This information is waaay old. I'll update it sometime later. |
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This last weekend I went up to visit Mom and Dad and spent quite a bit of time ridding computers of unwanted intruders - viruses and spy ware. And so I thought it might be a good time to urge you all to take care of your computer. So here is my advice. First if you don't have a anti-virus program, shame on you! Go get one now! There are a few good free ones out there, two that are highly recommended are Anti Vir and AVG. Anti Vir can be found at www.majorgeeks.com or www.free-av.com/. AVG FREE Edition can be found at www.majorgeeks.com or www.grisoft.com. Once you have you virus program you have to do two things, keep it updated (probably at least once a month) and scan your computer at least once a week (perhaps less frequent if you spend little time online, or do no downloading). You might not think that your computer is in danger of getting a virus, but you'd be surprised easy it is to get one, so its best to be prepared. Also to cut down on your vulnerability make sure you have your windows patches up to date. Go to www.windowsupdate.com to make sure. Next you should make sure your computer is clear of spyware. "Spyware" can be benign little tracking cookies that report your browsing activities or nasty programs that shower you with pop-ups or hijack your browser. Either way they are not welcome on my computer and probably not yours either, so I recommend downloading Lavasoft's Ad Aware. It scans your computer for these programs, reports its findings, and gives you the option to rid your system of these nuisances. You can go to Lavasoft site to learn more at www.lavasoft.de or download the program at www.downloads.com. Lastly you may want to look into downloading a firewall. This will help protect you from viruses, hackers, and all kinds if nasty internet menaces. ZoneAlarm is a highly recommended firewall, but I have had problems to get it to work on my computer, mainly because I have two networked computers accessing the internet through the same line. But if you don't have your computer hooked up to a second computer, this may be a good choice for you. A great place to check how secure your system is ShieldsUp (www.grc.com). Look through the rest of the site for additional nifty information. I hope this help you all have a more enjoyable internet experience. If anyone needs help, you can always e-mail me Morgan[at]TheMcGrathFamily.com. As always, if you have anything to submit, advice to give or instructions that you have written, please e-mail it to me, I'd love to post it! |
Web-based E-mail vs. Browser-based E-mail (written by Morgan some time in '00-I think) Browser-based E-mail Many people tend to go with browser based e-mail (or server based e-mail). This is e-mail provided by your ISP (Internet service provider) and which you can access directly from your browser. This is nice because you can access your account easily, it is configured with your computer, and you can use it offline (only connecting to send mail or receive new messages). However there are problems with browser based e-mail. First, if you choose to change your ISP then you lose your entire e-mail account and you have to make sure you give everyone a new address. Also, you tend to be more vulnerable to e-mail virus, since your computer takes your messages directly to the hard drive. If you are using a Microsoft inbox you might be in danger of your computer automatically opening attachments (which could be viruses). On web-based e-mail you have to actually choose to open attachments, and it suggests to scan them first. Web-based E-mail Web based e-mail is an account supported by a online service provider. Most of these promise for life service, meaning your account will never disappear (unless you break their rule, which are basically stuff like do not send unsolicited mail, do not advertised pornography etc.) Many of these services are completely customizable, you can change the layout of your account, the colors, and tons of other preferences. But if this intimidates you, no problem, just leave it as it is, it will work great. Then later when you are more familiar with your account, you can change it around. Web-based e-mail offer some great services, such as easy to use calendars that work with your e-mail (they even can send you reminders) great address books, instant messaging, customizable start pages which feature your choice of news, weather, interests, book marks, free voice messaging, fax, and much more. And you can use you e-mail, and all it's features from any computer with Internet access, anywhere in the world. These accounts are really easy to get, they are completely free (you might have to look at a few advertisements, but they don't really detract, and some of the better accounts have very few), easy to use, and you probably never have to change your address again. Forwarding (Updated 8-25-02) If you like being able to use your browser based e-mail, but really like some of the features of web based e-mail, their is a middle ground: forwarding. Some web based e-mail providers offer message forwarding. This is a wonderful feature because you give everyone you web e-mail address and they send their messages there. Then your web mail instantly redirects the message to your browser based account. This way if you ever lose your account with your ISP all you have to do is change where you web mail sends your messages. You don't have to give out new addresses. Or you can just choose to use your web account. |
E-mail Reviews (updated 8-25-02) As I am sure many of you know, my main e-mail account is through yahoo. Yahoo has a very easy to use interface, many customizable features such as a calendar (which is similar to Schedule+), a nice customizable start page, instant messaging (they have web based instant messaging, browser based: yahoo messenger -which I use!-, and directly through your address book- if the little face by a name is lit up, you can double click on it and send a message), folders, spell check, signatures, voice messaging, fax, and well the list just goes on.(note: they now longer have forwarding) I have had a yahoo account for years, and I have very few complaints. Trust Microsoft? Well here is a e-mail supported by MSN. It is comparable to yahoo (but I like yahoo better, or is that just loyalty speaking?). The interface is user friendly, and you have access to many MSN features. If you're into computer stuff, news, and networking this might just be the one for you. I am not sure what they offer as far as calendars and such but I do know they have a decent instant messenger, and some great mail filtering options. Also you can use them with incredimail (a new plus in my book) since they allow pop3 access (which yahoo doesn't allow for free anymore *gives yahoo a dirty look*). I use Lycos for my Internet searches when yahoo fails. Lycos has one of the best search engines (in my opinion as a student how has spent many many hours of researching on the Internet) It organizes results in categories such as popular, Internet sites, and news. As for the e-mail, I just learned they have hooked up with MailCity. Lycos doesn't have the nice fancy interface like Yahoo or Hotmail, but if privacy is your policy, Lycos has one of the best spam protection I have seen so far (though now Yahoo and particularly Hotmail have put in great effort). It also has features like calendars, auto reply (for when you are away), reminders, and greetings. Excite was once one of my favorites, I really liked their customizable start page. The have a standard e-mail service, but it has few options, no spell check, and no way to change your view to "full headers" (which you need to report spam). It has little blocking ability and spam control, which is why my old account had 76 pieces of junk mail last time I checked. On attempting to contact Excite for some type of solution (I had tried before with a different problem, and received no attention) I received an automated response telling me that I did not get a human response since they are so busy, but they hope the automated response helps. The auto solution was directions on how to deactivate my account. So obviously they have no customer care, feel they do not need net users like me, and would rather tell you to get lost then to help you with problems regarding their services. (they also do not take responsible actions to stop unsolicited mail coming from excite accounts- I just thought I would throw that in, for more info look at the spam page). I do not recommend using excite, but if you feel you must, I have included the link anyway. |
