On Line Free Scans : I have put this one at the top of the page because I think this is also an important subject . My advice is , Don't do it . Why ? , When you are looking around the Internet you will come to sites that offer free scans of your computer , for what ever , Anti Virus , Tune Up , or what ever , sounds good and sounds easy , in a lot of cases it is , but also in a lot of ceases it is not . Think about this . For a free scan to happen , you must give them full access to your computer , time to think again , what are we trying to stop here , yes , Access to your computer from the Internet , a couple of the reasons I say don't do this are as follows .

These are just a couple of examples of what can and does happen out there .

First , there are the " Copy Sites " , what this means is that the baddies in the bush will copy the site front page of a genuine site , you go to this site and click on it or things on it , or you do a Free Scan from them , which in actual fact is not a free scan at all , well actually it is , it is a Free Scan for them , yes it is , you have given them full access to your computer to scan , so they do , for all of your information , thank you very much , call again some time . Or at worst , after taking your information , they will then delete every thing off your hard drive .

Second , is the unscrupulous sites . If you let them do a scan of your computer , of course they will find heaps of problems , what ever they are , for what ever you were scanning for , and then of course you should buy their software that is just perfect for fixing these Problems , and make your computer a happy , healthy , little buz box . Some times they can also put Add Ware onto your computer as well . At worst with this sort of site , you lose some money , if you buy their software and have a program that is not very good , then you may also have some Add Ware that you have to clean out .

I do not say That ALL sites are like this , not at all , only some .

But because you do not know the good from the bad , and a lot of the time , even the so called ' Experts ' have a hard time telling the difference , it is much better to be safe than sorry . Because of this , if you go to a site and you think that you like their programs , have a look and see if they have a ' Free Trial ' download , download this and try it , if you like it , then you can always go back and buy it . If you do not like it , then no great loss , just some time and effort . If they do not have a ' Free Trial ' download , I personally do not bother , there is usually a lot of software out there that will do the same and let you at least try it for a little while . Would you buy some thing just on the sales mans word for it , without seeing it , or trying it , I won't . Yes a lot or most offer Money Back guarantee , too much hassle for me . But this is up to you .

The first thing you should have is the Router . You do not have it yet , well shut down your computer and go and get it , just kidding , about the shut down part anyway , a router is a must have item , and it must have in built Firewall , no inbuilt Firewall , don't buy it . I am not going to list a whole heap of routers here , because I do not know in what part of the country or the world for that matter that you live , in this case , ask your Internet Guide .

Modem , did I hear someone say Modem , ' What about the Modem ' , I hear you ask . Well the Modem , really has nothing to do with your survival and security . It is simply the little box of tricks that can and does connect you to the Internet , it is usually just your doorway to the outside world , nothing more , nothing less .

Also , all of the links for all of the software etc. will be listed at the bottom of this page .

Remember what I said about the guides , if you are not getting the answers or satisfaction that you want , then get another guide . Remember that this is YOUR survival , your information , your details etc. , on your computer . Enough said on that one , I think you understand by now . On to the next item .

Software Firewall : Sad to say , but not all Software Firewalls do what they say they can do . They must block incoming bad guys , and also block out going bad guys . Now I hear you say " What the heck have I got a Router for " . You remember from the previous page , HACKERS , PIRATES , etc. . Well the Router , Hardware Firewall , is for those bad guys . The tool for the job . The Router Firewall protects you from hardware attack , and the Software Firewall protects you from software attack .

I guess at this time , all you can see is a lot of money sailing out of your pocket in all directions , and making your head spin , am I right . Well the next couple of items are FREE and work , yes you read correctly , TOTALLY FREE , no charge at any time what so ever , not FREE to download and try for 15 , 30 , 60 , 120 days , then you have to buy , no , Just plain ordinarily FREE . These are the two recommended for New Users , by us and lots and lots of other people out there in the INTERNET BUSH who have and are surviving . Also you do not have to make a career out of them .

These FREE Software Firewalls , SHOULD be in COMBINATION with your ROUTER . If you do not have the Router yet , certainly put one of these on anyway , some protection is better than nothing . But if you do not want to buy a router , then you WILL have to BUY a much stronger Software Firewall , and you WILL have to make a career out of it , and very quickly . Just buy the router , even if you have to pay to have it setup correctly , and mostly , but not completely , forget about it , it is the simplest solution to some of your problems .

ZoneAlarm : Free for personal use . This Firewall is fairly simple to use , minimum setup required by you . Highly recommended for the First Time User . The next step up is the PRO version , and others , but they will cost you money , you do take more control . If you are not so sure , then stick with the Free version for the time being until you learn a little more .

Free Tiny Personal Firewall : a long name , yes , in short , it is called TPF2 . This one takes more tinkering and setup from you , if you are a little more advanced and would like to take more control yourself , then I would recommend this one . Not to be confused with Tiny Firewall , from a company called TinySoft . Their Software Firewalls are the next step up from this one , and you do have to pay for them .

Antivirus Programs : Again , another minefield for you to step into . As with the Software Firewalls , some are good , some are not so good , and some are down right bad . I will list two here for you , that are FREE to the home user , as above , TOTALLY FREE . Yes , there are heaps of FREE versions out there , but either of these two will do you for starters . We are setting you up for starters remember , what you do later on is up to you . These programs will take a little setting up by you . If you are unsure of any of this , then please get your Internet guide to do it for you , hang what it costs , it WILL save you HEAPS in the long run , remember , a HACKER or TROJAN , or what ever could cost so much more .

These are not listed in order of preference , have a look at them , and pick one .

Avast Antivirus : HOME version , when you go to their site , they will tell you what it will do . Remember to download the HOME version , it is Free , the other is not .

AVG Antivirus : make sure that you download the FREE version . Once again when you go there , they will tell you what it can do .

Now comes the rest of the ANTI Stuff . Anti Spy , Anti Spam , Anti Browser Hijack , Anti this , Anti that , Anti something else . By now I bet you are thinking , what in the world do I have to do here , all I want to do is go onto the Internet , have a look around , search for some information , get a book , maybe do some shopping , the kids want to research their homework , send some e-mails to family and friends , I am not going to bother anyone , I mind my own business , yes you might , but they will not , your business is their business , they will try to make money from you without your consent , so you must have and do all these things , hang in there , it is not really as bad as it looks , just a little time and effort and you will be reasonably protected . Then you can advance on this stuff a little more relaxed . OK , lets get on with it .

Get all of these , they are Totally FREE , and install them . Not listed in any special order of preference , do them all , even if they seem the same . To explain all the reasons here would take up pages , and you probably get totally bored with all of this , I personally run all of these .

Spyware Guard : As the name implies , it GUARDS you . It is a guard dog , and a good one .

Spyware Blaster : Another as the name implies , BLAST them . This is the guard with the above dog , and he is a pretty good shot also .

Microsoft Anti spyware : Microsoft purchased a company called Giant that produced this excellent Anti spyware program , now marketing it under their own name , at this time it is still basically still the Giant program .

Spy Bot Search and destroy : This program is another excellent program , this one is not a watch dog , it is a tracking , sniffer dog , every so often , you set this one loose in your computer to sniff out the little rodents that have managed to get in and hide in there some where . Unlike the first three , you must let this one off its leash . How often , up to you , experiment with this one , but at least reasonably often . Do not become complacent , if after a few runs this dog does not find anything , keep on doing it .

Ad-Aware SE Personal : Another sniffer dog , only this time for Ads , spyware and other parasites . Similar to Spy Bot Search and Destroy . Run them both and you should just about nail all the parasites to the wall . Actually I should say , run these five and you should nail them to the wall .

This about wraps up your BASIC MINIMUM survival kit .

I can see you there now , adding up the amount of Anti programs there , yep , five . Why in the world do I need five of them , and you call this BASIC MINIMUM , how do I know you said that , I can read lips through your monitor screen . Not really , but I have heard this so often before , and I will in the future also . Do you really want to know why . It is very simple , THERE IS NO ONE PROGRAM OUT THERE THAT WILL DO IT ALL ,100% , 100% OF THE TIME . If you know of one , please let me know . So , run them all , what one misses , the other catches , you will catch more rabbits with a pack of dogs , than you will with only one dog . Besides , these bad guys move the goal posts and the mines in the minefield so fast and so often , the rest of us are just playing catch up all the time .

So far your software has not cost you any money , and now you have pretty good protection , not perfect , but pretty good . Install all of this first , then you can investigate more at your leasure , and feel a hell of a lot safer .

Oh , yes , before I forget , a couple of other things for you to do . ' What there's more ' , well yes , a couple of other things you should do as well . Not with Spyware etc. , but , Operating System security .

Alexa : This can be a potential bad leak in Microsoft Internet Explorer . What can happen is , if you have this in your Internet Explorer , and you most probably do , when you re-fresh a page , it will transmit that page completely to Alexa and MSN . For example , you might purchase some thing from a company on the Internet with your credit card , on that page is all of your details , card number etc. , then for some reason you do a re-load of the page , there is good chance ALL of that page , every little bit , every little detail , can be sent to Alexa and MSN . Now until Microsoft get around to fixing this ' bug ' , it can be potential very dangerous .

Go HERE and read the full details on Alexa and how to fix it . You may not understand the fix it part , but read all of the explanation on the problem , if you do not understand the instructions on how to fix it , then get your Guide to fix it pronto . This problem is widely known in the industry , and for quite a long time now . If your Guide tries to fob you off on this one , change your Guide pronto as well .

Next go HERE and download these following programs . All of the programs come with instructions . Then when you have taken care of your survival kit , go back to this site and read up on lots of stuff there , I can not recommend that site highly enough . Definitely one of the good guys . It also has a lot of free tests for your Internet connection as well , it is a superb site , full of good information . I am not going to repeat any of it here , go and read it for yourself , my fingers are tired from typing .

LeakTest - It tests any Firewall for leaks outward . If your current Software Firewall fails this test , ( 1 ) it is not set up properly , fix it , or ( 2 ) it is useless , GET RID OF IT ..., replace it with one that does not leak .

Shoot The messenger - It disables another bad leak in the Windows operating system ...

UnPlug n' Pray - Yet another bad leak in the Windows operating system ...

DCOMbobulator - and yet another bad leak in the Windows operating system ...

XPDite - and even yet another bad leak in the Windows operating system ...

SocketLock - You guessed it , another bad leak in the Windows operating system ...

SocketToMe - This is for testing the SocketLock , to see if it was successful at closing that hole , the end result of this one , it should show zero for the user . There are other programs there , if you like them , then download and use them .

Oookay , now your BASIC MINIMUM survival kit is now complete , provided you did all of the above . Have you done all of the above , good , now you can have a rest and feel a little safer .

Links to the above software :

ZoneAlarm Free : Go HERE to Zone Labs . This will link directly to their download page . The free version is at the bottom of the list .

Free Tiny Personal Firewall : Go HERE to download it . This is where you will get the free personal version . The other Tiny Firewalls are at TinySoft , and you will pay for them .

Avast Antivirus Home Edition : Go HERE to Avast for the home edition . You can read all about it here .

AVG Anti-Virus : Go HERE for the Free home edition . This link takes you directly to the download and information page .

Spyware Guard : Go HERE to download and information . Both Spyware Guard and Blaster come from the same people . But I have linked to each information page and download page for each product . Don't want you to get lost on the way .

Spyware Blaster : Go HERE to download and information .

Microsoft Anti-Spyware : Go HERE to download and information . After you click to download , you will be asked to ' VALIDATE ' . This is up to you if you give MS any of your details or not . It is your choice . The program seems to be basically the original GIANT program at this time , which is , was , very good .

Spy Bot Search and Destroy : Go HERE for information and download .

Ad-Aware SE Personal : Go HERE to download and information . The down loading is a little deceiving , you have to click on the 'Download.com' banner towards the top of the page on the right hand side .

From these link pages , you can explore further in them for more information on problems , how to fix and so on .

If you find any of these links are not working , please let us know . We check them periodically , but we can not check them every minute of every day . Some times these sites move the page , and of course they do not inform other sites that the pages have moved , so your help would be appreciated .

These pages will be a permanent fixture on this site . They will change from time to time as the Internet changes , as in the bad guys changing the rules of the game and shifting the land mines . Use the suggestions here as a stepping stone , as you gain in experience and knowledge , you will change some of these or add to them . Good luck out there in the Internet wilds .

All the best : Fred