I don’t keep any passwords stored anywhere on my pc, but I’m still
paranoid (a good trait I believe when it comes to pc security) about trojans which can install spyware. I don’t want hackers to sit around and watch as I key in the many logins that I do in a day.
I view online protection absolutely paramount. I used to have a free
antivirus but for a few years now I have used a paid package. I do take steps to keep out hackers, but this time my online protection failed me.
For a while, every now and again (on average once a day at least), my pc would freeze up or just decide to restart itself, meaning sometimes I lost some of the work I had done.
I blamed Windows and software conflicts. No-one wants to believe they have a big problem, paranoid or not.
My security scans at that time were finding only the usual low threat
infections which it fixed up.
Well I noticed that parts of my internet security software were being turned off. I would reset them, but later, the next day latest, they had been turned off again.
So then I decided to take advantage of the password security feature. I could set a password that had to be keyed in in order to modify the security settings.
This seemed to work for a while.
The next thing I noticed was that whenever I booted my machine my
security software had not started, meaning I was totally unprotected
(firewall-wise and malware-wise). A minute or so later it would start up.
My security scans did not reveal any malware, and I was greatly
disappointed that it could not get rid of the malware that was in effect controlling it.
This was more than I was prepared to live with.
I backed up my C: drive onto a spare external hard disk. a lengthy process because of all the stuff I had accumulated over the years.
I then used my OEM XP to reinstall XP. Unfortunately it was a few years old and a service pack version in arrears. The whole thing was taking up so much time I dropped my machine in at the local computer repair shop.
I got my pc back the following day with new security software installed. They are agents for Bullguard security and so far it seems to be running ok.
I’ve had Bullguard 2 1/2 weeks now. It’s the easiest security system I’ve tried. It seems to be doing its job just fine. It tries to make the correct decisions by itself, and I’m not interrupted all the time with dialog boxes asking whether to allow this or that.
I still have not sorted out where I’m going to store all my old files. Their presence really lengthens the time it takes for security scans. Nor have I sorted out what I’m going to save from the automatic online backup service I use – Carbonite.
