twesbutler's posterous http://twesbutler.posterous.com Most recent posts at twesbutler's posterous posterous.com Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:35:40 -0800 How Can You Protect Yourself From Malicious Software? http://twesbutler.posterous.com/2009/12/01/how-can-you-protect-yourself-from-malicious-software http://twesbutler.posterous.com/2009/12/01/how-can-you-protect-yourself-from-malicious-software Are you frustrated because last year you paid a computer professional repair shop WAY TOO MUCH MONEY over the course of the year to clean your computer from being attacked by malicious software? Are you worried because you estimate for this next year that you may have to spend the same amount as last year, perhaps more, to keep your computer optimized to it's maximum potential with minimal downtime?   If you answered "yes" to either of these questions then you are not alone. One way the common family can cut back on expenses is by taking a more proactive approach to protecting their own home computer network. This measure alone could easily save on the bottom line in a number of ways and provide a greater peace of mind for every end user in your family. Of course, some computer repair professionals would like you to believe that you are not capable of such a task. Most computer repair professionals truly care about the end-user, but many simply care more about running a personal antivirus program, collecting the service fee, and betting on when you will be back in the future. There are professionals galore who do just enough to clean, repair, and optimize your computer and (maybe) bring your computer back to a usable state ... but not enough to help protect you to a greater degree in the future. My name is Todd Butler and I teach families how to protect themselves from malicious software on the 'net, preferably using free tools. Remember the adage, "Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime"? Let's apply this to you as you pro-actively protect your home computer network. "Give a family clean data and clean operating systems and let them travel the 'net safely and securely for a day. Teach a family to protect themselves, their data and computers free from malware and let them travel the 'net safely and securely for a lifetime." I developed a multi-layered approach to protecting home computers as I was engaged as a Computer Technology instructor and IT professional over the last 10 years. Some of these concepts are well known strategies but a few of these concepts are virtually unknown to home computer network end-users. What I have found is that by practicing a multi-layered approach to home networking the amount of time I spend with the "home computer repair man" hat at home is next to nil. Right now I help family members and friends (and their friends) with cleaning their computers after a malware attack, and I find that having implementing these simple steps they have (1) saved their money from having to pay me or another computer professional to clean their computer, (2) saved huge amounts of time by not having to wear the "home computer repair man" hat to keep their computers free from malware, and (3) saved tons of stress from having accomplished the first two steps. Of course, there are some things that only the professionals can do like replacing faulty hardware, etc. But there are many basic techniques the end-user can do for themselves using FREE tools, specifically installing and maintaining a free personal antivirus program. What better way to protect yourself from malicious software than by using FREE Software and FREE tools? I have a special FREE mini-ecourse that goes into depth about how to use these free tools in the multi-layered approach. To enroll in the FREE mini-ecourse, visit http://nospyware4me.com.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/685306/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wjK2B6iUf4d Todd Butler top-rated-anti-malware Todd Butler