Blownolds
12-25-2004, 06:23 AM
I got so sick and tired of the spam that is everywhere!!!! Also pretty mad about the viruses and the Nigerian scammers, too. So I decided to get really pro-active about fighting all this crap off and now I am doing pretty good overall. Getting much less for now anyway. Here's what I have now:
For fighting pop-up's:
1)Google toolbar-- the best! 2261 blocked so far!! I no longer have any need for the effective but annoying "Pop-up Killer" program.
2)MSN toolbar-- for additional search engine really, but it has also blocked 63 that Google didn't catch.
3)Yahoo toolbar-- again, just an extra bell/whistle, but it has blocked 65 pop-ups that Google didn't get.
For fighting Spyware:
1)SpywareBlaster, it's a free download that has a register of over 3,000 known spyware programs and keeps them from getting installed on your computer in the first place.
2)SpyBot Search & Destroy, a free program that comes highly recommended and is pretty effective at cleaning your computer.
3)GIANT AntiSpyware program, I downloaded the free version and it says it has since detected 169 threats. It also has a cleaner, plus an innoculation feature that closes security risk loopholes on your computer. This program also has a file cleaner, so you can sweep out things like cookies, etc.
For fighting adware:
1)Ad-Aware, another highly recommended and free program that helps clean your computer. I find it effective.
For protection against viruses:
1)Norton's
2)Zone-Alarm (I just have free version, but it seems to be really effective as it says it has blocked 250,087 access attempts since installation. I like it. One note-- turn off its MailSafe feature if you are running Norton's-- that feature is redundant and conflicts. I go with Norton's for e-mail anti-virus scanning.
3)AVG Anti-Virus, free edition. I also like this one, it has caught a couple worms that Norton's didn't.
For protection against hackers, spying from outside sources, etc. etc.:
1)As mentioned above, ZoneAlarm. Works great, and I imagine does a great job of reducing spam which comes from being seen from the outside.
For fighting e-mail spam and also some of the messages from the Nigerian scammers that still makes it through to my Outlook Express e-mail:
1)click on "tools", then "message rules", then "mail". Then start setting up parameters based on keywords that appear in the heading or in the body of the e-mail, like "housewives" or "rolex" or "deals" or "mortgage" or "enhancement". Or "Africa" or "Congo" or "Congolese" in the body to reduce those Nigerian scam attempts. Add more keywords as you discover more, just be careful to not put them in there if there's a chance you'd wind up inadvertantly blocking e-mail's that you really do want.
There, that's what I've done so far, and things are MUUUUUCH better. If you have any GREAT, WONDERFUL suggestions, share 'em!
For fighting pop-up's:
1)Google toolbar-- the best! 2261 blocked so far!! I no longer have any need for the effective but annoying "Pop-up Killer" program.
2)MSN toolbar-- for additional search engine really, but it has also blocked 63 that Google didn't catch.
3)Yahoo toolbar-- again, just an extra bell/whistle, but it has blocked 65 pop-ups that Google didn't get.
For fighting Spyware:
1)SpywareBlaster, it's a free download that has a register of over 3,000 known spyware programs and keeps them from getting installed on your computer in the first place.
2)SpyBot Search & Destroy, a free program that comes highly recommended and is pretty effective at cleaning your computer.
3)GIANT AntiSpyware program, I downloaded the free version and it says it has since detected 169 threats. It also has a cleaner, plus an innoculation feature that closes security risk loopholes on your computer. This program also has a file cleaner, so you can sweep out things like cookies, etc.
For fighting adware:
1)Ad-Aware, another highly recommended and free program that helps clean your computer. I find it effective.
For protection against viruses:
1)Norton's
2)Zone-Alarm (I just have free version, but it seems to be really effective as it says it has blocked 250,087 access attempts since installation. I like it. One note-- turn off its MailSafe feature if you are running Norton's-- that feature is redundant and conflicts. I go with Norton's for e-mail anti-virus scanning.
3)AVG Anti-Virus, free edition. I also like this one, it has caught a couple worms that Norton's didn't.
For protection against hackers, spying from outside sources, etc. etc.:
1)As mentioned above, ZoneAlarm. Works great, and I imagine does a great job of reducing spam which comes from being seen from the outside.
For fighting e-mail spam and also some of the messages from the Nigerian scammers that still makes it through to my Outlook Express e-mail:
1)click on "tools", then "message rules", then "mail". Then start setting up parameters based on keywords that appear in the heading or in the body of the e-mail, like "housewives" or "rolex" or "deals" or "mortgage" or "enhancement". Or "Africa" or "Congo" or "Congolese" in the body to reduce those Nigerian scam attempts. Add more keywords as you discover more, just be careful to not put them in there if there's a chance you'd wind up inadvertantly blocking e-mail's that you really do want.
There, that's what I've done so far, and things are MUUUUUCH better. If you have any GREAT, WONDERFUL suggestions, share 'em!