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XXX xxxxxxxx, xxx x xxx XXXX xxxx.PROTECT AGAINST
FUTURE ATTACK
By practicing tried-and-true preventive measures, you can keep your PC running like new and save
yourself a lot of trouble down the lineHEAL & INOCULATE
36 MAXIMUMPC NOVEMBER 2007
Unless you live far from civilization, you
wouldn’t dream of leaving your house
unlocked, your windows wide open, or
your car keys dangling from the ignition.
By doing so, you’re just asking for trouble,
inviting mischievous ne’er-do-wells to vio-
late your property. So why then, would you
treat your PC any differently? When you
connect to the Internet, you’re throwing
your system in the midst of a thriving online
metropolis no matter where you live, and
instead of occupying dark alleys, the bad
guys brazenly roam freely in search of new
victims. Don’t become one of them!
We’re going to show you how to set up
a strong defense that will have no-goodniks
moving on to easier targets. Combined with
our tips for safe computing habits, your PC
will be primed to travel the web without fear
of infection.BUILD A WALL
Bad guys won’t attack what they can’t see;
use a variety of defensive measures, includ-
ing a fi rewall, to make your rig invisible to
online probes.1: SURF SECURELY WITH FIREFOX
You’re only as secure as the vehicle you’re
traveling in, and coasting along with
Internet Explorer is like putting a sign in
your back window that says, “Hey, steal
from me!” If you haven’t made the switch to
Mozilla’s Firefox ( http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ ),
then drop what you’re doing and download
this superior browser. Now.
Not only does Firefox render pages
faster than IE7 and come with a massive
array of extensions for customizing your
experience, but security threats are also
less prevalent. It’s not that digital thieves
skip over the browser entirely, but until
Firefox can close in on IE’s market share,hackers’ energies are better served by tar-
geting Microsoft’s browser.
After installing Firefox and upping
your geek cred, head over to http://tinyurl.
com/2z5qmt for a comprehensive guide on
how to optimize your new browser and rec-
ommended extensions.2: SHIELD AGAINST SPYWARE
No matter which browser you use, you’re
still susceptible to spyware. Earlier, we
pointed out several candidates for root-
ing out and zapping miscreant programs,
but not all anti-spyware software actively
monitors and protects in real time. We
want to catch spyware before it has achance to install and run, and for that,
we turn to Webroot’s Spy Sweeper ($30,
http://www.webroot.com )
Spy Sweeper includes a fairly straight-
forward GUI, making it easy enough for inex-
perienced users to navigate, but more savvy
individuals will appreciate the utility’s many
included tools and safeguards. Spy Sweeper
calls these safeguards shields, which alert
you when a potentially unsafe program
attempts to alter system fi les, execute pro-
cesses on your PC, or behave in some other
suspect manner. The shields won’t check for
keylogging activity by default; you’ll need to
manually enable that feature for the added
layer of protection.Spy Sweeper maintains a list of sites known for their spyware affiliation and blacklists
them from dialing in to your PC.