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Hello, and welcome to 247Fixes, a site dedicated to combating spyware. This page will help you stop spyware from infecting your PC. There are many pieces of software that you can use to prevent malware from accessing your computer. Not all have to be purchased either. Luckily, there are some very good anti-spyware software available out there for free. Which I and my staff have personally used to prevent and kill a numerous variety of spyware. We have them listed under the "Links" tab.

Malware (malicious software) comes in different forms. Such kinds are Viruses, Worms, Trojans, Keyloggers, Browsing Hijackers, and Rootkits to name a few. Each are defined by their behaviour and method of entry into your system. If you are interested in knowing more about malware and what each kind does you can find it here. Though now many creators of these malware are advancing their tactics to gain access to your computer. It has now become necessary to take the time to arm your computer to prevent any malware from taking control of your system. The four key essentials that are a must-have to guarding your system is having a great firewall, anti-virus, and anti-spyware and staying updated. Without these four key combinations.

To receive malware help from our staff, please start by visiting our Posting Guide to learn how to post logs so we can help clean up your computer. We also offer help in all tech areas including Windows, Software, Hardware, website design and much more. Become a registered member today and visit our forums to receive help and learn about computers in general.

Are you interested in learning how to fight malware? 247Fixes offers a free malware removal training program called the 247Academy. The training is free, and is open to everyone; no prior computer skill or knowledge is required. Click Here to learn more about the 247Academy and to apply.

Why you need a Firewall on your PC:

You need a firewall to stop hackers from getting into your PC. A firewall sits and monitors your Internet connection or LAN connection and blocks any bad activity like port scanning (from the hacker to see if you have any open ports that they could attack). Firewalls come in software or hardware A firewall can also stop Trojans from getting into your PC and it can stop programs from "phoning home" to send companies your personal information. A good firewall that we trust and recommend is Online Armor Free. It's a great firewall that does not take up your system resources like some other firewalls do and is recommended by many.

Why you need an Anti Virus Software:

You need an anti-virus because nowadays it is not safe to be on the Internet without one. If infected, your system helps the infection spread to others.You can get viruses from e-mails, e-mail attachments, downloaded programs of wares, web sites and p2p (peer-to-peer) networks like Kazza.

What an anti-virus does is watch every single file that comes in and out of the PC. If a virus is found your anti-virus program will alert you, contain or delete the virus and fix the file. If your strapped for money and want a decent anti-virus then we recommend Microsoft Security Essentials. Or if you feel you want a solid paid subscription then we would recommend you opt for ESET NOD32 Antivirus.

Most people get infected by getting an attachment in an e-mail. Some attachments open the second the email is opened. This can be fixed by getting the latest Microsoft updates.

There should only be one anti-virus program on your computer. Two or more will cause conflicts to occur.

Why you need Anti Spyware Software.

Spyware is defined as software that is designed to acquire information such as personal or business data without your knowledge or consent. It is a invasion of your privacy and is considered to be online theft since users have not gave their permission to extract information from their computer. Some spyware can record the sites that you visit, track your browsing patterns, and even record the keystrokes that you enter.

You need an anti-spyware program on your PC because there are many ways you can get spyware. With some spyware you don't even know you are infected until you run a great anti-spyware program like SUPER AntiSpyware. I like SUPER AntiSpyware as it is an excellent scanner and it's free. Just be sure to update it often manually. Another great AntiMalware program to use is Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. It is a great tool to use to compliment the security software you already have.

Some of the most common way people get infected by spyware is downloading a bundled software like Kazza Media Desktop which comes with lots of spyware. It's the only program I know of that, if you remove the spyware, Kazza won't run. Another kind of spyware is browser hijacking. Most common hijackers use Windows vulnerabilities to hijack your browser, i.e. taking over your Internet Explorer Home, Start, Search Pages and even BHOs (Browser Helper Objects) and DPFs (Downloaded Program Files). A great program to use to help protect your computer against malicious BHOs and tracking cookies is SpywareBlaster.

Stay updated.

It is important to keep programs up to date so that malware doesn't exploit any old security flaws. Programs like Adobe and Java are updated very frequently to patch flaws, so it is important that you keep all programs, including your AntiVirus and Firewall, updated. Secunia Online Software Inspector and FileHippo UpdateChecker are two great free programs that will help you make sure your software is up-to-date. It is also important that you visit http://www.windowsupdate.com regularly. This will ensure your computer has the latest security updates installed on your computer. If there are new updates to install, install them immediately, reboot your computer, and revisit the site until there are no more critical updates.