer which the seller confirmed to me by email that it included an operating system and when I got it, of course it didn't but because I had this in writing he replaced it with one that had an operating system. If I didn't get him to confirm this, chances are he would have stated that nowhere in his sales description did he say an operating system was included and therefore he won't replace it. If you don't have a basic general knowledge of computers and you have a friend that does, I would have the friend check out the description before you make your purchase. Whatever you do, if you see the words "Sold as Is"- do not buy as that is the sellers way of saying you are stuck with it, once you receive it.

I would not purchase any computer that is not at least described as being in very good condition as most sellers have a tendency to describe the condition one level better then what it is. I also would not buy any computer that mentions any kind of problem in its sales listing even its been fixed as you're asking for trouble. You should make sure the memory, hard drive, operating system, size and CPU is listed and what you're looking for. Assuming everything is in order, I would insist that the seller cleans the computer of all spyware, adware and viruses, if applicable before they send it out. I once got a used laptop that I had to spend 5 hours cleaning that junk off it. Once you get the computer, run any security programs on it and if you see that the seller hasn't sent you a clean computer, either tell them to refund you for the the whole computer or tell him you'll keep it but you want a rebate for sending you an unclean computer.

One last thing before you make your purchase is to see what software is already on the computer and if there's something you don't want, ask the seller to uninstall it and if there's something you want kept on, tell the seller to leave it on. I would have the seller send you the computer UPS ground as its likelier to be damaged if sent by air, insured for the full purchase amount and requiring you to sign for it when delivered.

Once you get your computer I would as I said earlier, run any security programs you have to make sure there's no junk on it. I then would test the computer for its basic functions and once you have an internet connection established, download Belarc Advisor online which is a free download that reads what's exactly on your computer in detail to make sure everything you were told was on the computer is on the computer in terms of software, system, RAM, hardware, etc. I also would make sure you have an anti-virus program operational before you start surfing the web.

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Web and Computer Security

Well, if that would have been said to me by my father when I was 2 years of age, I would have understood. But when today, my own computer tells me that when I am 34, I wonder why I spent $1500 on my computer hardware and software just to enjoy the (un-realized) benefits of this great and revolutionary information technology?

Today’s cyberspace is hazardous. None of today’s PC users can claim that they never had a computer virus issue or a PC security breach. Now, if you count today’s number of PC users worldwide, they will soon be 1 billion by 2010 according to analysts. When I see all the computer viruses, infections, trojans, and what not around me, and compare it with the 1 billion innocent computer users around the world, I simply feel sorry not only for those billion users but for myself too. But again, as a common user myself, I must admit it was not all doomsday for the whole industry since 1987 when I started to use computers. So, as a responsible member of this great IT revolution, I must share some of the best tips and tricks that I learned to use to make the minimum room for productivity on my computer.

Please note this is a tutorial for someone who has basic know-how of computer usage. For those who are newbies, I would recommend asking a local expert’s help before trying anything out mentioned in this tutorial. In that case, make room for payment from deep pocket. For your own convenience, print this tutorial for step-by-step instructions.

Whenever my computer is infected, I act on any of the following options;

1. FORMAT HARD DISK: I back up all of my data on a CD-Writer if it is still accessible. And then format the whole hard disk drive and re-install each and every application.

2. USE SOFTWARE: I exhaust all anti-virus and other software options. This is usually my first priority as compared to formatting the whole computer hard disk drives.

Now, let me explain both options in detail;

PRE-REQUISITES: Make sure you have a CD-Drive (Writer), empty writable CDs, Windows OS CD (bootable) that contains files such as Format.exe, Scandisk.exe, FDisk.exe, and Attrib.exe files. Microsoft Office CD, Anti-Virus CD, GoldenHawk CD Writing Software in DOS (copy2cd.exe and cdtools.exe), Serial Numbers of your License, Driver CDs of Motherboard, VGA, Network, Sound and Modem devices. Optionally, download (using www.download.com or www.tucows.com) these software from any Internet Café when your own computer is inaccessible and save it on a CD so that you can use it anytime for security purposes;

Golden Hawk DOS based CD Writing Software

HTech Fireman Windows based CD Writing Software

Driver Genius Pro

Partition Magic

AVG AntiVirus

SpywareBlaster & SpywareGuard

Spybot Search & Destroy

Ad-Aware

IE-SpyAd

ZoneAlarm

HiJackThis & CWShredder

I have intentionally avoided mention of many commercially good and more friendly software’s mention here as I wanted everything to do FREE without any additional costs apart from the usual OS licenses. For your own convenience, you can research Google or Yahoo search engines find further information about such commercial software and their availability / pricing.

1. FORMAT HARD DISK

I know it is painful and surgical type of solution, but sometimes, it is the ONLY solution left after exhausting all of our efforts to revive our computer machine after a virus attack. Follow this procedure;

Booting Up: Try booting your computer normally first and see if you can login easily. If you can’t or your computer hangs up, try holding F8 key when starting Windows and you will get the Safe Mode. Even if you don’t get the Safe Mode, don’t worry.

Power up your computer and press DEL key or F2 key to login your CMOS. In CMOS, go to Boot Preferences and make CD Drive as boot drive as your first boot drive and change the hard disk drive as the second boot drive. If you don’t see your CD Drive in the boot-up options, your CD Drive is not properly installed. Check the connectors or ask your CD Drive provider for instructions to install the CD Drive. Now, when your CD Drive is ready, insert your Windows OS CD in the CD Drive and restart your computer machine. When prompted, select the option “Boot from CD with CD Option”. When you get the prompt, Notice the CD Drive letter that was allocated to your CD Drive when it installed the CD Driver. It is usually D: drive or the last drive letter depending on the number of your partitions. Note it down as it is the actual drive letter where you will have to type a DOS command like d:

You should now be able to run all software utilities such as Format, Scandisk, FDisk or Windows Installation Setup.exe files. Right now, simply make sure they exist by typing a DOS command dir at the CD drive letter. If you don’t find it with this simple directory command, use dir/s filename to search the file. For example, to search fdisk.exe file, type dir/s fdisk.exe.

BACKING UP YOUR DATA: Before formatting your hard disk drive, please make sure you have proper back up of your critical data files such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc files on a CD or any other media for backup that you have access to. In this tutorial, we assume you have a CD-Writer installed for taking backups on Writeable CDs. Their capacity is usually 700MB or less. Here, you should seriously consider using Zipping software like WinZip or WinRAR.

VIA WINDOWS: If you can luckily login to your Windows OS, you should run the CD-Writer software such as HTech Fireman to back up all of your data on an empty CD. If you don’t know how to do it, read their user manual for detailed instruction set. If you can’t access your Windows OS, read on.

VIA DOS: Some of the files that you wish to make back-up, may be hidden. To un-hide them, use attrib *.* +r +s +h.

Now, use the software from Golden Hawk file named as copy2cd.exe to backup your data files or directories on a writeable CD. Before using this command, make sure you are in an appropriate path on the computer such as E:/ where the actual file copy2cd.exe file resides;

Copy2cd c:data*.* f:

Here we assumed that f: is a CD Writer drive. Now, repeat the same for all of your files to back up. When finished, run cdtools.exe command i.e. cdtools f: to finish by selecting option “Disc Finalization”.

If you can’t back up your data using the above-mentioned procedure, either ask an outside expert’s help personally or via internet. If all fails, forget your data forever and carry on installing a new OS as mentioned in this tutorial.

Backing up Your Drivers: An interesting tool to mentioned here is a software that automatically backs up all of your drivers of CD, modem, sound card, vga, usb, printer or just about anything that is currently installed on your system. But this software works only in an operational windows OS, and not in DOS. It is a good and time-saving practice to keep a backup of all of your drivers on a CD by using such a software. Its name is Driver Genius Pro and it is commercial software, not a freeware.

USING FDISK: You may skip this option and go straight to Formatting Hard Disk option, if you wish to use other useful partitions that may contain your data. Before going ahead with this option, Make sure there is no useful data left on your computer to be backed up. This option will delete all of the computer partitions and create new ones.

i) Boot up your computer using Windows OS CD.

ii) Run this command
fdisk

iii) Press option 3 to delete all current partitions.

iv) To create a new partition, select option 1 and select Y to answer the maximum size question by the program.

v) Next, select option 2

vi) Press Esc key to quit and restart your computer to

See the URL http://www.compguystechweb.com/troubleshooting/fdisk/fdisk_scr.html for detailed instructions alongwith screenshots. Now, that you have created the primary partition, you can continue to format the newly created partition. There is a very user-friendly but commercial software called Partition Magic by PowerQuest to manage your partitions easily after installation of Windows.

FORMATTING HARD DISK: Now that you have created new partitions, It is time to format them so that you can start installing Windows. This is how you make your C: drive usable by your Windows OS for installation. Boot up your computer with Windows CD and type format c: command at the prompt. When prompted for maximum size, press, YES. After complete processing you will be presented with the successful report about the formatting of the C: drive. Select your new drive name and press ENTER to finish.

INSTALLING WINDOWS: Microsoft has made it very easy for a newbie to install a completely new OS on a newly formatted partition. It is all wizard based and you simply have to click NEXT each time whenever asked a question. Boot up your computer from the Windows CD and select Start with CD Option. When on DOS prompt, change to the CD Drive that it just created which is usually d: if you have only one partition C. Now type command setup.exe to start the windows installation process.

During installation, make sure you properly name your PC as per your preferences and select your regions and Time zone. When finished, the computer will re-boot and during next re-boot it may ask some drivers of your Sound Card, VGA, Network, or other devices attached. Provide the requisite driver CDs and locate the paths of the appropriate drivers. If you are not sure, leave it like that and press NEXT to ignore. When your windows installation is complete, you can install Microsoft Office, setup internet connection and start using it as normally as you would. Please make sure you install all the security software such as anti-virus, anti-spyware, adware, and other software as mentioned in the next section.

2. USE SOFTWARE

Installing Anti-Virus: Download free AVG Antivirus software and install it. Make sure you get its free key from their website by registering. This software is not auto-updated for critical viruses and for an auto-update version, you will have to pay. If you wish to pay, we would recommend world’s most popular brands Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micros instead. No matter what Anti-Virus software you install, make sure you enable its Auto-Protect feature for automatic protection of your computer’s resources and in-coming or out-going emails from any virus attack. Some software even allow you to setup silent detection and destruction without any disturbance to your work. Further, they are auto-updated via internet at the regular interval that you setup. Hence, you can rest assured that whenever a security threat is spread all over the world, your software will automatically download the requisite updated version and install its defense on your computer.

BROWSER SECURITY: To setup your browser (Internet Explorer on Windows) for maximum security against the usual threats, follow this procedure;

i) Start up your browser

ii) Go to IE > Tools > Windows Update > Product Updates, and selected Security Updates to be automatically updated. Microsoft releases patches and security patches from time to time to make sure your system's security is up-to-date.

iii) Now, go to Internet Options/Security/Internet, press 'default level', then OK. Now press "Custom Level." In the ActiveX section, set the first two options ("Download signed and unsigned ActiveX controls) to 'prompt', and 'Initialize and Script ActiveX controls not marked as safe" to 'disable'. Now you will be asked whether you want ActiveX objects to be executed and whether you want software to be installed. Sites that you know for sure are above suspicion can be moved to the Trusted Zone in Internet Option/security.

If you use another browser such as Firefox or Netscape, see their documentation on how to securely set it up against any such internet threats.

Installing Anti-Spyware: Spyware, adware, browser hijackers, and dialers are some of the fastest-growing threats on the Internet today. By simply browsing to a web page, your computer may become a victim. You can install SpywareBlaster and SpywareGuard to effectively guard your computer from such internet threats.

It includes Fast Real-Time Scanning engine for known spyware and heuristic/generic detection capabilities to catch new / mutated spyware and Download Protection along with Browser Hijacking Protection in real-time.

Simply download the software (free) from their website and install it on your system. Make sure you download its latest update too or enable its Auto-Update feature to be updated automatically in the background. Now, when you are ready, run the software to check the spyware on your computer. When spyware are found, it reports accordingly. Press "select all", then press option "kill all checked". Although it won't protect you from 100% spyware, But it is a very important extra layer of protection.

Next, install another software that is called Spybot Search & Destroy. It works exactly like SpywareBlaster, but it never hurts to have a double layer of spyware detection alongwith Spybot R&D.

Installing Anti-Adware: Adware is a common term used to describe potentially dangerous websites and scripts that do data-mining, aggressive advertising, Parasites, Scumware, selected traditional Trojans, Dialers, Malware, Browser hijackers, and tracking components. There is a very good software called Ad-Aware available to scan and remove such nuisances from your system.

To start using it, simply visit Lavasoft USA website and download its free non-commercial version of Ad-Aware Personal Edition. Run its setup program and install it. When prompted, ask it to scan your computer. If there are any adware found, it is detected and removed automatically by Ad-Aware. Run this software on a weekly or daily basis, if possible to keep your system clean.

In addition to the Ad-Aware, Internet Explorer comes with a very handy tool that allows you to block specific sites that may carry well-known advertisers, marketers, crapware pushers to the Restricted sites Zone. If you had to input 50000+ of such sites manually yourself, it would takes years. Luckily, there is a software that does it all automatically and it is called IE-SPYAD. Once you merge this list of sites and domains into the Registry, the web sites for these companies will not be able to use cookies, ActiveX controls, Java applets, or scripting to compromise your privacy or your PC while you surf the Net. Nor will they be able to use your browser to push unwanted pop-ups, cookies, or auto-installing programs on your PC. It is not an ad blocker. It will stop top unwanted crapware from being installed behind your back via "drive-by-downloads"; prevent the hijacking of your home page.

This Restricted sites list is based in part on info from: discussions in the SpywareInfo Forums and other forums that specialize in crapware removal major crapware reference sites: doxdesk, cexx.org, Kephyr.com, PestPatrol and SpywareGuide.

To start using it, simply download it from their website and run its install.bat file. Make sure you run its update as well soon after its installation.

INSTALLING FIREWALL: A firewall software acts as a defense shield against hackers, intruders, and blocks access attempts to your computer. ZoneAlarm is a professional firewall software that works in a stealth mode automatically and makes your computer invisible to anyone on the Internet.

Download it from ZoneLabs website and run its setup for installation. I recommend you use its Express Settings which automatically configures your most commonly used software like browser, chat messengers, ftp software to access internet, while blocks every other internet traffic in real-time. If any software or service tries to upload or download any data, it pops up an alert whereby you can allow or disallow such internet traffic.

Computer Slow Down: It is very common to see many complaining about their computer slow-down. The fastest and easiest cure is using Windows’ built-in Defragmenter utitlity that you can find in Startà Programs à Accessories à System Utitlities à Disk Defragmantor and run thorough defragmantation. It will take a while before it ends.

If your system’s performance does not improve after running defragmantation utility, consider scanning your computer via a software utility called HiJackThis which you can download and install on your system. Use this tool carefully as it is intended for advanced users only. HijackThis is a tool, that lists all installed browser add-on, buttons, startup items and allows you to inspect, and optionally remove selected items. The program can create a backup of your original settings and also ignore selected items. Additional features include a simple list of all startup items, default start page, online updates and more.

CWShredder is a utility for removing CoolWebSearch (aka CoolWwwSearch, YouFindAll, White-Pages.ws and a dozen other names). This tool will find and destroy all traces of the CoolWebSearch (CWS) hijacker on your system including redirections, IE slowdowns, start page changes, un-authorized addition of sites in IE Trusted Zone, and blocking access to IE options or setup.

Download CWShredder from their official website only as there is a similar named virus/trojan on the loose at various websites which you may accidently download and install, hence become more infected than being cured instead. When it is installed successfully, run the software to scan your local machine. Select the fix button & it will get rid of everything related to CoolWebSearch. Close ALL other programs & windows, including IE, before running CWShredder. Reboot after doing this.

I know there is still a lot left, but as I wanted to keep this tutorial as brief as possible, hence I covered only the critical elements here. I am sure you will have fewer breakdowns (if not ZERO0 and more productive hours on your computer. I would recommend you to setup all the software’s auto update and auto-check options to free your time for more productive things than just playing hide and seek with spywares, adwares or viruses. Happy and safe computing!

Computer Security, Viruses And Threats

Today, many people rely on computers to do homework, work, and create or store useful information. Therefore, it is important for the information on the computer to be stored and kept properly. It is also extremely important for people on computers to protect their computer from data loss, misuse, and abuse.

For example, it is crucial for businesses to keep information they have secure so that hackers can't access the information. Home users also need to take means to make sure that their credit card numbers are secure when they are participating in online transactions. A computer security risk is any action that could cause loss of information, software, data, processing incompatibilities, or cause damage to computer hardware, a lot of these are planned to do damage. An intentional breach in computer security is known as a computer crime which is slightly different from a cybercrime. A cybercrime is known as illegal acts based on the internet and is one of the FBI's top priorities. There are several distinct categories for people that cause cybercrimes, and they are refered to as hacker, cracker, cyberterrorist, cyberextortionist, unethical employee, script kiddie and corporate spy.

*The Hacker.

The term hacker was actually known as a good word but now it has a very negative view. A hacker is defined as someone who accesses a computer or computer network unlawfully. They often claim that they do this to find leaks in the security of a network.

*The Cracker.

The term cracker has never been associated with something positive this refers to someone how intentionally access a computer or computer network for evil reasons. It's basically an evil hacker. They access it with the intent of destroying, or stealing information. Both crackers and hackers are very advanced with network skills.

*The Cyberterrorist.

A cyberterrorist is someone who uses a computer network or the internet to destroy computers for political reasons. It's just like a regular terrorist attack because it requires highly skilled individuals, millions of dollars to implement, and years of planning.

*The Cyberextortionist.

The term cyberextortionist refers to someone who uses emails as an offensive force. They would usually send a company a very threatening email stating that they will release some confidential information, exploit a security leak, or launch an attack that will harm a companies network. They will request a paid sum of money to prevent the threat from being carried out, a bit like black mailing.

*The Unethical Employee.

An unethical employee is an employee that illegally accesses their company's network for numerous reasons. One could be the money they can get from selling top secret information, or some may be bitter and want revenge.

*The Script Kiddie.

A script kiddie is someone who is like a cracker because they may have the intentions of doing harm, but they usually lack the technical skills. They are usually silly teenagers that use prewritten hacking and cracking programs. *The Corporate Spy.
A corporate spy has extremely high computer and network skills and is hired to break into a specific computer or computer network to steal or delete data and information. Shady companies hire these type people in a practice known as corporate espionage. They do this to gain an advantage over their competition an illegal practice.

Business and home users must do their best to protect or safeguard their computers from security risks. The next part of this article will give some pointers to help protect your computer. However, one must remember that there is no one hundred percent guarantee way to protect your computer so becoming more knowledgeable about them is a must during these days.

When you transfer information over a network it has a high security risk compared to information transmitted in a business network because the administrators usually take some extreme measures to help protect against security risks. Over the internet there is no powerful administrator which makes the risk a lot higher. If your not sure if your computer is vulnerable to a computer risk than you can always use some-type of online security service which is a website that checks your computer for email and Internet vulnerabilities. The company will then give some pointers on how to correct these vulnerabilities. The Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center is a place that can do this. The typical network attacks that puts computers at risk includes viruses, worms, spoofing, Trojan horses, and denial of service attacks. Every unprotected computer is vulnerable to a computer virus which is a potentially harming computer program that infects a computer negatively and altering the way the computer operates without the user's consent. Once the virus is in the computer it can spread throughout infecting other files and potentially damaging the operating system itself. It's similar to a bacteria virus that infects humans because it gets into the body through small openings and can spread to other parts of the body and can cause some damage. The similarity is, the best way to avoid is preparation. A computer worm is a program that repeatedly copies itself and is very similar to a computer virus. However the difference is that a virus needs to attach itself to an executable file and become a part of it. A computer worm doesn't need to do that, it copies itself to other networks and eats up a lot of bandwidth.

A Trojan Horse named after the famous Greek myth and is used to describe a program that secretly hides and actually looks like a legitimate program but is a fake. A certain action usually triggers the Trojan horse, and unlike viruses and worms it will not replicate itself. Computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses are all classified as malicious-logic programs which are just programs that deliberately harm a computer. Although these are the common three there are many more variations and it would be almost impossible to list them. You know when a computer is infected by a virus, worm, or Trojan horse if your computer displays one or more of these things:

* Screen shots of weird messages or pictures appear.

* You have less available memory than you expected.

* Music or sounds plays randomly.

* Files get corrupted.

* Programs are files don't work properly.

* Unknown files or programs randomly appear.

* System properties fluctuate.

Computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses deliver their payload or instructions through three common ways.

1 - When an individual runs an infected program so if you download a lot of things you should always scan the files before executing, especially executable files.

2 - When an individual boots a computer with an infected drive, so that is why it's important to not leave removable media in your computer when you shut it down.

3 - When an unprotected computer connects to a network. Today, a very common way that people get a computer virus, worm, or Trojan horse is when they open up an infected file through an email attachment.

There are literally thousands of malicious logic programs and new ones come out by the numbers so that's why it's important to keep up to date with new ones that come out each day. Many websites keep track of this. There is no known method for providing 100% protection for any computer or computer network from computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, but people can take several precautions to significantly reduce their chances of being infected by one of those malicious programs. Whenever you start a computer you should have no removable media in the drives. This goes for CD, DVD, and floppy disks. When the computer starts up it tries to execute a boot sector on the drives and even if it's unsuccessful any given virus on the boot sector can infect the computer's hard disk. If you must start the computer using removable media for any reason, such as when the hard disk fails and you are trying to reformat the drive make sure that the disk is not infected.

How can you protect your computer?

The best way to protect your computer from any of the above is by using good quality internet securities software. Purchasing this from a reputable security company is recommended to ensure that your software is kept up to date with the most recent virus signatures. If you are not up to date an unrecognised virus will not be stopped by the software. A full security package will protect you from viruses, Worms, Trojan horses, keyloggers and will detect when a hacker is attempting to hack into your computer and prevent them from gaining access when you are online or connected to a network. It is not advisable to use a free antivirus service as these do not provide adequate protection and are a false economy. Recommended internet security software companies are:- Norton, McAfee and others.

The author is dedicated to PC security and PC health. See the Error Doctor Award Winning Registry Cleaner Software.

Useful Computer Tips For Everyone (Part1) - Cleaning Your `Computer of Viruses!

What Will You Learn Within This Series?

Part 1 - Cleaning your computer of viruses

Part 2 - Cleaning your computer of spyware

Part 3 - Cleaning your computer registry

Part 4 - Defragmenting your computer, and disk cleanup

Part 5 - Useful keyboard shortcuts

All of these tips should be used on a regular basis. Your computer is like a car, you need to change the oil, replace the tires, clean the interior frequently to ensure that your car is runs smoothly, that it keeps you safe, and remains clean.

Cleaning Your Computer of Viruses:

I think I can make the assumption that most of you have heard of computer viruses before? For those who haven't, a computer virus is a program created by highly advanced programmers world wide with the intent on harming your computer in so many ways. Viruses can infect your computer, delete important files, corrupt your hard drive, or even make your computer unusable. Viruses can mean death to your computer. We are all subjectable to a virus attack, in fact millions of computers are infected with some form of virus right now as you read this, and your computer may be one of those infected.

Ways To Get Infected With A Virus:

• 1) - Firewall is not activated
• 2) - No anti-virus software
• 3) - Spam Email attachment
• 4) - File transfer via a messenger service
• 5) - Copying files from an infected CD, or floppy Disk
• 6) - Network of computers sharing files

A virus can infect your computer through any of the methods from above. Prevention is the key to making sure you don't keep your computer to such attacks.

How To Prevent Viruses From Coming In:

1) Activate Your System Firewall:

You want to make sure that your firewall is active. A firewall blocks hackers from finding loop-holes within your computer that gives them a gateway (doorway) in. A firewall can help to stop most hackers, but not all of them.

Activating your firewall:

Windows systems: START > CONTROL PANNEL > INTERNET CONNECTIONS > WINDOWS FIREWALL > "On (Recommended)".

Mac Users: APPLE MENU > SYSTEM PREFERENCES > SHARING PANE > FIREWALL > START

There you go; your firewall is now active!

2) Scan Your Computer With An Anti-Virus Software:

Installing an anti-virus software is key! An anti-virus software will help to monetize your computer for viruses. An anti-virus software will also help to perform a system wide scan of your computer for already infected areas.

Most newer computers come with an anti-virus software already installed; all you need to do is run the program.

Here are some of the top PAID anti-virus software's:

(No particular order)

• Norton Ani-Virus By Symantec
• McAfee Ani-Virus
• BitDefender
• Kaspersky

Here are some of the top FREE anti-virus software's:

(No particular order)

• AntiVir Personal Edition Classic 6.32
• Active Virus Shield (AOL)
• Alwil Software Avast Home Edition 4.6
• Grisoft AVG Free Edition 7.1

For more anti-virus software's, with good editorial reviews go to: Download.com

Once installed, launch the program, and find a button that says "update virus definitions". This will help to make sure your virus definitions are up-to-date. Virus definitions have the most recently found viruses that just came on the market. Up-to-date definitions are key to finding newer, more powerful viruses.

Once you've updated your definitions, close all running programs and perform a "full system scan". Depending on your computers size, and speed, the scan can take up to a couple of hours to complete.

Once complete, hit a button that will say something like; "Quarantine Files", "Delete Infected Files", "Clean Up Files", "Remove Infected Files". This process will remove all files that have been flagged as a virus, and it will do this safely without harming your computer.

Things to know:

• Once a virus scan is complete, reboot your computer.
• Some viruses cannot be caught while your computer is running; they may have to be removed after a reboot (which should be automatic).
• You can setup a full system scan to start at 12 midnight every night.
• Scan your computer ATLEAST once a week if connected to the internet.

You'll probably start to notice that your computer is running faster, this is because the viruses which were there before, are no longer using your computers memory to run consistently.

Some viruses are extremely resilient and cannot be removed from a simple virus scan. Going through (Part 2 & Part 3) will help to attack these harder-to-find viruses.

3) Don't Open Suspicious Email attachments:

So many viruses are activated by people like yourself who open email attachments that they don't recognize. Most viruses are distributed this way. Part 6 - "Useful Email tips & fighting spam" from this mini-series will go into greater detail on fighting spam, but for those of you who won't get to read that article, I must mention a couple of things here:

• Do NOT open an email that you don't recognize, or didn't ask for!
• Do NOT open an attachment with the extension ".exe".
• Immediately delete emails from people you don't recognize
• Do NOT save emails onto your computer that you don't recognize
• Spammers will try to trick you into thinking they are your friend
• Pay close attention at the person, email, and content from each email
• Do NOT click "Unsubscribe" from a spam email, this will do the opposite
• Do NOT reply back to an email you don't recognize
• Do NOT forward an email that you don't recognize
• Report ALL spam to your internet service provider

These email tips I just mentioned are part of the basic foundations to helping you fight spam, and to ensure that you don't inadvertently activate a malicious virus onto your computer.

4) Avoid Using Messenger Services:

Messenger services, or "chat programs" on your computer are like leaving an open gateway pointing directly to your computer. Messenger services like "MSN Chat", or "Yahoo Chat" connect two computers together in order to talk to each other over and over again. This allows the two computers to give, and receive information through the software.

An Example of What Can Happen:

Many viruses have infiltrated millions of computers through this easy to hack service by disguising itself as "your chat friends" and by sending you a link to a virus file to open up onto your computer. The problem is, you have no idea what kind of file you're opening, because it seems as though the file came directly from your friend (who is infected by this virus), and it looks as though they are simply trying to send you a photo of themselves.

Personally, no one is allowed to have a messenger chat software installed on any of our computers. They are too easily misused, and can give a hacker a passport to your computer.

If your children use such a service, make sure to let them know of what can happen if they accept files from others. Tell them that it's better to send files via an email attachment, rather than through a messenger chat script. At least this way, an email can pass through various firewalls, and anti-virus software's before getting to your computer. This also ensures that you know exactly who is sending you the file.

5) Copying Files From An Infected CD, or Floppy Disk:

We've all done it, taken a disk from a friend, or co-worker, and inserted a disk into our computer in order to copy all the files from the disk. Did you ever think to scan the disk for viruses before copying any of the files?

Viruses come in all shapes & sizes, they are passed along from one computer to another. The person who gave you the disk could have had a virus lurking within their files, and they may have copied it onto the disk they just gave you. It happens all the time.

An easy way to protect yourself from getting viruses this way is to launch your anti-virus software, and scan your disk drive with the cd, or floppy disk in it. It takes only a couple of seconds to prevent a disaster.

6) Sharing Files From A Network of Computers:

Many companies network their computers together so that they can share files easily between the two, instead of always copying files onto a disk. The same thing happens at home as well when two computers are networked together. Make sure you have your firewall in place (step 1 above), and make sure your anti-virus software (step 2 above) is keeping an eye on your "shared folders" section. This just helps to prevent viruses from jumping one computer to another. Again, always perform a virus check within your "shared folder" when you receive files from others.

In Conclusion:

There you have it. You now have a good base of knowledge to help prevent viruses from getting into your computer. Make sure to make it a habit to double-check everything to ensure that you don't unwillingly leave an open doorway directly to your computer. When using software's like chat scripts, make sure not to accept files via your chat script. Never read, or open emails that you don't recognize, and always make it a habit to scan your disks, hard drive, and email attachments before something terrible happens.

Now that you have some knowledge against fighting viruses, let's move onto part 2 of this series which talks about fighting another form of attack against your computer.