Quoting Post Archived Topic: It will not be bumped to the top of the forum. Topic Viruses and Spyware Membername   Not a member? Sign Up Free (takes 20 seconds) Password   Forgotten your password? Post Font: Verdana Arial Black Georgia Comic Sans Impact   Size: Tiny Normal Big Huge   Color: Default Dark Red Red Orange Brown Green Olive Cyan Blue Dark Blue Indigo Black [ Check Spelling ] [ Post Preview ] [ LiveTags ] Quote: from [m]Forever Angel[/m] at 5:20 pm on April 10, 2006[quote]Basically, if you spend any time on the internet, you are going to get spyware/adware and you are open to get virus's. Most spyware/adware is not necessarily harmful, just annoying. But there are some that you definitely don't want. Virus's are typically programs that try to do things to your computer that are at best damaging to your data and can even screw up your computer physically. The info you get here is usually pretty good. For my computers I use McAfee for my anti-virus and CounterSpy for spyware/adware and I enable the firewall in WindowsXP. McAfee and CounterSpy aren't free so I'm not going to tell you that's what you need. There are free programs that you will probably be told about on this thread and from what I hear they will work fine for you. But you should really protect yourself if you are going to surf the net. [/quote] FAQ Keyword Search: Post Options Favorites Manager Notify me of new replies to this topic by email Notify me of new replies to this topic by private message Original Post miparke8 Posted at 7:55 am on April 7, 2006 I really don't know about spyware viruses trojans or any of those computer problems. All I know is that I don't want them. Can someone explain to me what they do, and where they come from, and stuff like that.

Replies The Dark Prince Posted at 3:45 pm on April 13, 2006 Your best bet in preventing any infections from viruses, Trojans, spyware, adware and the like, is to get an anti-virus program, a firewall, and if you want you may want a Spware Program. Most computer's come with an anti-virus program already installed, you should be able to use it. But if your computer did not come with one, I would recommend that you get yourself one, either AVG or Avast are some good free ones. As for firewalls, if you are running Windows XP Service Pack two, there is already one in there. But if you want another one or don't have SP2 you can download Zonealarm. For spyware, malware and adware you can get either Ad-aware SE Personal or Spybot Search and Destroy. Moridin Posted at 7:01 am on April 11, 2006 Although the default firewall in windows is okey, try getting a one that is not deafult from a serious company. Forever Angel Posted at 5:20 pm on April 10, 2006 Basically, if you spend any time on the internet, you are going to get spyware/adware and you are open to get virus's. Most spyware/adware is not necessarily harmful, just annoying. But there are some that you definitely don't want. Virus's are typically programs that try to do things to your computer that are at best damaging to your data and can even screw up your computer physically. The info you get here is usually pretty good. For my computers I use McAfee for my anti-virus and CounterSpy for spyware/adware and I enable the firewall in WindowsXP. McAfee and CounterSpy aren't free so I'm not going to tell you that's what you need. There are free programs that you will probably be told about on this thread and from what I hear they will work fine for you. But you should really protect yourself if you are going to surf the net. Moridin Posted at 3:49 pm on April 10, 2006 Well, both viruses and trojans is programs / line of codes that can potentially harm both you and your computer. They can steal your internet passwords, files on your computer, credit card number etc. The biggest difference is that a trojan is a program that covertly (secretly) enters your computer, send something on or downloads something without your knowledge. Spyware are programs that basically spies on you. It finds your passwords, sites you have visited etc. You are right in the fact that you don't want them. These things come from websites that have a hidden line of code that makes the virus/trojan/spyware (hosted somewhere else most often) download to your computer and begin to do what they do (described above). One of the best anti-spyware programs (programs that removes spyware or block the download) for beginners is Windows Defender. The program is made by Microsoft and can be found here: www.microsoft.com Check below the picture to the left and you will find "Windows Defender" Beta 2. Click on it, and further installation information will be displayed. Let me know if there is anything else you want to know :) Fender Posted at 4:31 am on April 9, 2006 Post from this position was omitted due to content violations sweetheart1 Posted at 8:47 am on April 7, 2006 Post from this position was omitted due to content violations shane olson Posted at 8:05 am on April 7, 2006 Post from this position was omitted due to content violations TDawg Posted at 8:03 am on April 7, 2006 just don't give out any personal info. Bob B Posted at 7:58 am on April 7, 2006 viruses can come from anything...pretty much...but you can buy things that will prevent things like that from happening.. SenoritaFromHell Posted at 7:57 am on April 7, 2006 download an anti virus program and they'll tell you all about it. All 10 previous replies displayed.