Okay everyone, this is important:
A few of us today have been discussing antivirus software etc... It appears that some tinies are not aware of the dangers of viruses or of the huge security holes in running some 'standard' software that came with their computers.
So I am starting a thread which hopefully will be a quick little guide on software that is free that you SHOULD be running.
1) Do not run IE. It is a huge security hole and a disaster. Win7 maybe good but IE is not. If a hacker wants to infect a computer, he'll first do it using holes in IE. That's a fact.
2) Do not run Norton Antivirus. You may have payed for it but it is utterly useless for most things. It slows your computer down horribly and it is like a Yale key lock. While Yale key locks may make you feel safe, they also happen to be a standard in the industry which almost every lock pick set is designed to thwart. So too with Norton. If you are running Norton, you are running the other program that most hackers will run their malicious code against to test it.
My personal recommendations are:
1) Get Firefox or Google Chrome. They're free and they run much faster and better than IE. They're also more powerful and give you more options. Installing them is a snap.
http://www.firefox.com - download the installer and install it and then make it your default browser when it asks. It will import your IE favorites so you won't lose anything.
http://chrome.google.com - I love Google Chrome, personally. It is the fastest browser there is and very safe. Some people have a problem with Google's privacy EULA which is why I recommend Firefox first. I don't really have a problem with Google though so I use Chrome (although I tend to run both Firefox and Chrome). Download and install. It's very simple.
2) Get Avast Antivirus. It's free, you just have to register for a key with your email.
http://www.avast.com and click on the free download link. It is very good and does not use up tons of CPU. It is, in fact, much, much, better than Norton.
There are other great antiviral softwares out there for free or small fees, and I hope others will add to it in the thread. AVG is also a great one.
3) Get spybot and run it. Now. If you've been using IE and Norton, you will most likely need this. A free and amazing app, you cannot run this soon enough if you haven't yet.
http://www.spybot.com. Download and install.
You may be thinking that you're fine for now, but you probably aren't. If you are, you're incredibly lucky. However, if you're also thinking that it'll be a pain to switch, or that you'll mess something up, I can assure you that you won't. In fact, I'll help you! I'll stay with you in SL while you switch over. It'll only take a few minutes. I hope others who post here will also help people who need it.
I promise you that even if you don't know anything about computers, if you can download and install SL, you can download and install these and make them your default programs. It's very easy.
Don't be afraid to approach me or somebody else who may post here with info.
Summer Seale.
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