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WORMS, TROJANS & SPYWARE

Worms, trojans and spyware can infect your computer system without your ever knowing it. To keep your computer running at it's optimum, you should follow the steps below to protect it from these predators.
What steps should I take to protect my computer from worms on the Internet?

Similar to viruses, worms access a computer through unprotected ports. Unlike regular viruses, they don’t require that you download or open a file manually, instead just having your computer online without closing these ports can cause your computer to become infected.

The best protection you can have against this type of worm is a firewall. There are two main types of firewalls: a hardware based firewall which comes in the form of a router, and a software based firewall which comes in the form of a program installed on your computer.

Dial-up users are limited to only the software form of firewall, whereas someone using a Broadband connection has a choice between a hardware firewall router, a software based firewall, or both. Common hardware based firewall routers are produced by LinkSys, NetGear, D-Link, and many others. Some of the more popular software based firewalls are Norton Personal Firewall, McAfee Personal Firewall, Zone-Alarm, and Black-Ice Defender.
What steps should I take to protect my computer from Trojans on the Internet?

Trojans normally arrive like your typical virus in the form of an email attachment or file that you download from some source or another. Trojans don't cause any direct harm to your system or hardware, but they open a specific port on your machine to allow unrestricted access to your machine from the designer of the Trojan itself.

The best protection from these types of viruses is performing virus scans on a regular basis by an installed Anti-Virus application or an online virus scanner.
What steps should I take to protect my computer from Spyware/Adware on the Internet?

Spyware and Adware are among the most common problems on the Internet today. Though they are not directly harmful to your machine by themselves, they can cause severe system slowdowns when your computer is being affected by multiple Spyware and Adware infections.

The best protection you can have against this type of problem is to have an active and up-to-date Anti-Spyware/Adware application installed on your system. Fortunately most of these applications are free to use, though there are some that you can purchase in stores or online as well. Some of the most popular programs are Spy-Bot Search & Destroy, Ad-Aware.