Don't Let Spyware Ruin Your Life!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) September 10, 2006 -- I have been involved in the IT field for 25 years, and have been in the computer repair business the last 5 years. I own a business called Dave�s Computer Services, where I go into people�s homes and offices to help them with their hardware, software and networking issues and problems.

Spyware is the number one problem that I am seeing right now, but what is alarming, is how long people wait before calling in a professional to rid their computers of spyware and viruses. The sooner that you call in a professional, the easier the repair will be, and the customer will save money because the technician will be able to fix their computers a lot quicker.

If you wait too long to call for help, spyware and viruses can take over your computer. Sometimes the best way to repair your computer is to back your data up, wipe your hard drive clean and reinstall your operating system. This can be very costly, and you will lose any programs that you do not have CD�s for. Unfortunately, reinstalling your operating system can be more cost effective that trying to spend hours removing spyware. Sometimes spyware gets deeply imbedded in your operating system, and reinstallation is the only cure.

Prevention of course is the key, making sure you have a recent anti-virus software and keeping the software updated. Having anti-spyware software is a key as well, and the nice thing about anti-spyware software, is that you can usually have more than one running at the same time without creating havoc like you would find having more than one Anti-virus software running. It is also important in today�s wireless network world, to have a firewall running. If you are running Windows XP, you should at least use their firewall, but I would recommend either purchasing a security suite, a stand alone software, or if you are strapped for cash, you can go to PC World or straight to the company�s website and download a free firewall called Zone Alarm. If you are using a Windows operating system, make sure that you are always current on Windows updates as well as updating Microsoft Office. Microsoft is constantly coming out with security patches to their software.

The anti-virus software that I recommend is Norton anti-virus, and the reason I use Norton is because of the ease of updates, the software automatically updates while you are online, no user intervention is required. If you are looking for decent free anti-virus software or you don�t like the strain on your memory that software like Norton�s provides, then you can go to Download.com and download either AVG or AntiVir. They are both decent at catching viruses and are much better options than not having anti-virus protection.

For more information about any computer related subject, check out my website www.davescomputerserv.com. There are pages on a lot of subjects relating to computer issues, and I also add news and information daily as to the latest issues affecting the technology world.