{"id":202,"date":"2009-11-29T11:46:16","date_gmt":"2009-11-29T18:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.squealingrat.org\/word\/?p=202"},"modified":"2009-11-29T11:50:10","modified_gmt":"2009-11-29T18:50:10","slug":"what-to-do-to-prevent-your-computer-going-on-the-fritz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.squealingrat.org\/backupify\/2009\/11\/what-to-do-to-prevent-your-computer-going-on-the-fritz\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do to Prevent Your Computer going on the Fritz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Post by <\/strong><\/span>Squealing Rat<\/strong><\/a>. Find him on <\/strong><\/span>Twitter<\/strong><\/span><\/a> and check out his latest blog, Looming Tech<\/a>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

OK, when your computer takes five minutes to open a program, it’s probably time to clean it out. This post is more about preventative care rather than about the actual savior of your machine.<\/p>\n

When you get a computer, the first thing you want to install is a security program. One example is Norton Anti-Virus. When you buy your computer, the salesperson probably tried to sell you a program. Really, you don’t need Norton or McAfee. They don’t work that well. Instead, all you need is something mentioned below.
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\nFor the cheapskates
\n<\/strong>
\nFree anti-virus programs are a dime a dozen. Two examples are AVG Free and Avast. I personally use AVG which is an excellent program for protecting your computer. Get it at free.avg.com<\/a>. But not only do you need a good anti-virus, you need a good firewall and a good spy-bot program. Comodo Firewall Pro and Spy-Bot Search and Destroy get the job done for free. And don’t forget to check for updates before running checks.
\n
\nFor the buyers<\/strong><\/p>\n

NOD32 is one of the better antivirus programs. The program itself costs $40.00 dollars a year. For firewall and spybots, you don’t even need to pay. Both Comodo Firewall Pro and Spy-Bot Search and Destroy get the job done for free. And don’t forget to check for updates before running checks. (That’s the second time I have said that. Which means it’s important. I will say it once again for emphasis. And don’t forget to check for updates before running checks.)<\/p>\n

No security program can protect you from all threats. Be smart: avoid downloading from unknown sources or entering your bank account code on suspect websites.
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\nLinks
\n<\/strong>
\nAVG: free.avg.com<\/a>
\nAvast!: avast.com<\/a>
\nComodo Firewall Pro: http:\/\/personalfirewall.comodo.com\/download_firewall.html<\/a>
\nSpybot Search and Destroy: safer-networking.org<\/a>
\nNOD32: eset.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"