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Edited on Sun Jun-08-08 10:19 PM by JPettus
I'm not really familiar with Spyware Terminator, though I should probably become familiar with it. I tend to recommend Spybot Search and Destroy. It's free, it's good and it doesn't install it's own spyware on the machine. Ditto AdAware. I routinely scan with both when I'm running Windows. (Full disclosure - for the most part I don't run Windows at all, I run Ubuntu Linux and much prefer it to Windows)
I switched my browser to Firefox and added the NoScript add-on. Firefox will automatically make you a little safer simply because it doesn't support Active X, the proprietary Windows programming language that has few, if any, limitations and can be used against you by unscrupulous web programmers. By adding NoScript, the browser will not allow a javascript script to run on your computer via the browser unless you specifically click on the options button to allow it. It's a bit more of a pain in the butt to surf that way, but it helps to keep stuff off your computer you don't want and if something gets installed, it's easier to pinpoint where it came from.
I run a software firewall. Before I upgraded my dual boot machine to Vista I ran Zone Alarm's free firewall. Now I run Comodo. It's free as well.
I scrupulously ensure that I am up to date on all my Windows critical updates. I have automatic updates turned on to go ahead and download the updates and then notify me when they are ready. And I update as soon as something is available (Windows XP SP3 being the lone exception right now at work)
Likewise, I keep my antivirus software updated. Most AV software packages, free and commercial, are set to check for updates daily.
And, though it's not necessary but a sign of my own paranoia, my home network patches the cable from the DSL modem directly into a hardware firewall/router that I then patch out to switches and computers, so bad guys have to navigate through that to get to my computer on a direct attack.
Most attacks are going to come through your browser, though. So, switching your browser to firefox and adding NoScript will go a long way to help cut down on access to your machine via the web.
I don't click on attachments that arrive via email, I'm the only user on my computer so I don't have kids that are compromising my computer for me by clicking on attachments and I back up often so that worse case, I can always wipe the box and reinstall it from a backup that I know worked properly. (I recommend Acronis True Image Workstation and back up my data and my computer image to an external drive)
Paranoid? You betcha. But I also have almost no problems on the computer.
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