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What is a computer virus
?
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What kind of files can spread
viruses?
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What is spyware and how do I know if I
have it ?
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What are the benefits of a web site ?
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What is a driver and where can I
download them?
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What are META Tags and why do I need
to submit my web site to search engines?
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Is my antivirus program really protecting me?
A
computer
virus is a program designed to spread itself by first infecting
executable files or the system areas of hard and floppy disks and then
making copies of itself. Viruses usually operate without the knowledge or
desire of the
computer user.
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Viruses have the
potential to infect any type of executable code, not just
the files that are commonly called 'program files'. For example, some
viruses infect executable code in the boot sector of floppy disks or in
system areas of hard drives. Another type of virus, known as a 'macro'
virus, can infect word processing and spreadsheet documents that use
macros. And it's possible for HTML documents containing JavaScript or
other
types of executable code to spread viruses or other malicious code.
Since virus code must be executed to have any effect, files that the
computer
treats as pure data are safe. This includes graphics and sound
files such as .gif, .jpg, .mp3, .wav, etc., as well as plain text in .txt
files. For example, just viewing picture files won't infect your
computer
with a virus. The virus code has to be in a form, such as an .exe program
file or a Word .doc file, that the
computer
will actually try to execute.
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Spyware programs are deeply-rooted applications that embed
themselves into your system with the intent of tracking your online activity,
stealing your personal information, or exposing you to increased advertising.
Categories of spyware include Trojans, system monitors, adware and dialers.
Spyware is most frequently installed as the result of a "drive-by" download,
through which the spyware piggybacks on a seemingly harmless application
intended for sharing music or pictures, or offering other "fun" and usually free
utilities like customizable cursors or e-wallets. By unscrupulously burying
consent deep in a license agreement, many spyware programs are "legally"
installed.
Because spyware is not viral, and generally installs only with consent,
anti-virus software does not offer adequate protection. By attaching itself to
legitimate downloads, spyware easily bypasses firewall protection.
Five signs that your computer may be infected with spyware:
1. Popup windows
2. Frequent computer crashes
3. Strange hard drive/modem behavior
4. Unusually slow computer and/or Internet connection
5. Stolen credit card numbers, identity theft, or phone charges to 1-900 numbers
Even if you notice none of these signs, Spyware is probably present on your
computer. It often sits idle on your computer, waiting for a preset time
to strike you or other computers on the Internet.
What you can do about it:
Select a Program to Scan Your Computer for Spyware.
We've identified and tested dozens of Spyware Removers and come up with a short
list of the best that will scan your PC for free and remove all spyware/adware/malware
in minutes.
Avoid freely downloading "freeware" and "shareware".
These are leading sources of spyware infections.
Delete spam from your e-mail.
Spyware is increasingly spread through e-mail just like other viruses.
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If you are located in a rural or remote area, your website is the quickest and
easiest way to convince buyers it is worth the drive.
Anyone in the world can see it 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. It doesn't
matter if you are awake, asleep, at work, sick, or on vacation.
You can afford to advertise in more places because once you create or purchase a
banner ad it can be reused at several locations to point buyers to your website
for details.
Most newspaper classifieds are online. When you include your website name in
your ad, a viewer can probably go there with a single mouse click. Many who are
not actively looking for product will do that because it is so easy.
Casual viewers of your site can easily send its link to friends or relatives
they know ARE looking for this kind of product. It takes only seconds and costs
them nothing.
You will be astonished at where visitors to your site come from. You won't
waste time on lengthy phone calls, saying the same things over and over. A
buyer may think of questions he should have asked on his first call, with a web
site available, he can return as often as he likes; without disturbing you.
You can let your web site "speak" for you. You can add/edit/delete the
content of your website as often as you like.
You can compile a mailing list from business reply cards, customer information
sheets, business cards collected at trade shows, or membership lists.
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A driver is a program that controls a device. Every device,
whether it is a printer, disk drive, or keyboard, it must have a driver program.
Many drivers such as the keyboard driver, CD-ROM driver, or hard drive drivers
come with the operating system. For other devices such as the video or
soundcard, you may need to load a new driver or drivers when you connect the
device to your computer. Below is a list of download sites.
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META tags were
developed and made a HTML standard for the purpose of addressing specific
information about your web page that does not affect the way your page actually
looks.
The primary META tags that affect promotion include the "Description" and "KeyWords"
and “Title tag” tags
META NAME="KeyWords"
Place you top keywords first. Since 1 web page can't possibly be effective with
each and every possible key word that you can think of, concentrate on the top
10 or 15.
META
NAME="Description" Note that no search engine will display more than 250
characters of the Meta Description tag, so it's best to keep this one brief and
to the the point. This META tag was designed specifically with search engines in
mind. It provides the search engine with the description that is displays when
your site is included in the search engine results. Keep it 15 words or less.
< title >
This is where you define the text that you’re the browser will displaying at the
top of the computer screen? Most search engines place additional emphasis on
words contained in the web pages title. Be sure to include a couple of your top
keywords in a brief phrase.and be sure to re-use these words in the body of the
web page.
Recent statistics indicate 85% of web visitors are referred to the web
site initially by various search engines.
Traffic you receive from search engines is already targeted.
Visitors arriving at your site from search engines have entered a keyword
relevant to your site, so they are already interested in your product or
service. This is the best source of potential customers you can have.
Search engines are free to users and users know where and how to use them.
Search engines are the number one way where users find new sites.
Link popularity - Link popularity helps weave you into the web. It’s the process
of getting your website on pages of other websites. The more popular you are out
there the more the search engines consider you a part of the web. There are
several ways to do this but one popular way is to request links from other like
sites.
Is my
antivirus program really protecting me?
Maybe. And then again, maybe
not!
One of the things I personally
have always pondered is a notice in virtually every antivirus
program on the market that recommends you have one and ONLY one
antivirus program on your system. Naturally, I figured it must
have something to do with conflicts or performance issues. In light
of a recent experience, I am not so certain.
Like many of you, I have the
latest and greatest protection available from the “world leader in
internet security.” It automatically updates itself and scans every
file I access on my system. It even scans every message that comes
in or goes out. What more could a user possible want? Well, not
being one to always follow recommendations, I also run another much
lesser known antivirus program on my primary system. I personally
have always felt you can never be too cautious.
Very recently, this made for a
very interesting scenario. As I said, this well known software (yes
I am purposely not mentioning names), is always on guard and
automatically updates itself with the very latest virus
definitions. In fact, I had all but forgotten my backup program
because this one catches everything…well almost anyway. Much to my
surprise, one day last week I saw the all to familiar “Virus
Detected – Cannot Repair” warning. But wait, it wasn’t the world
leader that caught it. My initial reaction was ‘Hey this is
unusual.’ Figuring this was a really good time to do a complete
system scan, I made sure my primary antivirus definitions were in
fact the latest and greatest, and started a full system scan. What
happened next, really surprised me.
Everything was running smoothly
for about the first half hour. Then I got the familiar “Virus
Detected – Cannot Repair” warning. But wait, a minute, it again
wasn’t the ‘world leader’ that detected it. My backup program
detected it when the first one accessed the file to scan it.
Hmmm. Now my curiosity was really peaked. I then disabled my
backup program and scanned the file again…no virus detected. But,
after enabling my backup once again, the virus was yet again
detected.
Being the pessimist I am, I then
scanned the file using yet another ‘name brand’ antivirus
program…yep, it’s infected. Lastly, I used one of those ‘on-line’
virus scanners…same result, infected. With the odds now at 3 to 1,
one can only assume my “world leader” had missed the boat. Was it a
fluke? I don’t know. Am I going to continue running a backup
scanner? You betcha!
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