INSTRUCTIONS TO NEWBIES
OK, YOU JUST BOUGHT A COMPUTER AND YOU ARE NOT SURE WHAT TO DO ?
HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOURSELF ?
1. FIRST THING IS TO INSTALL A FIREWALL.
 
2. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM INSTALLED.
  
OK, YOU HAVE NOW TAKEN THE 2 MOST ESSENTIALS STEPS.

NEXT, YOU WILL WANT TO LEARN  HOW TO :

.  CONTROL COOKIES.
.  CONTROL SPAMS.
.  USE SNIFFERS, ANTI TROJANS AND REGISTRY EDITORS.
.  SECURE YOUR PRIVACY AND CONTROL SPYWARE.  
         AD-AWARE  AND SPYBLOCKER  ARE EXCELLENT FOR THIS.
.  USE PGP
.  SECURE YOUR E-MAIL PROGRAM, OR CHOOSE ANOTHER ONE.
.  MAKE USE OF THE HOST FILE.
.  CONTROL INSTALLED BHO'S.
.  USE BULLETIN BOARDS AND NEWSGROUPS, AS THEY ARE A   VALUABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION.
As a new user You will want to install all kinds of new programs.
I would recommend you only install one every other day.  Things can and will go wrong.  There may be incompatibility problems with the new program and those already installed.. Make sure your system is stable before you make another installation.
Welcome to
Windows Update    Make sure you visit often and download all security patches.
P.S.  RUNNING SCANDISK AND DEFRAG REGULARLY ARE NOT RELATED TO SECURITY AND PRIVACY, BUT WILL SAVE YOU A LOT OF AGGRAVATION.  DO BOTH OFTEN.
 

REMEMBER : Computers DO CRASH 

AND ALWAYS  at the most unexpected moment, so be prepared  !

1. Back up your registry often.

 

2. Keep a current back up of all your important DATA FILES, EMAILS , Registration Info for your various programs , ETC.                            

I personally use SMART BACKUP, by Jam Software.

Once you tell it which which folders  you want  updated,  it becomes easy to do it on a daily basis.

 

3. Keep an image of your OPERATING SYSTEM and drive on a different partition. 

If you have 2 HARD DRIVES, that's even better, as you can then keep a copy of each OS on the other drive.

DRIVE IMAGE is great for this.

 

 

HAVING TO REFORMAT 

AND THE LOST OF ALL YOUR DATA IS NO FUN !!!!!!!!!!!

SO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT WHILE YOU STILL CAN !

 

                                                             

 
                                                                                

 

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