Spyware And Associated Riskzzz

[Dan #2]

on my old xp laptop, i used to have norton something, that could be taken to a window with a "block connection" button, that, i imagine, disabled the internet, thus protecting me from spyware and shit while my computer was on, but i was asleep, away, et cetera.

 

was i a fool? i still think that helped.

 

i now have vista, and a wireless card, and a lot more data to protect from the evils of the internet.. how do i do it? can i disable the wireless card without opening the comp?

 

and is there anything you'd suggest, that would help keep my comp safe? i used to use Search & Destroy for spyware, should i try for that again, or could i do better?

[jtb]

Well if your just looking to turn the wireless card off at night, there should be a way to Disable the Wireless card. On Dell's it's FN+F2 to disable the wireless card, on my HP there's a button or switch on the front **some are on the side** Or you can open up the network connections windows right click on the wireless adapter and choose disable all of which are going to turn the wireless card off.

 

And as for Spybot I'm not sure how upto date with Vista they are. A few good anti spyware programs for Vista spyware removal are Counter Spy *Sunbelt Software* And Superantispyware. Both work well with vista.

 

I've been running Vista Since it's release and have had no issues thus far with malware or viruses on the computer, all I'm running is AVG Antivirus Free 7.5 and Windows Defender. The UAC **If still enabled** is to help prevent again unwanted software randomly installing it's self into your computer, since it may require administrative rights to install, you would have to accept to install the malware at that point in time.

 

Hope some of this info helps.

[Guest Prosis]

Seriously I don't get how people get hacked or anything. Maybe that's because I use a router which has a firewall and never publishes the real IP address on the Web. But aside from when my wife used my computer, I have never ever been hacked or have I caught a virus.

[jtb]

In my line of work I talk to the vast majority of people who are infected. how they do it I'll never know, I know when I've tried to get infected for program testing purposes it's next to near impossible for me to find any.

[Zukiki]

If you're not using the computer for anything (durring the day, and throughout the night), concider putting it into sleep mode; no internet, saves power. Only takes like 30 sec to put to sleep, and 30 sec to wake up if that.

[decomposinglight]

I agree with Zukiki; just put the case down and it will go to sleep. I dunno what kind of computer you have, but I have an HP so I can also flip the switch on the front left of the base to turn off the wireless card.

 

As jtb said, your computer should have Windows Defender already. In addition to the Defender, I use AVG anti-virus (free online), Spybot Search and Destroy (free online), and Spysweeper (subscription; I wouldn't recommend it too much - it was a gift). I used to use AdAware SE on my XP too, but it doesn't like Vista too much. >.<

 

Run those puppies regularly and you should be in tip-top shape.

[Dan #2]

i haven't figured out how to disable the wireless card, but 'sleep' is something i'm going to start doing, it's a good idea, thanks. i haven't tried it yet though so i'm not totally sure what to expect.. is it like a screen saver, only 'deeper' haha?

 

but thanks for the suggestions, too, everyone, they're much appreciated!

[decomposinglight]

If there isn't a switch on the exterior of the computer for the wireless card, it might be an option you can get to in the lower right hand corner or through your Internet Preferences. It would kinda be a bitch to have to go through all of that every time you want to turn it off, though.

 

I guess you could say that, yeah. Sleep is like a more advanced screensaver. It's like giving the computer a rest, so that's why it takes a bit longer to boot up when it's taken out of sleep mode when compared to just screensaver. If you have a newer computer (you said you have Vista), sleep is usually automatic with the closing of the case. If I recall, there's also a setting somewhere that allows you to adjust the settings of the sleep mode, similar to the settings you may have for screensaver.