Friday, September 17, 2010

Computer Scams - "Clean and Speed Up Your Computer"

Offers to speed up our computers are coming at us from all sides - TV, Internet ads, email, regular mail and by telephone. The old saw applies here - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

Here's an article from ZDNet Blogs by Scott Raymond about Computer Security. Certainly read the whole thing if you like, but the most important paragraph is here:

"Another trap to avoid are the TV commercials promoting a faster computer free of viruses and spyware. These are actually ransomware scams where the program doesn’t actually clean anything, but keeps demanding money to keep your computer safe. The parent company also theatens anyone that reviews them in a negative light, which is why I have not named them directly in this article. Not surprising, considering their reputation. There are many malware programs pretending to protect your security; research them first before using any of them. 

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/personal-computer-security-using-uncommon-sense/13878?tag=nl.e539


That's important enough to stand alone, but I'll just add one more thought: please back up anything that's important to you. If you don't know how, look it up or ask.