version 3 oct 2010
It’s really useful to get a second opinion on important areas of your life. Of course a big area in many lives is internet online security because your computer can be a major avenue in your contact with the world.
Because it’s a big gateway to potentially millions of people you have never met, your computer needs to be used with great caution, especially as computer crime is so prevalent.
Banks are very security conscious and spend a lot of money making their systems as secure as possible. They pay consultants handsome fees to advise on firewall settings, antivirus software, staff security and more, yet they still lose millions of dollars to computer fraud.
Not having such depth of pockets as banks, how much more should we be on our guard?
A number of reputable security sites offer a free virus scan or spyware scan.
This can be an ideal second opinion. Beware of blithely using any offer you happen to come across in the search engine results.
There are numerous supposed antivirus software packages out there that are themselves one big virus. When you download the software and run it you are giving free rein to these people who can then download trojans, spyware, keyloggers and more. When they have garnered enough data from you they then disable your machine. You find that things stop working, especially any anti-malware you may have installed, and pretty soon you can’t even use your browser.
This increases the time you are inactive, and unable to track the perpetrators if you have that kind of skill.
You will also find that one scan will give different results to another. It means that there is an opportunity for a fraudster to report a list of problems which don’t actually exist, or that other scanners rate as very low risk and not worth reporting.
So there we have a couple of things to watch out for with online scans –
* hacker can give or sell you software which contains malware;
* a dishonest company can exaggerate any small problems you have.
There are of course the advantages of having a reputable free scan –
* you will be using up-to-the-minute security software;
* being free can make it attractive;
* you are getting a second opinion in addition to any security software you already have installed;
* you are getting a live sample of a security software company, a first-hand opportunity to evaluate the software and the way the company works. You may like the experience and decide to use them instead of your current software.
One of the free scans you can use is Spyzooka. Try it now
SpyZooka FREE SCAN
As a company they offer paid members a 100% guarantee that they will fix any spyware problem for you. They say,
“Our guarantee covers 100% removal of: spyware, adware, keyloggers, trojan horses, worms, malware, hijackers, dialers, unwanted toolbars, rootkits, rogue antispyware, botnets, unwanted browser plugins and any other related threats.”
SpyZooka FREE SCAN. It’s better than having someone looking over your shoulder as you do your internet banking.
