re: spyware software - try linux
if you have problems with spyware/ adware - and viruses - then try linux - i dont exactly know how the whole system works - but i have just loaded suse 9.2 linux. it took me a while to work out how to get the"dual boot" - as i dont really know the first thing about computers - but when loding on linux, it can partition the hard drive, so that you can run either linux or windows - anyway as a starting point to think about kinux - read the following - i only quote a small part
http://kmself.home.netcom.com/Rants/spyware.html
. I have to say the the whole issue of spyware, adware, viruses, worms, and other annoyances (generally: malware) really opened my eyes to the problems MS Windows users face.
..............etc
Some cultural observations. Ironies.
There were also a few general observations I had on the spyware / adware / malware issue. Briefly (and there's more at depth later on most of these points):
Seeing both GNU/Linux and Windows systems running side-by-side, the magnitude of the problem is just unbelievably different. As in: nonexistent vs. a major constant concern. It is possible to protect MS Windows systems against the problem. But it's a lot of work, restricts a lot of the so-called useful functionality of the platform, and in my case involves no email, greatly limited downloads, rather effectively blocking use of MS Internet Explorer, and keeping virus and adware definition files up to date. I spend thirty minutes daily on this for ten systems and still don't feel I've got things comfortably nailed down. For those interested in the "how", I cover this in some detail below.
