Anti-Virus Software

Anti-Virus Software is a crucial part of your defense against the bad guys. This will help scan your computer for viruses and prevent them from running.

Make sure that your Anti-Virus software is updated regularly (preferably daily). It should do this automatically! If you do not have this software you might consider AVG's Anti-Virus program as it is free and updates everyday. I wouldn't recommend switching to this if you already have a program.

Phishing, SPAM, Email

Phishing is a term for a psychological approach to get you to follow a link in a bogus email and get you to voluntarily give your private information to a third party. You should keep in mind that your bank, eBay, paypal and others will not email you for your password. You should NEVER follow a link from an email to a login page of any kind. If you aren't sure...close your email program and then go to the site by typing it in yourself.

Here's a good quiz that shows you some phishing examples.

SPAM is spam. There's not much, unfortunately, that you can do to control the tide of SPAM. Much of it is generated and sent by the tens of millions in a shotgun style. They aren't picking on YOU they are picking on everyone!

You can try maintaing a 'fake' email address - a free account for signing up for sweepstakes, etc. The best approach is to make sure your mail is being filtered on some level (by your mail provider or ISP, for example)