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Has your computer lost its “git up and go?” The computer may not be the culprit. There are two things that slow your computer down the most—viruses and spyware.
What is a virus?
A virus is a computer program—designed by sick people—that tries to damage your computer. Viruses are “infections” and have many symptoms. A virus may attach itself to a program you use regularly or it may be an individual program that starts when your computer starts. You probably have a virus if your computer starts crashing, your programs stop working, you lose data, or the computer becomes very slow. Last year, an average of 1,600 new Windows viruses were created each week. Most viruses come from web pages and e-mail.
What is spyware?
Spyware is a program that runs on your computer and sends information to people on the Internet. Just as its name suggests, it spies on you. Adware is a special kind of spyware that repeatedly pops up promotional windows on your computer.
What can I do?
The most important thing is to make sure you have an anti-virus program on your computer. There are several reputable brands, which I will be covering. Make sure the software is up to date and that you get regular updates—otherwise it makes no sense to have an anti-virus program at all. Run only one anti-virus program at a time. Some computer owners are so paranoid that they run several anti-virus programs simultaneously. This makes your computer seem like it is stuck in mud.
A few other tips: Do not open any suspicious e-mail. Do not visit dubious websites, and do not use programs, such as Limewire, to share information with other computer users. Turn off the e-mail preview pane. (If you can see the contents of an e-mail, it can give you a virus.) If at all possible, use an Internet service provider that scans your mail before it reaches you.
What anti-virus program should I use?
Match your anti-virus program to your computer and your Internet speed. No program is best for all situations. Each computer program has something called a “footprint.” The footprint is the total size of a program. It is the combination of how much memory the program uses, how fast your computer has to be, and how long it takes to get updates. An elephant has a bigger footprint than a dachshund. It takes a bigger truck to haul an elephant.
Norton AntiVirus from Symantec is the most popular anti-virus program. It does everything but butter your toast. It also has the biggest footprint. I personally would not use Norton unless the PC is less than two years old and you have a high-speed Internet connection. Norton updates take a long time to download and, if they fail, you may have to reinstall the program. Norton works best for business users who have technical specialists on call.
McAfee is the second most popular program. It also has a very large footprint, but requires a bit less technical support. Your PC should be two years old or less and have high-speed access. McAfee updates, too, take a long time to download.
AVG is a very popular anti-virus program. It comes in a free version as well as one that can be purchased. Its footprint is smaller when it comes to computer speed, so your computer can be older than three years, but I would still suggest high-speed Internet.
AVAST also comes in a free and or a purchased version. Its downloads are very fast, so you can have dial-up Internet access, but I would suggest that you have a fairly new computer. AVAST seems to work very well with Vista.
I personally use Antivir. It has a very small footprint and comes in both a free and pay version. If you run a business from your computer, you must get the pay version.
Keep Business Separate
There are three reasons to own a computer: to make money, to save money, and to have fun. I personally believe that you should keep your business separate from your fun. The fun things tend to be most apt to add junk to your computer. You can separate your work and your fun in two different way—use two computers or set up one computer to act like two. It’s not as difficult as it sounds. More on this next time.
If there is a computer topic you would like to see covered in LCJM, contact A. John Peters at ajpeters@otg-dss.com.
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