Merchant Picks

he Internet is full of spy-ware, malware, trojans, worms, root-kits, and sundry viruses. Ever notice how after you have had your computer for a while, that it starts slowing down on boot up, crashes for no reason, starts acting weird, and maybe takes you to sites you don’t want to go to? Chances are your computer is infected with any or all of the above. More browsers now have anti-tracking software add-ons that will show you all the different organizations that are tracking your online activities. Some browsers will allow ad-blocking add-ons that prevent advertisements from displaying. It is a good idea to download good anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. There are excellent free editions available; just make sure you download from a reputable site and check out the online reviews of the different malware and anti-spyware software programs. They are not all created equal; some are better than others at detecting or blocking viruses, but not at removal. Also there are counterfeit sites that purport to be anti-virus, but in fact are injecting a virus into your computer! And absolutely do not ever run your anti-virus/spy-ware/malware programs concurrently, or they will interfere with one another. And make sure the memory capacity and processor speeds of your computer are sufficient.