Dan's Computer Tip #3: Spybot Search and Destroy

Spybot Search and Destroy is one of my favorite programs of all time. Like many of you, I spend an inordinate amount of time on the internet. Mostly researching, but I do plenty of surfing and socializing too. The biggest problem is all of the spyware that is out there. All trying to track your every move and report back to the mother ship.
This isn't all necessarily bad. Relevant ads are better than stuff you will never need. Or ever want to see. But the tracking cookies and other spyware the various sites you visit place on your system don't always play nice.

Spyware being installed on your system can cause your system to slow way down. I myself don't understand how I can garnish dozens of tracking cookies and hundreds of temporary files from a simple session where I only visited a handful of sites. I am wondering if a substantial number of  these are coming from my Google searches.

I might should start surfing anonymously and maybe look into some of the alternative search engines. I have just become accustomed to using Google for most of my research. Luckily I have Spybot S&D to help me keep all of this chaos in check.

A good antivirus program should keep your system relatively free of infections, no one program can protect you against everything. Spybot S&D helps keep certain malware at bay. Even if your antivirus system is performing more than adequately most antivirus systems ignore tracking cookies and certain other spyware. That is why I use and recommend Spybot S&D to everyone.

Spybot Search & Destroy is part of my triumvirate of must have programs on every Windows computer. The other two of course are the subjects of my first two tips. See my posts on Cleaning Your System and Microsoft Security Essentials for antivirus. I can't see operating a windows system without these three and put all three on the top of my list of recommendations.

 For instructions on how to install and use Spybot Search & Destroy, check out these links:

• Guide to Spybot Search and Destroy at Lehigh University - step by step with images for older 1.6x version
• How to Use Spybot slideshow by Christina Ramas

For additional information on Spybot Search & Destroy, check out these links:

• Wikepedia - Search and Destroy
• The Spybot home page

Dan's Computer Tip #2: Antivirus

An antivirus system on your computer is a necessity. And these days you may also want one on your smart phone. There is such a wide variety to choose from that picking one can be a real chore. My recommendations these days is to use the Microsoft Security Essentials.

Why? Well price is one consideration. It's free. Another good reason is that it works. And finally, it has a small footprint and doesn't utilize a lot of system resources.

Microsoft Security Essentials

What does this mean for us? How about being small, quick, and not slowing down the computer system. I like that. And the fact that it works against most forms of malware (malicious software) to include computer viruses, spyware, trojans, and rootkits.

Now of course being from Microsoft, Security Essentials is designed for the Windows platform. And only works on the newer versions of Windows starting with XP and going up to Windows 7. It does not operate on the new Windows 8 though.

Microsoft Security Essentials replaces the older Microsoft Defender. Until you get to Windows 8 where Microsoft has resurrected Microsoft Defender as an integrated antivirus product. The original Microsoft Defender was engineered to work against adware and spyware. The AV system for Windows 8 is to be a full antimalware suite.

So to sum it up, the reasons I use and recommend the Microsoft Security Essentials is that it integrates with your Windows system, it is free, and it does a fairly good job of keeping your system free of infections.

Now no one single antivirus program works against everything but Microsoft Security Essentials does a fairly good job. And the system integration helps it load sooner than others normally would and it generally is much faster in operation.

Here we are at Tip#2. Tip#1 was about cleaning your PC and Tip#3 will be about removing and immunizing against spyware. Stay tuned.

Microsoft Security Essentials
Wikipedia on Microsoft Security Essentials