should say linux and macs don't suffer the same flaws as windows.

I will personally never understand why people even bother with Windows anymore -- sure it was slick back in 1988, but today? Pam, who now uses Linux for everything except her industrial desktop publishing, sent an email today cheering that her Linux box was back from the repair shop; she was delighted that she could now be online (dialup) in 31 seconds -- with Windows, "I could make dinner and do my makeup and still not see any windows open ... except for the ad pop-ups.".

In that same vein, I see there's a new study by Earthlink that found the average Windows PC was chocked full of dangerous, suspicious or just performance-sapping spy-wares.

The study found more than 5 million instances of what it alternately calls spyware or adware, without breaking out how many of one versus the other. Most define adware as programs voluntarily downloaded that happen to be paid via advertising, whereas spyware sneaks onto computers surreptitiously and conducts functions without having first secured explicit permission.

We don't get any of this James Bond sort of stuff in Linux. We don't get those days off due to viral worm attacks either. In fact, we don't get any of that fun lunacy, all we get is a computer that you turn it on, and it works.

Here we go again.I had posted on another blog about cleaning up your computer, and stopping popups and nonsense ads.Some are harmless, and simply pop up, others are deep rooted in the registry and can slow your computer down to a crawl.Its not only this spyware that can slow it( ie: I only EVER have 3 task bar icons in the bottom right, sound, zonealarm, and my avg anti virus.Remember anything in that space is actually /running/Ill post more on this later.)
Firstly, I will deal with Internet Explorer.If you havent updated it, do so through windows update( and in fact update your whole system)It has improved somewhat and stops unauthorized popups, but in no way does this protect you 100 percent.If you use Outlook or Outllok express, you share the same security settings between the two.You can stop popups alltogether by simply disabling your java script under options, but this would make your browsing experience somewhat limited.
I myself use Mozilla( the entire suite, if you want just the browser, get Firefox) This program does help stop intrusions from pop up sites.Some can still get by.Also you can control what gets through, by what type of site you go to( tsk tsk) and how you handle a pop up when it first appears.If it says do you want to install this ot make this your homepage..or ANY question of that sort, it will have a yes, a no and it will be in a window with a closing X at the top right.REMEMBER, these scumartists have the yes and the no as the same button...YES.Sometimes even the normal windows close, X, is also a YES, the only safe way is to ctrl alt del ( windows three finger salute) and close the process/application.
To deal with already installed spyware, clean your cache, and your cookies(its under options) and if you are using XP( depends on how bad the spyware is) you may have to shut down system restore.Its in your control panel system .
You can buy programs, but what I post is FREE ones, yes I have used pay ones, and I find they are no better than any free ware I will send you towards.I use 2 spyware cleaners, the first is Ad Aware, can be got here .The other is spybot search and destroy, it can be had here .
There is one particular nasty that also attaches to outlook and it must be removed using this method, as well as going into the options on Outlook and disabling it.
Now as to viruses( is that Virii??) I use AVG its free, it uses hardly any resources and works good.If you need an emergency online scan, check here
I will address Outlook and outlook express, which I will say is NOT my choice of email I use Calypso check it out! oops off topic..ok to continue... First is to disable your preview pane, anything that shows there is auto downloaded, so get rid of this.It will make you think twice about double clicking on someones mail if you really REALLY want to open it.
I always recommend the following: -Start>Settings>Folder Options
-Click the File Types tab
-Scroll down to the entry for "VBScript File", highlight it and click the
button labeled "Edit"
-In the box that comes up next, about 1/2 way down you'll see a field called
"Actions" and listed there are "Edit", "Open", "Print", and "Open with MSDOS
Prompt". Click to highlight "Edit" and then click the button below that
says "Set Default". "Edit" will now be the default action, and will be what
happens when you double click a .vbs file in the future (it will open in
Notepad instead of running).
-Click OK, then OK again

This will in no way affect the normal operaion of your computer, just
changes how .vbs files are handled when you double click them.
Normal users never should need to handle .VBS files, and if you know how to and have use of it..then you also know how to change that option ;)
Now to clean out the registry and those unnecesary files, download Easy Cleaner here please be careful with this tool and read the info.
Cheers

I had a recent email from one of the blog readers, having a terrible experience with her existing operating system, and wanting to go back to a dual boot system, one using her old windows98 and the other the new mandrake, which I sent her to read Gary's Blog to get the links and a bit of understanding.Her problem?(luckily she had 2 computers so I could be emailed) she could not get rid of the NTFS partitions that were used for xp.She was told to go out and buy partition magic. While I personnaly have Partition magic and it is indeed a fine program, to pay that kind of money for one usage is a bit of a waste.There is another option, the old program called delpart.exe available free on the internet, and this will do what fdisk cannot do.It solved her problem, and she is on her way to a dual boot system.I guess thats what we are all here for, helping each other.

This is for windows users.It always has been funky trying to get control of what runs and what doesnt on startup.(using the ctrl alt del method doesnt always show everything, there are some free apps that will do this Ill link to them later)When you install a program, try not to use the quick method, they try and scare you away with things like /only experienced users should use the custom method/.Well, use the custom method.For instance, if you just install quicktime it will reassociate all your files to quicktime, install a taskbar icon and make it the priority app for all those files..REGARDLESS of what you want.RealPlayer does the same..and so do most programs.Choose what you want and when.For me under windows I use( my opinion) Irfanview..a free viewer that can do a lot, but you may prefer something else, thats fine, but you should have a say.

Once a program has been installed you should try under its options to not load at windows startup, and not show a taskbar icon.If you still get things starting you do not want, try the startup folder.You can always use the tool msconfig.exe, but that is really for testing purposes only.Sometimes a third party app , like startupcop, has to be used.

Now..arent you thinking more about Linux ?