THE GUILD OF EROTIC ARTISTS

USEFUL TOOLS FOR YOU AND YOUR PC

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USEFUL TOOLS FOR YOU AND YOUR PC

LAVASOFT - AD-AWARE - Free Spyware Scanner

There are many websites and tools for dealing with Spyware (bits of software that get put onto your computer, often without your knowledge to gather information about you, sometimes benign, sometimes more serious). Lavasoft's product is called Ad-Aware and they have a FREE version of it for download from their website.

NORTON SECURITY CENTRE - Free Virus and Security Scan

Everyone it seems has their own personal favourite amongst the many anti-virus and security programmes available today, be they free or purchased. Because of this it would be wrong to recommend one over another. However, Norton does have a security area from which you can run a free anti-virus and security check of your PC on-line. Again, this is a useful tool and it is free of charge.

THINK BROADBAND - Speed Test

This is a great independent site for UK users new to the internet and broadband who want to know some of the basics. They have a good news section and explanatory guides, as well as a number of forums and ISP (internet service provider) comparisons. They also have a great FREE tool to check the actual speed of your internet connection (click on the Speed Test link and follow the instructions). Always handy to use if you feel your connection is not behaving as it should and you want to check its download and upload speeds. It also gives you the option to rate your ISP, so you can say whether they, and the service they provide you, are good or bad.

BROADBAND CHOICES - Usage Monitor

Ever wanted to know just how much material you are downloading from the web? Worried about overstepping the limits imposed by your Internet Service provider? Well this site has a FREE tool which monitors how much you use so you can keep track of your usage and avoid having your connection restricted or worse yet, having to pay for any usage over and above your ISP's limits. The monitor is easy to use and just sits in the icon tray (next to your clock) and simply adds up all the usage - nothing else, so there is no need to worry about it tracking your movements or reporting information on you. The programme is very small and takes next to no memory to run, it just sits in the background doing its adding up. And you can even set it for a weekly, monthly or yearly amount of usage with warning bubbles and sounds - so you need never worry again about going over the limit.

This page is for general information only. Views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and not the Guild. No liability or responsibility is accepted by either the author or the Guild for any views, opinions or advice given here.

There is a lot of help out there on the internet and lots of sites dedicated to keeping your computer up and running. The best advice is to exercise caution and to ensure you understand what the programmes on your computer are for, what they do, and how to keep them up to date and running smoothly

If you are in any doubt or unsure about any aspect of your computer or the software on it you should consult a qualified technician, company or expert before embarking on any changes to the operating system or software.

Surfing the internet can be fun and rewarding, it offers help and information across a wide range of topics and subjects. However, many first timers and computer novices often fall foul of all manner of strange and sometimes very damaging bits of software and code which they allow onto their computer either by accident or because they are unaware of how to protect themselves. Always ensure that you have up to date anti-virus protection and a firewall installed and running (Windows XP has its own firewall - but there is no harm in running another one too, like Norton) - some people simply assume because the software is on their computer it runs automatically - make sure that is the case, don't leave it to chance or you may regret it. This page offers a few websites you can visit not only for information, but for tools which can help you keep a check on your computer and help guard you against some of the worst types of malicious software. However, a word of caution, be wary about downloading and running anything you do not understand - if in doubt ask someone to assist you. And always, always read instructions carefully and follow them. Always make sure you download and install updates - especially security updates for Windows, and updates to your Anti-Virus and other protection programmes. There is little point arming yourself with these tools if you do not keep them up to date. The new Internet Explorer 7 from Microsoft is an improvement on the previous version and has some additional helpful tools - although like any other software, knowing how and when to use them is the key. You can set your computer either to notify you of when new updates are available, or to download and install them for you automatically. Once you have a problem it can often be difficult, time consuming and costly to sort it out. When you've been through it, you become a little paranoid and end up arming yourself to the teeth with as much protection as you can manage! You might want to develope a personal checklist to run through every day. For example, first thing after turning on ensure that all firewalls and anti-virus software is running. Believe it or not, there are times when a programme can fail to 'initialise' (start) and this can leave you vulnerable. Before starting work you may want to manually check for updates to your security and virus software, including Windows updates. Most times there are no updates, but at least you will know you are up to date before beginning work. If you are on broadband you may want to set your temporary internet cache/memory to clear itself as soon as you close your browser. This helps get most things out of memory which might prove harmful. You may also find it helpful to run a quick spyware scan. In any event, you should run a quick system anti-virus scan at least once a day - probably before shutting down. At night, before closing down, back up all of your work to a second drive. Yes, it sounds paranoid - but when you've lost data or had a virus, no matter how easy it is to remove, you really do want to stay on top of things!

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