It's amazing that the average person can keep their computer from being infested with garbage these days, considering the insane number of "solutions" provided out there that typically make existing problems even worse. On top of that, it's so easy to get infected with something ugly that I've sold a computer to someone and received a call within 24 hours saying "my computer's acting up!" The madness brought on by computer infection and hijacking has to stop, and here's some of the secrets that Tritech uses to help do just that.

Chances are you're paranoid about getting an infection or ignoring the chances entirely and relying on an anti-virus program, firewall, spyware scanners, and similar types of software packages to keep you safe. There are far too many misconceptions about computer infection coming at you from all ends of the spectrum. There are some major irritations that can be easily avoided if someone would tell you how. In response to this, I bring you a list of helpful notes on what I have found in my extensive experience to work quite well, but these things are not always mentioned (and sometimes opposite approaches are even endorsed!) by other companies, reviewers, technicians, and critics:

• Spyware scanners (think Ad-Aware or Spy Sweeper) may or may not be effective as far as finding and cleaning off spyware/malware infection, but in general, I have found that there are many programs out there that are clearly unwanted, yet not detected by any spyware scanners on the market. (Please note: my favorite anti-virus product, avast! antivirus, treats spyware as if it was a virus and does not require separate spyware scanning tools to be present.)
  
  
• The Norton Internet Security suite, Norton AntiVirus, Norton SystemWorks with Norton AntiVirus, or even Symantec AntiVirus (Corporate) is the worst batch of anti-virus suites out there, and there are numerous tests that prove they slow your system down unacceptably. It is very easy to break or misconfigure the Symantec security packages, which results in computer misbehavior and Internet problems. On at least two appointments I have gone out on, a broken Norton Internet Security installation was the exclusive culprit in a total Internet access failure. These programs also have insanely high system requirements, and the slowdowns that are far too excessive for my taste. To make matters worse, I have noticed that recent versions of Norton products tend to partially cripple your system as if it is honestly broken once the virus subscription ends and you haven't paid them for more yet! This observed behavior is extremely unethical in my opinion, not unlike an "insurance policy" offered by the Mafia.
  
  
• McAfee products suffer from similar problems to Symantec's, though their problems tend to be more annoying than outright destructive. McAfee products have been responsible for numerous failures at retrieving an IP address on many cable modem installs I performed when I used to install cable internet. In other words, they couldn't get online because the firewall actually kept the computer from listening when the Internet Service Provider gave it instructions on how to get online!
  
  
• YOU DO NOT NEED A SOFTWARE-BASED FIREWALL PROGRAM. I don't care what kind of advice you get to the contrary. If you're running Windows XP, you've got a built-in firewall that needs to simply be turned on. If you don't, you MIGHT want a firewall, but it would be cheaper and easier to get a little router and put it between your cable modem and computer, and the net effect is far better, because the router actually blocks incoming attacks from random people due to the way home routers work.
  
  
• Click this link for a page about a worm that specifically spread BECAUSE users had a personal firewall installed. This is a textbook case for why yet another software product is not the solution to every problem.
  
  
• Click this link for the Wikipedia entry explaining personal firewalls without the bias of companies sponsored by the firewall makers. Most of the information you're fed about firewall software is indirectly coming from the firewall software companies themselves, and all it takes is one person getting excited at the company propaganda telling another about it to invoke the "expert opinion" that this stuff is the best thing since sliced bread.
  
  
• If your computer doesn't have an infection that's sending spam or attacking others' computers, you don't need these fancy firewalls in the first place. Most firewalls cause more trouble for you than they are worth, because they ask you if you want to let X program access the Internet, and the average user may not even know what the heck "lsass.exe" is when it asks. "FREE" firewall programs tend to go to great lengths to (A) notify you of EVERYTHING and pretend it's ALL AN ATTACK, while (B) constantly promoting the "paid" version and insisting it'll do a better job of blocking the malicious evil attacks. Unfortunately, most of the things a "FREE" firewall warns you about are not true attacks at all...unless you consider the other computer on your home network trying to share its computer name with the firewalled computer an "attack." (Yes, I'm serious, THIS DOES HAPPEN A LOT.)
  
  
• Internet Explorer, Outlook, and Outlook Express are the biggest virus attack vulnerabilities you have on your Windows system, and you need to stop using them if at all possible. Outlook Express viruses, for example, can infect your computer EVEN IF YOU HAVE a fancy expensive firewall program. Internet Explorer is infamous for letting you get infected simply by visiting a "loaded" website by accident--and the infection is immediate, sometimes even doing its magic before an anti-virus can prevent the damage! Also, the "Do you want to install and run..." dialog that Internet Explorer presents is usually followed by you clicking "Yes" to install whatever it asked about, because you THINK you need it to view the page, but in reality this is how most spyware infections happen. The solution is to Get Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird and dump the Microsoft products. Thanks to this step, as well as following sensible Internet usage practices, I've run without a constant anti-virus at all for two years without a single infection!

You are responsible for your computer. If it gets infected, you need to remember what you did before it started acting funny. Technicians would prefer that you know what you slipped up on rather than hearing "I didn't do anything and it just stopped working" for the thousandth time around. Ultimately, keeping your computer clean and running right falls on your shoulders as the computer owner, and no anti-virus, firewall, anti-hacker, anti-spam, anti-spyware, anti-malware, anti-evil software package is going to keep you or your 15-year-old nephew or neighbor or daughter from breaking that computer. I'd like to provide you with some tips to help you keep your computer clean on your own, and I'd love it if you would take the advice to heart.

STOP USING INTERNET EXPLORER AND OUTLOOK EXPRESS. Get the Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird programs to replace them. I cannot stress this point enough! Microsoft internet software is dangerous to your computer, no matter what Microsoft tells you, and "Automatic Updates" DOES NOT make it secure enough to use! If you don't install something to replace Internet Explorer and Outlook Express, sooner or later you'll run into problems (unless you are excessively careful, and I personally got sick of being excessively careful--and honestly, I ran into problems once or twice regardless). Microsoft is notorious for rolling out security patches many months after the holes are discovered, meaning you're constantly exposed to vulnerabilities despite updating the software. Also, Windows Internet Explorer 7 seems to cause some minor slowdowns and problems on Windows XP, and I highly recommend removing it from the system if you have Windows XP.

Get avast! Anti-virus Home Edition. It's free. It has tiny system requirements (if only Vista was more like avast!), which means it's faster than anything else I've seen. I recommend it to everyone. I don't get paid a single dime from them. I promote it because the product is a quality product and I believe in it, having dealt with too many horribly low-quality competing products. You can't argue with fast, reliable, and free, and avast! has proven itself to be all of these. If you want a faster and better anti-virus program, this is the one I want you to get! It beats every major anti-virus product in my real-world long-term experience. Similar products that I recommend replacing or avoiding include Norton AntiVirus, Symantec AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security, Norton 360, CA Security Suite, Trend Micro Anti-Virus, McAfee VirusScan, AVG, NOD32, Kaspersky, and Panda Antivirus.

Spybot Search and Destroy is a very nice spyware prevention tool. It is free and it catches a lot of different infections. Do not install the "TeaTimer" protection, though, because it incurs significant overhead and asks you questions far too often. Ad-Aware is also a fairly good spyware scanner. CCleaner is an EXCELLENT "junk cleaning Swiss army knife." It can remove junk files and useless old temporary stuff from places you'd never know existed, and I use it regularly because the only alternative is to manually delete files from more locations than you can shake a stick at. Run CCleaner before doing a defragmentation job (Start > Run > "dfrg.msc" will start the Disk Defragmenter) and the defragmentation will work even better, thanks to the thousands of tiny garbage files no longer taking up little spaces on the disk.

I HIGHLY recommend against any of the spyware or registry or problem scanners you have to pay for. Webroot products, including Webroot Spy Sweeper, are one example. I often have difficulty removing Spy Sweeper from peoples' machines, not because it latches deep and the uninstaller is broken, but because the owner was suckered into paying $30 for it and doesn't want to feel like the money was wasted. It was wasted, plain and simple, and it's not worth using just because they "got you." Don't pay for spyware scanning programs. Don't buy privacy programs (things with titles like "Window Washer" and "Cookie Cleaner") because you can do it all yourself easily, and the data is still on the disk no matter what program you use to clean it, end of story. The same advice goes for products from PC Tools such as Registry Mechanic, as well as PC Pitstop Optimize, among many others. I've seen other tools (often these tools are spyware or viruses themselves!) like Awola, ThreatFire, WinAntiVirus, WinAntiSpyware, Registry Fixer, and Spyware Blaster. They should all be avoided like the plague they are, not to mention the dangers they can potentially present to your computer.

Also, a category of "nagware" that has recently appeared en masse and makes me positively furious is "fake antivirus software." As if "registry scrubbers" that did a poor job weren't bad enough, now there are programs out there that pretend to be legitimate security software detecting plenty of threats on your machine, offering to fix said threats...if you'll pay them $29.95 for the "full version." A partial list of such "fake security software" includes: XP Antivirus 2008 (sometimes reversed as in "Antivirus XP"), XP Antivirus 2009, XP SecurityCenter, AntiVirGear, WinAntiVirus Pro 2007, WinAntiVirus Pro 2006, WinAntiSpyware, WinSpywareProtect, SpySheriff, VirusHeat, VirusProtectPro, Antivermins, SecurePCCleaner, BestsellerAntivirus, VirusBurst, MalwareWipe, ContraVirus, SpyShredder, SpywareStrike, SpyFalcon, Spylocked, SpyAxe, Adware Sheriff, AntiVirGear, Pest Trap, SpywareNo, SpyTrooper, PC-Antispyware, Spydawn, Brave Sentry, Alpha Cleaner (sometimes also called AlfaCleaner), AntiSpyStorm, AntiSpywareBot, AntiSpywareMaster, SpywareQuake, AntiVirus Gold, Awola, Brave Sentry, Advanced Cleaner, Cleanator, Disk Knight, ErrorSafe, IEDefender, Spylocked, Malware Bell, MalCrush, MalwareCore, PAL Spyware Remover, PCPrivacytool, PSGuard, Security toolbar, Spy Away, SpyWiper, SpyCrush, ContraVirus, Spyware Cleaner, SpyHeal, SystemDoctor, MalwareAlarm, MacSweeper, Perfect Cleaner, Pest Trap, TrustedAntivirus, UltimateCleaner 2007, VirusRanger, WinFixer, and WorldAntiSpy. None of this software is legitimate. If you need it removed from your computer, please contact us today and we will remove them for you. We specialize in unwanted software removal, and these programs have been some of the most aggravating for our clients in recent years, showing more prevalence than most other undesirable software. Remember, just because someone says it's an antivirus package doesn't mean it's true. A virus masquerading as an antivirus? That's right, and it fools people every single day!

A little side note about other peoples' advice: I have noticed that many of the people that endorse products or approaches that do not match what I advise have one of three problems with their advice: sponsorship, context, or experience. I have heard many computer advice radio shows and seen many publications with computer advice columns that point the reader or listener towards products that sponsor the publication or radio show. This is unethical and clearly is motivated by the fact that the product maker "pays the bills." I have heard the owner of a business that focuses exclusively on businesses with 50 or more computers advising home users based on his experience in the medium-size business world, pushing products such as Symantec AntiVirus Corporate, "because we've been working with them for twelve years and they haven't let us down." Corporate products are not within the budget of a home user, and the home user has no business installing products made to manage hundreds of software deployments on their personal computer at home, and using one product exclusively for a decade without exploring other options is a weak case for endorsing that product. Also, I find that some technicians simply suffer from the lack of experience with a diverse range of products, simply accepting what they have always used or what they do know of and endorsing based on familiarity rather than technical superiority. My advice does not suffer from any of these flaws, as I have experience, financial neutrality, and contextual correctness. Please keep this in mind when some popular radio show strongly endorses Webroot Spy Sweeper and then rolls right into an ad for Spy Sweeper five minutes later.