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Title:
Everything You Need To Know About A Computer Virus

Word Count:
451

Summary:
A computer virus is something that can literally cripple your computer, depending on the severity. They come in different levels of severity from mild to dangerous and everywhere in between.
What is a computer virus?

So, what is a computer virus, not only is it something that can damage the performance and life of your computer, but your mental well being as well. Combating a virus, without the help of anti-virus software such as AVG internet security, can be extremely ne…

Keywords:
what is a computer virus, how are computer viruses distributed

Article Body:
A computer virus is something that can literally cripple your computer, depending on the severity. They come in different levels of severity from mild to dangerous and everywhere in between.
What is a computer virus?

So, what is a computer virus, not only is it something that can damage the performance and life of your computer, but your mental well being as well. Combating a virus, without the help of anti-virus software such as AVG internet security, can be extremely nerve wracking and depressing because it can literally affect various parts of your computer.

How are computer viruses distributed?

Computer viruses are distributed in many different ways. One of the most common methods of distribution is via email. Some of the most widespread and destructive viruses are distributed via email. Typically, they come in an email that looks completely legitimate and they can even come disguised with an email you might be familiar with. Some viruses are simply spread by opening the email or by downloading an attachment. Many free emails such as Yahoo come with email virus scanners installed, which will not allow you to download the attachment if it detects a virus.

Another method of virus distribution is via internet downloads. These viruses are bundled in a download and typically come from websites with hacks or peer to peer programs.

When asking the question, what is a computer virus, you should also ask how you can combat or prevent the viruses from affecting your computer. There are many programs available to help you detect, remove, and prevent viruses. One of the most popular and best programs to date is AVG Internet Security, or any of the AVG products.

AVG, a product created by Grisoft, is an excellent software program that is perfect for detecting and removing computer viruses. Their internet security program not only provides anti-virus protection for your computer from Trojans, worms and viruses, but it also includes anti-spyware and anti-spam protection against phishing, spam, malware, adware and spyware. Additionally, AVG internet security provides protection with a firewall, preventing hackers from accessing your computer.

AVG is the best and easiest to use all in one program available for computer protection. You are constantly made aware of instant definition updates and program versions, as well as twenty-four hour a day technical support.

So if you want to find out just what is a computer virus and how computer viruses are distributed, AVG is a great place to start. Not only can you get the best protection, but a number of resources are available to you as well. This enables you to learn about the latest virus threats and how you can eliminate the possibility of infection on your computer.

Title:
How Safe Is Your Computer – You Be The Judge

Word Count:
421

Summary:
Is your computer safe from a virus? You might say yes, but do you know that for sure. If you do not have anti virus protection installed you are leaving yourself susceptible to a computer virus. Trust me you do not want a virus on your computer. Depending on the virus it could cause some real damage to every aspect of your computer. A really harmful virus could completely disable your computer, causing the need for a new hard drive or even motherboard.

Your computer can b…

Keywords:
anti virus software,free antivirus software,anti virus,anti virus scan ,computer virus

Article Body:
Is your computer safe from a virus? You might say yes, but do you know that for sure. If you do not have anti virus protection installed you are leaving yourself susceptible to a computer virus. Trust me you do not want a virus on your computer. Depending on the virus it could cause some real damage to every aspect of your computer. A really harmful virus could completely disable your computer, causing the need for a new hard drive or even motherboard.

Your computer can become infected with a virus in a variety of different ways. Such as via email, downloads, or even hackers. Just visiting a certain website could give you a virus, if they have downloads that are unseen by the eyes. The only way to protect yourself from a potential harmful and costly computer virus is to install anti virus protection. This protection comes in the form of antivirus software.

This is the only way to protect your computer from being infected with a virus. What is great about some of this protection is that, thanks to the internet, you can find free antivirus software. Of course, not all anti virus scans are free, but great majorities of them are.

You may think that free antivirus software has only one function, to find and rid your computer of viruses. While this is one of their functions, in most cases it is not the only one. Many of the latest antivirus software come with many other features that can help protect your computer while you are using it. For example, not only will some find and eliminate the viruses already on your computer, but it will also monitor your computer from that point on blocking any viruses that are coming in. Most will scan your downloads and email to ensure your computer remains safe and virus-free.

Most of the free antivirus software also scans and eliminates instances of annoying adware and spyware. Both of these work to slow your computer down and make your time on the computer a whole lot less enjoyable with unwanted popups and advertisements. Your best defense from a virus is good, solid, and reputable antivirus software.

You can find software and anti virus scans all over the internet. It is wise to choose your anti virus protection based on recommendations from other users, ease of use, price, as well as reputation. By doing so you will protect yourself from a computer virus and enjoy safety and peace of mind during your internet travels.

Title:
Improve Computer Performance – 7 Lightning Quick Fixes

Word Count:
605

Summary:
If you have a Windows-based machine, you may have noticed a decline in your computer?s performance since you bought it. It may freeze up suddenly, or it just could be acting a bit sluggish. Instead of buying a new system, you should first try whatever you can to preserve your current one. Here are 7 lightning quick fixes to improve your computer?s performance.

Solution #1: Run anti-virus software: Computer viruses are especially frustrating because in most cases they are m…

Keywords:
computer performance, improve my computer performance, registry cleaner, registry

Article Body:
If you have a Windows-based machine, you may have noticed a decline in your computer?s performance since you bought it. It may freeze up suddenly, or it just could be acting a bit sluggish. Instead of buying a new system, you should first try whatever you can to preserve your current one. Here are 7 lightning quick fixes to improve your computer?s performance.

Solution #1: Run anti-virus software: Computer viruses are especially frustrating because in most cases they are made by someone with nothing better to do than to try to hurt your computer. Viruses can slow performance or even wipe out precious data. Avoid this fate at all costs by buying a good anti-virus software solution and running it all of the time. To find one, do a Web search and compare options.

Solution #2: Run a defragment routine: Okay, this sounds esoteric and technical but it is actually bone simple to do. All this means is that you are arranging the data on your hard drive more efficiently. Do a search on your operating system for defragment and follow the prompts. This fix is free but can take an hour or more to run, so plan accordingly.

Solution #3: Clean up your hard drive: Here is another super-easy and free fix and involves ridding yourself of unneeded files on your hard drive. A less cluttered hard drive usually results in better performance. Do a search for disk cleanup and follow the prompts.

Solution #4: Clean your registry: Your computer has something called a registry that stores important information about the users and applications that access your computer. As time goes by, registries become rife with errors. To find one, run a Web search for a registry cleaner. Most of them cost about $30, but they work great and are well worth the investment.

Solution #5: Run anti-spyware software: Like a computer virus, spyware is also a pretty nasty little monster. It sits on your computer and watches your every move, sometimes even sending information about your activity to other computers. Not a pretty picture, and it can slow down your performance as well. To disable your spyware (you likely have many), find any of a number of the excellent for-pay or free anti-spyware programs available on the Internet. I suggest running at least two. There is no harm in this and you will definitely find and fix more problems than if you just use one.

Solution #6: Buy more memory: Computer memory, or RAM, is like a temporary workspace that your computer uses for almost everything it does. If the workspace gets cluttered or full, the ability for your computer to take on additional work is hampered. With most applications these days requiring more and more memory, getting an additional 1GB or so of RAM is a very good investment and a great alternative to the cost of upgrading your machine.

Solution #7: Clean your hard drive more thoroughly:

Your hard drive is the core of your machine, shuttling data back and forth between permanent storage and working memory (RAM). To keep it in tip-top shape, run a third-party hard drive cleaning application. CCleaner is great and is available for free on the Internet. There are other good products available as well. Running this should take about 5 minutes and your computer?s performance should show measurable improvement afterward.

Most of these solutions will only take you a few minutes to implement and all are free or very cheap. So, if your computer has been acting up or just acting sluggish, give them all a try before shelling out the big bucks for a new one. Your wallet will thank you.

Title:
Dangers On Your Desktop: Computer Virus And Spyware

Word Count:
665

Summary:
So have you bought a new computer at home for yourself and for your kids? Your computer is sure going to be useful to you and your family. You can now use your computer to store important data, work on reports and much much more. Your children can now surf the internet, play games and learn new tools and software programs. By purchasing a computer you open the world to the big bad world of the internet. Why is the internet a big bad world? The internet can prove to be a big b…

Keywords:
spyware removal,data recovery,computer virus

Article Body:
So have you bought a new computer at home for yourself and for your kids? Your computer is sure going to be useful to you and your family. You can now use your computer to store important data, work on reports and much much more. Your children can now surf the internet, play games and learn new tools and software programs. By purchasing a computer you open the world to the big bad world of the internet. Why is the internet a big bad world? The internet can prove to be a big bad world for you if you don?t take care to protect your computer from internet threats. In fact the internet is the most comprehensive source of information available at the click of the button today. You can search for diverse topics. You can use the internet to access your bank accounts, to join newsgroups, to entertain yourselves, listen to music and even watch movies. You can even use the internet to speak to people at low costs through VOIP (Voice over Transmission Protocol) all over the world. There are very few boundaries associated with the internet.

But, you should be wary of all the threats that the internet can invite to your computer. First of all let?s talk a little about computer viruses. A computer virus is a software program written by a person which can prove to be a threat to the security of your computer. It gains access to your computer through programs downloaded from the internet and even from seemingly harmless emails. It can delete all your important files after it loads itself on the system or it can just make your hard disk unusable. It can disable your important device drivers and can do hundreds of other damaging things to your computer. The software program (or computer virus) spreads rapidly through the internet and can invade thousands of computers a minute.

The best solution against virus invasion is the installation of good antivirus software. Norton Antivirus by Symantec proves to be one of the better paid antivirus solutions. It provides tight security in comparison to some of the other antivirus softwares and also updates itself regularly. The other important software you can use to protect your computer is installing a firewall. A firewall restricts unauthorized access to your computer by people on the internet who are constantly on the lookout for open ports on computers. In addition, if you use the internet to make purchases with your credit card, make sure you are using a trusted and secure site. Secured sites conduct financial transactions using secure software like Verisign so that your private information cannot be viewed by unauthorized people.

When using services or programs that use passwords, always use passwords that are difficult to guess by others. Do not ever open unauthorized emails as they might be harmful to your computer. Unauthorized or unsolicited mails are the most common path to spreads a virus through the internet.

When you visit some sites, a spyware program maybe installed on your computer automatically by those sites. A spyware program is a program that collects all information on your computer including private information that can then be made known to unauthorized people. Using an anti-spyware program like Spyware Blocker or Ad-Aware comes in handy. These programs work to prevent spyware from automatically installing on your computer in the first place. You must also delete your cookies regularly. A cookie is a small file that is automatically installed on your computer and it accesses the information on your computer including the web sites that you have visited and sends all information back to people who need access to that information.

If you use a little care, you can provide some protection to you and your computer. However, the only way to completely eliminate any threats is not to go online in the first place. I don?t think that is a viable option in today?s world. Good luck!

Title:
How Adware And Spyware Can Harm Your Computer

Word Count:
553

Summary:
We all know that computer viruses exist and have heard the many horror tales of how they can take out thousands of computers in one shot. Unfortunately for those whose computer has been damaged by a computer virus, these tales are not only true, but very destructive and time-consuming. However, even if you know how to protect your computer from one of these malicious viruses, there are other malware programs that can be almost as damaging and is far more common. The culpri…

Keywords:
pc security,computer security,adware,spyware,computer virus,pc virus,firewall,computer firewall

Article Body:
We all know that computer viruses exist and have heard the many horror tales of how they can take out thousands of computers in one shot. Unfortunately for those whose computer has been damaged by a computer virus, these tales are not only true, but very destructive and time-consuming. However, even if you know how to protect your computer from one of these malicious viruses, there are other malware programs that can be almost as damaging and is far more common. The culprits are called spyware and adware.

These irritating programs can interfere with your computer every time you jump online. Adware is more or less harmless when settled onto your computer by itself. Mostly it simply generates a lot of spam (unsolicited and unwanted email) for products that bring advertising directly to your email. Adware can also produce “popup” ads on your computer.

Spyware, however, is much more threatening and dangerous to your computer. Spyware not only floods you with advertisements, but it also accesses information on your computer and delivers it to other companies and potentially dangerous people. Additionally, spyware can change your entire computer through PC configurations which open you up to a world of trouble. Spyware is utilized by unscrupulous people as one of the main means of identity theft because it fishes information from your computer and can “learn” about almost anything you do on the Internet, then report back to the originator.

There are numerous methods for ridding your computer of spyware, but the most effective is learning to avoid it in the first place. You can begin this process by adjusting your computer settings appropriately. Depending on your operating system, you may need to do some informal reading of your system’s help files. You should find your Internet connectivity options and then look for a tab that refers to the security of your computer system. You should always adjust this to at least Medium security, or Medium-High. If you change it to High security, that setting might actually prevent you from accessing web sites that you need; so Medium is normally recommended.

You also need to ensure you have a firewall in place on your computer. A firewall is sofrware that can be configured to automatically block out unidentified programs which attempt to gain uninvited access to your computer. The parameters of your firewall are easy to set, and by doing so you allow certain programs in while keeping harmful (or questionable) ones out. Given most people’s lack of knowledge about programs that need to run on a computer, a firewall will sometimes try to block program resources that are indeed harmless. That, however, it is a small inconvenience for keeping your computer and information safe from intruders.

Lastly you certainly will need an anti-spyware program running on your computer’s background. This helpful software can be downloaded from an Internet merchant or purchased at any store selling computer software. You need a program that can detect and intercept spyware as it attempts to invade your computer; it should also have the ability to scan your computer for existing spyware and isolate it. Make sure to keep your anti-spyware program up-to-date with new daily or weekly “definition” files so that it works effectively. You never want to leave your computer unprotected and open to spyware or adware.

Title:
Are computer viruses spread by the media?

Word Count:
832

Summary:
Summary: Could the mass media hype about computer viruses actually make the problem worse?

If you believe what you hear in the media, there are an awful lot of viruses going around. No, I’m not talking about the make-you-sick kind of virus, though they get plenty of airtime, too. I’m talking about the kind of virus that enters via your internet connection rather than your nasal passages.

Keywords:
computer , computer tips

Article Body:
If you believe what you hear in the media, there are an awful lot of viruses going around. No, I’m not talking about the make-you-sick kind of virus, though they get plenty of airtime, too. I’m talking about the kind of virus that enters via your internet connection rather than your nasal passages.

What the mainstream media often don’t tell you–at least, in most radio and television newscasts and in the crucial headlines and opening paragraphs of newspaper articles– is that many of these “viruses” are not viruses at all.

What Computer Viruses Really Are

The main reason the mainstream media always are in alarm over viruses is that they tend to call any malicious computer program a virus. In reality, there are at least eleven distinct types of malicious software, or malware, commonly affecting computers today. The most common of these are worms, Trojans, and spyware.

So, what’s the difference between computer viruses and the other types of malware? The difference is that computer viruses are just about the only ones that regularly shut down computers and cause other obvious damage. The most common of the other kinds of malware–worms, Trojans, and spyware–are usually only detectable with a special scan.

The Real Danger of Computer Viruses

If the other types of malware are so unobtrusive that they can only be detected with a special scan, then what’s to worry about? For starters, these programs are called malicious for a reason: they are designed to cause some kind of damage, if not to your computer, then to someone else’s.

Worms are most famously used to damage, destroy, or disrupt other computer networks than the one on which the host computer is located. For instance, worms have been used by website owners to shut down rival websites by sending overwhelming numbers of requests to the computer that hosts that website. Worms have also been used to send out viruses to other computers, often without infecting the host machine–after all, what would it benefit the worm to shut down its host computer?

Trojans, in turn, are often used to insert worms and other malware on your computer, even if the Trojan itself does no damage.

But even if you don’t care what happens to anyone else, you should still be concerned about one kind of malware: spyware, a kind of malware that, true to its name, collects data from your computer and sends it back to a remote host.

Most spyware is only interested in monitoring your internet usage so it can tell other programs, called adware, what advertising to popup on your computer. However, there are criminal spyware programs that steal financial data, or perform a thorough identity theft. Don’t think you have personal or financial data on your computer? Some spyware programs contain a keylogger, which is a program that copies whatever you type, usually in order to snatch passwords. Even if you keep no financial information on your computer, if you ever buy anything over the web, the keylogger would allow its owner to buy stuff using the same information you typed in to buy stuff yourself.

Why Blame the Media?

Given the danger of all these different types of malware, isn’t it a good thing that the mass media are becoming hysterical about it? And can’t they be forgiven the sloppy reporting of calling Trojans, worms, spyware, and other malware “viruses”?

No, no, no.

This is a classic case of bad reporting doing more damage than no reporting at all. In this case, the damage bad reporting has done is to promote a common myth that goes something like this: “The only malicious software is a virus. Viruses damage your computer. Therefore, if my computer is working OK, my computer has no malicious software. I only need to scan my computer for problems when there is a sign of problems.”

Thanks to this myth, many people complacently let their antivirus software go months out of date, not wanting to be bothered with scheduling an automatic update. Just as bad, many people don’t have any extra software to combat the other types of malware that may not be covered by antivirus software.

In fact, it’s not uncommon for people who have found malware on their computers after a scan to say, “but I never had malware on my computer before!” But how would they have known if they had never scanned!

Until the biggest mainstream media–and especially television–start educating the public about the need to have their computers automatically scanned at least daily, the world will continue to have major, drawn-out problems with malware that could have been wiped out as soon as soon as the anti-malware software makers discovered it.

And until that day, the mainstream media will have many more opportunities to run hysterical stories about “viruses,” thereby forcing them to sell more newspapers and broadcast to even larger audiences of people who suck at the information trough yet somehow never become full.

Title:
Fighting Off Viruses: Advancements In Antivirus Software Suites

Word Count:
995

Summary:
Protecting your computer from a virus is getting harder and harder each day. While it may border on the paranoid, it goes without saying that you can?t leave your guard down for one second. Even corporate giant Microsoft has found its own systems compromised on more than one occasion.

Remember the ?good old days?, before the advent of the Internet and downloadable programs? Life was simple then in terms of computer viruses. With the primary way in which a virus could be tr…

Keywords:

Article Body:
Protecting your computer from a virus is getting harder and harder each day. While it may border on the paranoid, it goes without saying that you can?t leave your guard down for one second. Even corporate giant Microsoft has found its own systems compromised on more than one occasion.

Remember the ?good old days?, before the advent of the Internet and downloadable programs? Life was simple then in terms of computer viruses. With the primary way in which a virus could be transmitted being limited to floppy disks, the ability to catch and eradicate the virus was a lot easier. By today?s standards, it used to take quite a while before a virus was able to infect a computer and slow down the system. The antivirus software of that time was typically able to identify and eradicate viruses before they caused too much damage. Additionally, computer users were pretty savvy on how to protect themselves in terms of scanning all floppy disks before copying them to our desktop.

The Internet helped change all that. The Internet provided a conduit by which viruses could move from host to host with lightening speed. No longer could a computer user just worry about floppy disks as points of entry, but they now had to worry about email, email attachments, peer-to-peer file sharing, instant messaging, and software downloads. Today?s viruses can attack through multiple entry points, spread without human intervention, and take full advantage of vulnerabilities within a system or program. With technology advancing everyday, and the convergence of computers with other mobile devices, the potential of new types of threats also increase.

Protecting Your Computer

Luckily, the advancement of antivirus software has kept pace with current virus threats. Antivirus software is essential to a computer?s ability to fend off viruses and other malicious programs. These products are designed to protect against the ability of a virus to enter a computer through email, web browsers, file servers and desktops. Additionally, these programs offer a centralized control feature that handle deployment, configuration and updating.

A computer user should remain diligent and follow a few simple steps to protect against the threat of a virus:

1. Evaluate your current computer security system.

With the threat of a new generation of viruses able to attack in a multitude of ways, the approach of having just one antivirus software version has become outdated. You need to be confident that you have protected all aspects of your computer system from the desktop to the network, and from the gateway to the server. Consider a more comprehensive security system which includes several features including antivirus, firewall, content filtering, and intrusion detection. This type of system will make it more difficult for the virus to penetrate your system.

2. Only install antivirus software created by a well-known, reputable company.

Because new viruses erupt daily, it is important that you regularly update your antivirus software. Become familiar with the software?s real-time scan feature and configure it to start automatically each time you boot your computer. This will protect your system by automatically checking your computer each time it is powered up.

3. Make it a habit to always scan all new programs or files no matter from where they originate.

4. Exercise caution when opening binary, Word, or Excel documents of unknown sources especially if they were received during an online chat or as an attachment to an email.

5. Perform regular backups in case your system is corrupted. It may be the only way to recover your data if infected.

Recommended Antivirus Software

There are numerous applications available to consumers. With a little research, you can pick the program that is right for you. Many programs provide a trial version which allows you to download the program and test its abilities. However, be aware that some anti-virus programs can be difficult to uninstall. As a precaution make sure to set up a System Restore point before installing.

Here are a few programs which typically receive high marks in terms of cost, effectiveness, ease of use, and customer service.

The Shield Pro 2005? provides virus protection and hacker security through ongoing support and updates. When a virus breaks out, The Shield Pro 2005? promises to provide a patch within 2-3 hours and a fix for the virus within 5 hours. You can set your computer to update viruses weekly and run a complete virus scan.

BitDefender 9 Standard provides antivirus protection, as well as Peer-2-Peer Applications protection, full email protection, and heuristics in a virtual environment. This provides a new security layer that keeps the operating system safe from unknown viruses by detecting malicious pieces of code for which signatures have not been released yet.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0 program is simple to install and use. The user only needs to choose from three levels of protection. It allows updates as frequently as every hour while promising not to disrupt your computer. The program also offers a two-tier email protection feature and round-the-clock technical support.

PC-cillin Internet Security combines antivirus security and a personal firewall?for comprehensive protection against viruses, worms, Trojans, and hackers. It also detects and removes spyware and blocks spam. It even guards against identity theft by blocking phishing and pharming attacks.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is a free downloadable antivirus program that has received high marks for its reliability. In the past, free downloadable antivirus programs have been viewed skeptically because of issues relating to its reliability. However, AVG from Grisoft, remains one of the best-known free anti-virus programs available. While AVG can not be installed on a server operating system and there is no technical support, it still makes a good choice for many home computer users. The best part is that since it is free, you can try it with no further obligation necessary.

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this article within your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the “About The Author” resource box. Thanks! :-

Title:
Download Free Ipod Tune

Word Count:
599

Summary:
Downloading a free Ipod tune is not difficult, and it is quite a surprise that there aren’t more people who do this.

Keywords:
download free songs for ipod, free ipod downloads

Article Body:
Downloading a free Ipod tune is not difficult, and it is quite a surprise that there aren’t more people who do this. Despite its simplicity, a lot of people are still under the illusion that it is all done form illegal download sites, and that they will have to break the law to get their tunes. It really isn’t like that.

Download Free Ipod Tune-What to avoid-1
Avoid the possibility of viruses! You may have noticed that if you try to download from P2P sites, you often don’t end up with the file you asked for? It will have the file name you asked for, but when you open it you find id nothing like what it was supposed to be. The reason for this is that the site is spreading computer viruses and spyware. Computer hackers have found a very easy way to get their malware onto thousands of computers, by uploading an infected file, and naming it after something in demand. If you are searching for free downloads, you would be well advised to avoid P2P sites completely.

Download Free Ipod Tune-What to avoid-2
Don’t do anything illegal! A lot of sites offering downloads get shut down because they are operating illegally. A lot of the time the people downloading the files are breaking the law, and don’t even know it. It has now become very dangerous, as it is getting ever easier for governments to be able to track peoples’ downloads, and for record companies to prosecute. As you probably don’t want to end up in prison for downloading the latest Beyonce track, you will want to steer well clear of these sites!

Download Free Ipod Tune-What to avoid-3
Sites you can’t trust. You are probably quite used to putting something like ?download free Ipod tune? into a search engine, and then finding out that all of the sites you find are full of rubbish like popup ads. Everything seems to have the ad with the buzzing fly sound as well, which is just about as annoying as it gets. It is a very good idea to learn to avoid and boycott any site which has no respect for the visitor. Would shops like Wal Mart prosper if they used these kind of super annoying tactics?

One piece of good news is the recent emergence of sites which are moving away from this trend of being unreliable and illegal. As I mentioned earlier, it is not difficult to get free ipod tune downloads provided you go to the right site and know what you are doing. There are sites now which are managed well with good organisation. They’ve cut out all of the viruses and popups, and just give you the music downloads you want, at high download speed. The one small snag is that sites like this can’t be kept online without some sort of charge. They have to charge a one off membership fee which is usually between $20 and $50. Once you have paid this fee you get full access to all of the downloads. These sites typically have large databases of videos and games as well as a huge amount of music, and the downloads are a lot quicker than with P2P sites. You can find a page showing you the best sites like this on the web, by clicking the links below.

Hopefully this article will have shown you the perils of downloading free Ipod tunes. If you found this useful or interesting to you why not send it to a friend by using the link on the top right?

Title:
What Is Really Behind Your PC?s Poor Performance

Word Count:
765

Summary:
Keeping a computer running smoothly and quickly is a never-ending job. It seems like no time after you take your brand-new PC out of the box, your computer starts acting up and performing more like the old PC you got rid of than the new one it is supposed to be. While this is extremely frustrating, it can be prevented if you know what is causing your PC?s poor performance and how to fix the problems behind it or avoid them in the first place.

The nastiest things that corr…

Keywords:
pc, computer, windows, computer bugs

Article Body:
Keeping a computer running smoothly and quickly is a never-ending job. It seems like no time after you take your brand-new PC out of the box, your computer starts acting up and performing more like the old PC you got rid of than the new one it is supposed to be. While this is extremely frustrating, it can be prevented if you know what is causing your PC?s poor performance and how to fix the problems behind it or avoid them in the first place.

The nastiest things that corrupt your PC are the things you can?t see. Nasty bugs like viruses, adware and spyware can wreak havoc with your system without you even being aware of it. At their most lethal, viruses can completely destroy your PC?s operation, but normally they just work to interfere with the daily operations of your computer. Adware and spyware, on the other hand, stay running in the background of your PC and can slow it down considerably.

Here?s a closer look:

? Computer viruses are PC software programs that you accidentally download to your computer through an email attachment or other type of download. Once installed on your computer, a virus can interfere with your PC?s operation; record, corrupt or delete data; and spread itself to other computers through your network or the internet.

? Spyware and adware are software programs that you download onto your computer along with many other software applications. This software is then used to track your online browsing habits so that you can be ?hit? with pop ups that you will be more likely to respond to. Not only is this software an invasion of your privacy, it also can compromise your data and affect your PCs performance.

Not only can things that you download from the internet onto your computer affect its performance, software that is already installed or software that you install through your CD drive can also create problems. You see, some software that you have on your PC stays running in the background even if you are not using the program. This can dramatically affect your PC?s execution times, especially if there is more than one hidden program running. To see if you have programs running in the background, press Ctrl Alt Delete at the same time. The box that pops up will show you all applications that are running.

Other things that can affect your PC?s performance include a hard drive that is too full, not enough memory to perform tasks and a fragmented hard drive. All of these problems can be solved by performing routine maintenance on your PC or purchasing a software package that does it all for you. If you choose to do it yourself, you will need to manually go into your Windows System Tools and launch each program. Here you will find several system optimizers to help you free up your disk space, defragment your PC, and detect and repair disk errors.

Even the process of adding and deleting programs can affect your PC?s performance. When you install and uninstall Windows programs, they leave behind parts or applications that can slow down your computer. You may even unknowingly delete a file needed for other software applications. This can result in a minor glitch or a complete failure with some programs or even your whole system.

Keep Your PC Performing Like New

One of the first things that you should do to protect your PC?s performance is install a firewall if you don?t already have one and use adequate security software to prevent intrusions. You should also have additional spyware and adware detectors if your security software does not have them.

You can also purchase additional software that will keep your system optimized on a regular basis and take care of all of the problems that we talked about. This is an advantage over doing it yourself because it is very easy to forget to perform maintenance, and let?s face it; who has time to manually perform all of these functions?

You should also get a free hidden error scan to see if your PC is operating with any hidden errors that can ruin your PC?s performance. Since 94% of computers do have hidden errors, yours probably does too, but hidden errors are easy to eliminate with the right software.

With all of these things that can affect your PC?s performance, there is no wonder that it continually loses efficiency over time. But you can prevent it, if you stay on top of it.

Title:
The Importance Of Proper Security For Your PC

Word Count:
741

Summary:
The world online can be a scary place and sometimes it can get downright nasty. From viruses and spyware to internet identity theft, the information stored on your computer is under constant assault and should be protected at all costs. Why? Unscrupulous hackers will stop at nothing to get your precious personal information, and you have to stay one step ahead of them to ensure that they don?t.

Let?s begin our search for the reason why we should protect our PCs with the p…

Keywords:
pc, computer, windows

Article Body:
The world online can be a scary place and sometimes it can get downright nasty. From viruses and spyware to internet identity theft, the information stored on your computer is under constant assault and should be protected at all costs. Why? Unscrupulous hackers will stop at nothing to get your precious personal information, and you have to stay one step ahead of them to ensure that they don?t.

Let?s begin our search for the reason why we should protect our PCs with the proper security by looking at the ways that they can be assaulted online. Here are just a few of the nasty things waiting for an unprotected PC online:

? Computer viruses are PC software programs that you accidentally download to your computer through an email attachment or other type of download. Once installed on your computer, a virus can interfere with your PC?s operation; record, corrupt or delete data; and spread itself to other computers through your network or the internet.

? Identity theft occurs when some unscrupulous internet hacker, thief or otherwise bad guy gets a hold of your personal information such as your social security number, date of birth or other sensitive information and uses it to commit fraud or other crimes. Once obtained, this information is used to commit a wide variety of crimes. Those crimes include: credit card fraud, utilities fraud, banking and loan fraud, employment fraud, social security fraud, tax return fraud, medical fraud, securities and investment fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and immigration and government documentation fraud.

? Spyware are software programs that you download onto your computer along with many other software applications. This software is then used to track your online browsing habits so that you can be ?hit? with pop ups that you will be more likely to respond to. Not only is this software an invasion of your privacy, it also can compromise your data and affect your PCs performance.

How to Protect Your PC

The number one thing that you can do to protect your PC is to have an operable firewall. A firewall can help protect your computer against security attacks. While most operating systems come with a firewall already in operation, you can update your firewall or get one for free if you don?t have one from most PC security software companies.

In order to get the best PC security that software can provide, it is recommended that you use anti-spyware and anti-virus software in addition to a firewall. All of these anti-software and filters prevent hackers from accessing our personal information stored on our computers. They also protect against programs and viruses that we can unknowingly download. Once installed on our computer, these programs can direct us or our information to sites set on thievery.

More Protection for Your PC

Even though all of the above mentioned software applications go a long way in protecting your PC from harm, you may want additional protection to ensure that your PC?s vulnerable spots are impenetrable. Here are just a few examples of the security software that you may want for your PC:

? Privacy Protector ? As mentioned earlier, spyware can track everything that you do on your computer. This is because everything that you do on your computer leaves a trace or electronic trail that is stored on your computer. With the right software, prying eyes can see and access any sites you have visited and files you have accessed or shared while online by exposing this electronic trail. Privacy protection software helps reduce this risk by erasing the electronic trail that you have left behind.

? Secure Delete ? When you delete files on your computer, you may think that they are trashed and inaccessible, but with the right recovery utilities, your deleted data can be recovered easily. Secure deletion software makes sure that your deleted data is gone forever and safe from sticky fingers.

? Spyware Detective ? Added spyware detection software will help you spot spyware programs immediately and have them removed from your computer at the click of a button.

As you can see, there are many dangers lurking on the internet including spyware, viruses and hackers. Just one unprotected computer can be a highly lucrative capture for the right thieves and provide them with countless data that reveals everything from your browsing habits to credit card numbers. Make sure that your PC does not fall into their grasp. Protect it with the proper PC security programs.