All ISP’s have the ability to not only track everywhere their users browse, but can determine all the programs they use to connect to the internet, each open port on every system, each file downloaded, everything broadcast from each user, including each email sent, if a system is broadcasting a virus etc.

This is a privacy issue, but also a security issue though, not in the ways that most people think. If these abilities are used responsibly they could help make the internet safer, cleaner and better for all users. If used irresponsibly, everyone is at risk. The possible uses and abuses are unlimited.

From simple bandwidth monitoring and management to detailed packet inspection: what is being done? What should and should not be done?

Starting with a more basic though still controversial area, there is a lot of talk about bandwidth management: mostly negative. Here are just a few recent articles on Bell’s throttling:

Bell irks ISPs with new throttling policy

Bell crimps P2P file-sharing during peak hours

ISP cries foul over traffic shaping

Should ISPs Be Able to Slow Down Heavy ‘Net Users?

This one is definitely worth reading for a historical and technical view point as well as the current issues and possible solutions:

Fixing the unfairness of TCP congestion control

The question really comes down to this: you pay to access the internet, should the ISP throttle your connection? Yes and No: they should be able to throttle bandwidth hogs allowing other users to continue to have a high speed connection. The most responsible way of handling this though, would be to sell different packages to people and charge them accordingly; only using throttling to enforce the package each user agreed to upon signing up. If you want a huge amount of bandwidth and the fastest connection possible without limitations on your downloads and uploads, you should be willing to pay a premium and get your own channel so your use does not affect other paying customers. This eliminates the need for bandwidth throttling, however, others would say it encourages file sharing/piracy. This is a completely different topic though and will not be discussed here.

In basic terminology: you should get what you pay for and you should be willing to pay more if you want more. ISP’s should only monitor bandwidth to determine the package each user should be on and then give the user the option to upgrade/downgrade if their use does not fit the package they purchased. If a user who passes their package quota decides not to upgrade, the ISP is protecting all users by limiting that account or charging for each overuse. Bandwidth monitoring and throttling is not a bad thing, it is a useful tool for ISP to protect the rights of all users. Each user signs an agreement when they connect. These agreements should include the right of the ISP to monitor bandwidth usage and throttle accounts if they are abused and to charge premiums for any overuse. This makes bandwidth monitoring and throttling a positive function.

The fact that an ISP can determine what browser, operating system, ftp and antivirus programs you use when you connect is a little more controversial, however most sites you browse to can do the same thing. If you are using an insecure outdated operating system or other program, this can be determined and you can be alerted. This is definitely a positive as it would keep your computer more secure, but it’s getting close to “big brother”. In the future, ISP’s may decide to block certain software as it is older, but what if your computer can’t handle the new software, or you cannot afford it, or a new computer? What if the decision is based on other things such as the almighty advertising dollar? Things are starting to look less positive…

Moving on to the ability of ISP’s to determine what your system is sending and receiving, and the responsibilities of ISP in this; how far should it go? Looking at this in a positive way, if an ISP determines a user’s computer is broadcasting a virus or being used as a “bot” in a “DOS” attack; they can and SHOULD block the access of that system until the owner has proven they cleaned it up. Looking at this in a negative way – anyone connected to the internet really has NO privacy at all due to this ability. Many people think email is private, but in reality, not only can an ISP read it, but anyone able to intercept it can read it. People need to think of emails as postcards: anyone who sees it can read it à UNLESS you use encryption. Logically, most employees will not bother to look, a job is more important than possibly finding something of value in the thousands of emails sent and received by an ISP’s users each day. Even if this ability is not used to snoop and pry at this time, it CAN be used that way. As programs and computers become more adept at collecting and sorting data, it is a very real possibility that all emails will be scanned for certain information. Different governments think this is their right to do. What if they give ISP’s the power to do it for them, or even force them to? Things are looking more negative, or are they? It depends on what they are looking for.

Now considering user downloads: should they be monitored at all? From the positive angle: yes, each download should be inspected for a virus and the ISPs server should have security in place to detect this and block the download from taking place. A warning popup for the user would also be a positive part of this function. Another positive: any time child porn is detected the info could be passed on to the authorities. This however is definitely going to have some complaints. Thinking about children: anything that protects a child is a good thing. What is necessary is the agreement a user signs with an ISP to include a waiver allowing the ISP to contact the authorities if it is determined that a user is sending or receiving child porn. The users’ privacy in all other matters should be maintained. It would be up to the police to then examine the actions of the suspect and determine if it is in fact the user or some infection that is doing this.

Looking at the ability to use “behavioral” tracking for advertising, such as the Phorm projects, this is definitely controversial to say the least. To class this as a negative is obvious, but how negative can this get? This sort of thing has been around since before the internet, but it is more “in your face” and more dangerous because of the internet.

The offline uses of “behavioral” tracking for advertising include the old direct mail, where if you bought something from one store/service they would then trade or sell your contact details to a related business. People would then get contacted by this other business trying to sell them something related to their previous purchase = Junk mail.

The same thing occurs online and people end up on spam lists. At its basic level “behavioral” tracking for advertising can be useful, but in most cases is an irritant.

When we compare the dangers of “behavioral” tracking for advertising on the internet, we see that even government agencies cannot track on the levels possible on the internet. This is one reason many governments are secretly pushing through laws that allow them to “monitor” the internet. This takes “behavioral” tracking for advertising to the extreme end of “big brother” - everything done on the internet can be inspected and if what you do not conform…?

Leaving government and conspiracies out of this, consider how “behavioral” tracking data can be used. Positive: you love to travel; you get more ads and specials and can compare the competition getting the best trip and best price. If you don’t drink you get no ads about alcohol, etc. Negative: you or a family member has an illness and you research it on the internet. This data could then be given or sold to insurance agencies resulting in your premiums increasing or even losing your policy. If you are having debt problems and look for debt consolidation information or a debt counselor, just think what would happen if the credit agencies get this information before you start to get things under control.

Where does this leave the ISP = I Spy and the issues of privacy, protection and security? Obviously the abilities are there, personal protections are limited, the abuses and uses are unlimited. Can ISP’s be trusted to create a balance? Can governments be trusted to create and enforce a balance? The obvious answer is No. Everyone must do what they can to protect themselves. Use anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-malware, encryption and common sense. For protection against website tracking try a proxy service, for protection against both website and ISP tracking try a “tunneling” service. Protest any “behavioral” tracking, by canceling your account with your ISP if they start using it. Support privacy protection agencies and be sure everyone you know does the same. People have always had the power to affect changes, even more so now with the internet. There are no longer any borders that can stop communication. We can see the world and each other without governments or big corporations telling us their versions of everything. These groups only have power because of the ignorance they promote. They get power from regular people. It is time that all people recognize this and take back that power and demand these groups start to behave. Money talks; take yours to responsible companies who realize you are not just a cow to be milked, but a person who pays their salary and deserves privacy and respect.

Has your computer slowed down? Does it take forever for a file to open or a program to start? Don’t stress out, it probably just needs some simple maintenance or a good tune up. There are some simple steps all computer owners should do regularly to help prevent troubles.

The following information lists some necessary steps and an explanation of Fragmented Files. For further steps and links to tested, free protection programs and firewall software, get your free guide from the link above.

Start with the basics, check your hardware, then clean out your temp files and defrag the hard drive.

Hardware failures: look and listen, hardware problems are usually obvious. First, look: if you see lots of dust or grime you should do a physical cleaning. Do you get the Blue Screen of Death or other error messages, does your PC randomly reboot? (Note: these can be hardware or software related).

Next listen: Are there new strange noises? (eg. rattling, scraping or grinding). Have some normal noises stopped? (eg. fans). If you are experiencing hardware problems you should shut down your computer and consult a tech. Remember, you need to regularly check out your hardware devices, it WILL help you to avoid problems.

If your PC is running slow, it is usually for reasons other than hardware. Most non hardware problems can be remedied by taking a little time and doing proper maintenance.

The most used operating system (OS) in the world is Microsoft’s Windows (multiple variations) and Windows needs regular maintenance or you WILL have problems and slow downs.

Your OS spends more time accessing files on the hard drive than anything else. As the drive fills up and files are written to and deleted from the disk, the OS may not be able to put a file all in one section. Many times the OS will break up a file and write different parts of it in various locations on the disk and create a list of where and in what order they are stored. If files are written contiguously (all in a single section written in a row) they can be retrieved with less work and time as the hard drive heads need only to read a single section. If the file is not contiguous (it is fragmented) the heads will reposition several times before retrieving the entire file. Thus increasing the time to retrieve the file and decrease the life of the hard drive. As more files are written in fragmented format the access time gets longer and longer, therefore it is necessary to rearrange the files so they ARE contiguous. This is easily done with a disk defragmenter program. A decent free one is JkDefrag; it is a nice compact program that does a good job defragging all your drives with one click. Using JkDefrag as a regular part of your computer maintenance will speed up the operation of your computer.

This is one of those things you would like to think is only a possibility, but “they wouldn’t, they couldn’t really be doing that…”

Well it seems it has come out that 3 major ISP’s in Britain are dealing with a company that has been previously linked to spyware. Phorm is the old 121media company that brought out the PeopleOnPage toolbar. This bar would let you know who else was visiting the page that used the bar and give you the ability to chat with them. No big deal, except since they knew where you were, they started using that data to serve up target ads to you. This is flat out - harvesting your surfing habits and targeting you for ads.

If ISP’s are starting to ink deals with companies who can collect your browsing information and serve up ads to you: Your privacy is at RISK! This is not some simple doubleclick cookie either, it is full out interception and snatching of your information. See this story to read how they plan to “tap your internet connection”.

Before you think, well I am not in Britain, think a moment… If Britain is allowing this and it is coming out in the news, where else is this occurring that it is not reported? Consider the following:

Companies that do the reporting make the most money off of advertising.

The USA is THE advertising nation. The rest of the world generally follows the lead of the market.

If this is done for advertising, what else is it done for?

For more information on the Phorm harvesting, check out The Registers roundup on the “Phorm Files”.

Everyone needs security software to block viruses, spyware, adware etc, but how can you protect your privacy from your ISP? If your ISP practices this in any form or has any relation to companies that do this: it is time to find a new ISP! If enough people leave and state this reason, perhaps the ISP’s will stop this sort of thing.

Privacy should NOT be for sale…

Phorm related articles on BBC:

Phorm ‘illegal’ says policy group

Web creator rejects net tracking

Phorm: Your questions answered

The amount of discussion is growing; you need to keep informed and judge for yourself.

Windows will start various programs upon startup; this is both a good and bad feature. The good: this allows Windows to load programs like your antivirus, firewall, etc that are necessary to your security. The bad: often programs are added to the startup process without your knowledge or consent and most of these are not necessary and many are irritating or even malware. Having many programs running on startup results in a very slow startup and once loaded they hog resources slowing your PC down.

In order to resolve this, you need to optimize your startup process by removing unnecessary and unwanted programs from your startup and protect your startup processes by locking them against unknown changes. Control your Windows startup processes and you can decrease the length of time your PC takes to load and increase the resources available to the programs you are using and even stop some malware.

With the right tools, even a user without much computer knowledge, can easily control the Windows startup processes. A good startup management program like Startup Inspector enables you to control your startup processes. With a simple click of the consult button Startup Inspector provides you with information as to what the items are and if they are required or not and gives you simple enabling/disabling of these programs. If Startup Inspector does not know the particular items in your startup processes it has an easy link to look up the item on Google.

There are many stand alone tools that will help you to control what is allowed to modify your startup processes and lots of security tools have this feature built in. Two of the security tools I recommend have features that lock the registry and startup processes against any unauthorized changes. Spybot Search and Destroy has its “Tea Timer” which works great as a tool, but its popup is sometimes awkward to deal with. Comodo Free Firewall has its “Defense +” feature which does a great job and is easier to work with. It will first check any changes against its ever growing database and then ask; supplying the information it does know. Once it “learns” enough for your setup the questions occur less often. It also has many other great security features but this is about your startup processes so I will not get into the firewall features here.

Controlling your startup processes, removing unnecessary and unwanted programs will reduce the loading time of Windows. Knowing what is trying to modify your startup processes and only allowing necessary items to load will keep your PC more secure and faster. Even on a slow PC, you will find your computer is performing better when you properly manage Windows startup.

More detailed information is available in the “PC Tips Tweaks and Maintenance Pro Edition”.

Cleaning a PC is a necessary and simple process and should be done at least every three months.

NOTE: Before starting any physical cleaning procedures remove all power cables from your PC. Disconnect all cables from peripheral devices. Of course you will want to put them all back later so labeling them before removing them is a very good idea

Do NOT spray anything directly onto the case. Instead, moisten a lint-free towel with isopropyl alcohol (some will tell you Windex and other things are ok, I prefer to only use isopropyl alcohol when cleaning PC’s just in case it gets on something it should not), and wipe down the front and sides of the case, taking care to avoid moving parts such as CD/DVD ROM drawers, Floppy drive doors, etc.

NOTE: Before opening your PC make sure you are properly grounded. You should be able to purchase a wrist grounding strap for around $5.00.

To determine if your PC needs internal cleaning, look at the back of your PC; you should see a grated hole covering a fan. If this is clogged with dust, dirt, hair etc, your PC needs internal cleaning.

Buildup of dust and dirt inside your case can hinder system performance and even kill your PC. Fans and heat sinks are very prone to getting clogged with dust causing fans to slow or stop and air can’t pass through and keep things cool resulting in overheating and burn out.

Attention smokers: smoke makes dust sticky; which makes the PC more susceptible to soft shorts. Smoke also seems to accelerate the aging process of certain parts and definitely gums up your moving parts faster.

NOTE: DO NOT SPRAY COMPRESSED AIR INTO YOUR PC

You always want to blow dust and grime OUT of your PC. If you blow dust into the case, there is more dust piling up on your expensive internal components. Internal dust and other grime (hair, tobacco tar, etc) can cause overheating and eventually will lead to component failure.

Use caution when using compressed air, as air pressure applied to certain areas of the PC can cause damage. For example, forced air applied to a free-spinning fan can damage the fan bearings, causing it to slow or stop spinning. When cleaning a fan with compressed air, block the blades with a small screwdriver or similar object while cleaning to keep it still.

Holding a vacuum just outside the PC (do NOT use a vacuum inside or on your PC) while using compressed air to blow the dust out will cut down on your clean up.

Once you have the dust removed take a paper towel or a clean coffee filter and wipe down the inside of the case. Only the case should be wiped down and nowhere else. Do NOT wipe down any internal components.

Now your PC is Clean, you Need to Know How to Prevent Dust:

You can not stop dust from entering your PC. However you can minimize the amount getting in.

First, keep your case elevated. Cases sitting on floors, especially on rugs or carpeting suck in more dust.

Second, keep your pets away from your PC. If you have a cat or a dog you will get hair in the system, so try to limit it by keeping the pets away

Third, keep the area around your PC clear of clutter and wipe away dust regularly.

Fourth, do not smoke around your computer, it will shorten your PC’s life and your own for that matter.

If you are purchasing a new computer ask for a case with reusable filters. If you have an older PC buy filters that you can place over the front vents. They don’t catch all the dust but they do a good job of keeping a lot out. Most filters are washable and can be reused.

Cleaning the Monitor

Turn the monitor off and remove the power cord before cleaning. Do NOT spray cleaners directly onto the monitor. If liquid enters the vents in the monitor it will get on the internal monitor components and can cause damage. Spray the cleaner on to a towel then wipe down the monitor.

Cleaning the Keyboard, Mouse, Scanner

As with all the procedures above, make sure the PC and device you are cleaning are turned off while cleaning. The keyboard should be cleaned like the monitor and case exterior – spray cleaner onto a towel and wipe it down, do NOT spray cleaner directly on the components. An additional step prior to wiping is to use a small nylon brush and loosen the dirt between the keys then turn the keyboard over and gently shake it to let loose dirt drop out or use a proper gentle PC vacuum.

A mouse may need to be internally cleaned if performance is spotty or erratic. Turn the mouse over and look at the bottom. You should see small pads you can clean with q-tips and isopropyl alcohol. If dirt has accumulated around the light, gently remove it and clean with q-tips and rubbing alcohol. If you have an older mouse with an internal ball, dust and other materials will accumulate on the rollers or the ball itself. The ball is usually held in with a removable plate. Once the ball has been removed, blow out any foreign material and inspect the rollers. If they have dirt accumulated on them it can be removed using tweezers for large accumulation and a q-tip and isopropyl alcohol for the smaller particles. Be careful to only touch the rollers lightly and use the rubbing alcohol sparingly. The ball should be cleaned with a lint-free towel and rubbing alcohol. Do NOT use any cleaner with abrasives for any PC component cleaning. Reassemble the mouse and it should return to normal operation.

Scanners should have the glass surface cleaned occasionally - perform a visual check when you are using the scanner. Foreign objects, dust and other contaminants can be detrimental to your image quality. Smudges from fingertips, specks of white-out, traces of printer or pen ink from scanned originals can all cause imperfections in your scans. Clean the glass surface with a lint-free towel and glass cleaner, and the exterior with isopropyl alcohol.

Do not let you inkjet cartridges dry out.

If you are going on a vacation for an extended period the ink cartridge left in you printer may dry out. It is similar to leaving the lid off paint tins; eventually the ink will thicken and dry blocking the print-heads. Remove ink cartridges before you leave, being sure you follow the instructions provided in your printer manual. Wrap the cartridges in plastic wrap then place them in a Zip-Lock plastic bag and leave in a cool dark place. This should help keep them from drying out and they can be re-installed once you return. Use your maintenance software when you do re-install them to clean and prime the heads again. It is a good idea to print in color and black at least once in 2-3 weeks (some cartridges will dry out sooner than others). If the cartridge is already dried out, do not use it to print, it can damage the print head.

If you do suffer from Clogged Printer Heads:

In some occasions it is impossible to avoid clogged inkjet cartridges. On many occasions, those cartridges with built in print heads can be unblocked by the following steps:

Water Based Ink Cartridges:

Remove the cartridge; according to the instructions in your printer manual. Take the cartridge to a work area that will not matter if you spill ink (a utility sink is a good place). Fold a few sheets of paper towel and dampen them with warm water > do not use tap water… use bottled water. Take the blocked printer cartridge and dab the printer heads into the moist paper towel. Let it soak for a few minutes. This should result in the warm water being drawn into the printer heads assisting the clearance of old dried/thick ink. You need to dissolve and clean up any old residue and ink before re-installation. Once you see all colors showing on the damp paper towel then it should be OK to try the cartridge back in your printer. Make sure you dry the printer heads off with a clean paper towel sheet before re-installing the cartridge. You may have to repeat this process a number of times if your cartridge is badly blocked.

Pigment / Oil Based Ink Cartridges:

For oil based inks follow the same instructions above but use isopropyl alcohol instead of warm water.

Cleaning My Printer?

Most people are unaware that they have to maintain their printers on a regular basis to ensure consistent print quality. On most printer models you will notice that when you change ink cartridges or when you first turn your printer on the printer goes through what is known as a Print Head Cleaning and Alignment Procedure. For the life of your printer this will happen hundreds of times. You may not have noticed that while this automatic head cleaning and alignment is taking place that old ink and paper residue is being dumped into a holding bin usually a small plastic container situated towards the right hand side of the printer under the lid. This is where your printer head sits while parked and not in use. If this Ink Dump Area gets over loaded, instead of cleaning your printer cartridges it can clog them with old ink and paper dust, with a sticky residue this can damage the print head and result poor quality prints or even completely blocking the print heads.

Therefore you must maintain your printer by cleaning the Print Dump Container and the Cartridge Parking area. You should have detailed instructions in your printer manual. Basically you can use a cotton swab and some Isopropyl alcohol. Make sure that you remove as much old ink as you can.

NOTE: before doing this type of maintenance make sure that you disconnect the power and you are working in an environment suitable for the job in hand.

* If you’re only going to print a couple of dozen photos, don’t do it yourself as it’s more economical to drop off your memory card or CD at a shop.

* Stick with brand name ink. Yes, it will cost more than the no-name ink, but it will last longer produce better quality photos. To give your prints the professional look, and to increase their life, be sure to also buy premium photo paper. Cheap ink has been known to dry directly on the printer heads which can cause performance problems and damage the heads.

* Replacement cartridges for ink are a good idea to keep on hand IF you make sure they’re in a sealed container or ‘zip-lock’ bag so no air can prematurely dry it up. NEVER open a cartridge box/bag until you are ready to install it in your printer.

* If you’re printing an article from a Web site, look for the ‘Print’ button on the page as it should reduce the amount of graphics and banner advertising around the article itself. If it does not have one, select the text you want to print and paste it into a standard word processor and print from there.

* Try to practice ’selective printing’ – decide what you really need on paper and what you can keep in digital format. If you look through your photos, you’ll probably realize you didn’t need to print them all and might even find some you want to discard. The same can be said of most documents.

* When your printer informs you it’s time to replace the cartridge – you can ignore the warning for a while. You probably have enough ink to last for quite a few prints. When you begin to see the black text fading or the colour just isn’t right in a photo, then change it.

* Before you print a photo, document or page from a Web site, select ‘Print Preview’ from the File tab to see what it will look like when printed so that you can catch mistakes before wasting ink.

What is “Phishing”?

It is like fishing in the sense that criminals send out mass emails “bait” hoping someone bites. The bait is an e-mail out falsely claiming to be a legitimate organization like a bank, credit card company, online payment service, or any service, company or website they think people will trust in an attempt to trick people into giving private information that can be used for identity theft, theft from your bank, online account, etc. The e-mail will direct the unsuspecting person to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as user names, passwords, credit card information, and bank account numbers, which the legitimate organization already has. This Web site, however, is spoofed and was set up only to steal information.

Link manipulation/spoofing

Most methods of phishing use some form of technical deception designed to make a link in an email (and the spoofed website it leads to) appear to belong to the spoofed organization. Misspelled URLs or the use of sub-domains are common tricks used by phishers. Another common trick is to make the anchor text for a link appear to be a valid URL when the link actually goes to the spoofed site.

Website forgery/spoofing

Some phishing scams use JavaScript to alter the address bar to make it seem legitimate. This is done by placing a picture of the legitimate company’s URL over the address bar, or by closing the original address bar and opening a new one containing the legitimate URL.

In another method of phishing that is quite popular, an attacker uses a trusted website’s own scripts against the victim. These types of attacks (cross-site scripting) are particularly nasty, because they direct the user to sign in at their bank or service’s own web page, where everything from the web address to the security certificates appears correct. This attack is very hard to spot as it is the link to the website is crafted to carry out the attack.

Damage caused by phishing - The damage ranges from loss of access to email and other online accounts to loss of money, investments, etc. Phishing is becoming more popular, because of the number of unsuspecting people who are easily tricked into divulging information to phishers. The collected information includes credit card numbers, social security numbers, and mothers’ maiden names. It is also possible that identity thieves can add more information to what they have gained through phishing simply by accessing public records. Once this information is acquired, the phishers may use a person’s details to create fake accounts in a victim’s name, ruin a victim’s credit, or even prevent victims from accessing their own accounts. As you can surmise the result can be a destroyed life. That is why it is extremely important everyone learns to recognize phishing and avoid being caught.

Recognizing Phishing and test your Phishing IQ

To help people learn more about phishing and to improve their ability to recognize it there are sites with information and tests you can take.

Microsoft: Recognize phishing scams and fraudulent e-mails

SonicWALL Phishing IQ Test

MailFrontier Phishing IQ Test

Netriplex Phishing Test

The best advice is to learn to recognize phishing and spoofing. Please check and use the sites above. The next best is to use a browser and email program that help you to recognize phishing and spoofing. Browsers and email programs are adding some protection. I recommend using Firefox for your browser and install an anti-phishing and anti-spoofing add-on. Once you have installed Firefox go to tools, add-ons, hit “get extensions” and search for the add-ons you want. Use Thunderbird for your email. Both are free and both are more secure than the Microsoft products. Get them here:

Mozilla Products

Forwarding Emails: Do Your Homework!

Every day I see email forwarded by someone trying to warn me of some new threat or with some “interesting news”. unfortunately most of these types of forwarded emails are false. In most cases it is harmless forwarding of emails with the only drawback being extra junk in your inbox and floating around the Internet.

In other cases, these emails themselves are a threat. Some emails will inform you of a “threat” and give you steps to take to “fix” your computer or “remove” the threat. Following the “advice” in these emails can cause problems in some cases.

Please do NOT forward these types of emails or follow the instructions in them without first doing your homework.

Do a search on the “information” you received. Below are a few good links to sites with information on hoaxes, myths and real threats.

There are many sites that will help you find the truth about the emails you get, I like these ones.

TruthOrFiction.com

The Truth or Fiction site lists emails and topics and gives you “Truth” or“Fiction” information from their research. It can be quite amusing to just browse some of the information they have.

This site is well organized so you can select topics or just do a simple search.

F-Secure

F-Secure is a European based international computer security company. The information and tools available are very useful for your security.

Hoax Alphabetical listing

Hoax Search

Learn to maintain your computer!

How? Who do you trust? Where do you start?

To be completely honest, my grandfather told me 3 words when I was young “Trust no one”. Smart old man. So I asked what about Grandma? His answer was listen to your Grandma, she has experience. He also said “learn so you can check it yourself”.

So let’s get right down to it. Who do you trust: someone with experience - but learn and check it yourself. You should be able to verify what you learn.

Now, I will add something to that:

Trust yourself. Get the tools and learn. Take advice from someone with experience and use and expand upon that advice. If the advice is good, you can prove it and you know you can get more advice from the same source.

I know you are tired of shelling out money. So am I.

I hate spending money; especially with no guarantees.

So here is the first step:

Download the “PC Tips Tweaks and Maintenance Free Edition” guide.

Read it - Print it - TRY it.

If it helps you - SHARE it. Most of the tools referred to in it are also free.

You only lose time if you don’t like it.

If you do like it and want more, come back here and get the “PC Tips Tweaks and Maintenance Pro Edition”. With it you will be able to handle many of the most common problems plaguing computer users and have the ability to help others.

The good thing about this process is that you will already have used my FREE document in order to evaluate my assistance.

As I said, I taught and wrote myself out of business. This information WILL help you to manage your computer on your own without needing a computer geek to overcharge you.