How to avoid spyware, viruses on Windows 7, Vista and XP

If you are a Windows user, you ought to be familiar with all forms of malware that has ever been created by man (and woman). By malware, I mean spywares, viruses, trojans, etc, that infect your Microsoft Windows-powered computer. You can’t avoid them, no matter how hard you try. Even the latest and most expensive anti-virus security software has not helped you much. Upgrading to Windows 7, Microsoft’s latest and greatest, has not helped either. Thing is, you are not alone. Computer users like you (using any version of a Microsoft Windows operating system) spend time and money trying to keep their computer(s) free of malicious applications. For most of them, it’s just money down the tubes.

Think of all the fun stuff you could do with all that money (and time) you expend trying to keep your computer clean. Point is, for as long as you are using a Windows operating system, you computer will at some point become infected, and your anti-virus software will not even know it. So what should you do? Good question. We have two, very good solutions for you. Both (solutions) are easy to implement and they won’t cost you a nickel. Here are the solutions:

1. Switch to a Linux or BSD desktop operating system. That will solve your virus and spyware problems. Don’t know anything about Linux or BSD operating systems? Well, like Windows, they can power your computer and enable you to do all the good stuff you do on a computer. Unlike Windows, however, they offer you the following advantages:
   • They are free. By that I mean the operating system itself is free. If you have the bandwidth, you can download them from the Internet. If you do not have high speed Internet, you can buy the installation CDs for as little as $5.00.
   • The applications – office tools, chat and email tools, games, audio and video tools, etc, are also free.
   • You are free, and even encouraged, to give it to your friends and family, and you can be sure that no one will accuse you of software piracy.
   • You are free to install it on any number of computers that you own.
   • No black screen of death – ever
2. If you must use a Windows operating system (at work, for example), convince your employer to ditch Internet Explorer and switch to Firefox Web browser. Most of the problems that plague Windows users comes through Internet Explorer. The widely publicized attack on Google and other businesses in China exploited a zero-day flaw in IE. A flaw so bad that even Microsoft admitted that running IE in “protected mode” would only “limit the impact of the vulnerability on machines running Windows Vista and Windows 7″.

   The keyword in the previous sentence is “limit.” In other words, there is no cure for what ails IE and the operating system it runs on. In a recent interview with the BBC, Alan Stevens, a computer expert, said that using Internet Explorer is “like having a window left open in your house.” Even the German government has urged it’s citizens to stop using Internet Explorer. Yes, it’s that bad.

So do the right thing, switch to a Linux or BSD desktop operating system. For guidance on which distribution to choose, read some reviews here and here. If those don’t help, and you need some hand-holding, join a forum discussion and tell us what type of help you need. We are here to help, at no cost.

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