For a good free anti-virus, we’ve long recommended Avast. But PC Magazine recently gave their highest marks to another free program: BitDefender. Now along comes Ashampoo Anti-Virus 2014, which bundles BitDefender with a lot of other useful programs. It’s $40, and there’s a free trial download from the web site: Ashampoo.com.
Filed under: anti-virus, security, spyware | Comments Off on DEFENSIVE BATTLES
A pretty girl, very sweet looking, knocked on our door and said to Joy:”I have to get on the Internet. Can I use your password?” We didn’t know her and she wasn’t a neighbor, but she stood poised and ready with notebook and pen to take down our password.
Filed under: anti-virus, Internet, security, web, wireless | 1 Comment »
We heard from a reader who said his PC is “as slow as a stalled car in a parking lot.” (There’s an image for you.) He said his anti-virus program is running well and it’s a relatively new computer. So what gives? Well, he could call AAA to get his car started but he probably wants to deal with his computer first. And his first problem there is he gets a lot of intrusive ads when browsing the web. That’ll slow you down. Adblock Plus is a free program from AdblockPlus.org and it will take out almost all of those. His second problem is he never clears out his Internet history and other junk files. CCleaner, from We heard from […]
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Every day for two weeks we’ve gotten at least one call purporting to be from Citibank regarding our credit card. It’s one of those robot calls, with no one on the other end of the line, but providing a toll-free number to call about our account. Immediately, if not sooner…
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Just when you think you’ll never have another virus problem, along comes the dreaded “rootkit.” This one is so powerful it may escape detection by anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. It happened to us.
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Avast makes a nice anti-virus program, and it’s free. Now they’ve added Secure.Me, an app for keeping nosy Parkers (and hackers) out of your Facebook account.
Filed under: anti-virus, facebook, security, virus | Comments Off on A MORE SECURE FACEBOOK
Some may wonder why we recommend free anti-virus solutions like Avast and free anti-spyware programs like Malwarebytes when we pay $60 a year for BullGuard Internet Security. Well, many readers ask for free programs, and we like them too, but we’re willing to pay if something is really good.
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A reader asked us if he should have his computer registry cleaned. A pop-up on a website wanted to charge him $129 for this service. Back away, we said.
Filed under: anti-virus, spyware, tech support, troubleshooting | 2 Comments »
In a little less than a year, there will be no more updates for Windows XP users. Microsoft is ending all support around this time next year, despite nearly half of all users still using XP.
Filed under: anti-virus, spyware, troubleshooting, virus, Windows | Comments Off on THE END OF WINDOWS XP
We recently wrote about the new free Avast Anti-Virus. Their launch date was delayed, but now it’s out and available at Avast.com. We have used this program and like it.
Filed under: anti-virus, security, spyware | Comments Off on FREE ANTI-VIRUS
