Computer Hysteria:   "DOA!"
       by Berry F. Phillips    August 2004

I had carefully wrapped it in a blanket and rushed out in a state of panic into a dark, gray, foggy afternoon that reminded me of one of those gothic horror movies. I arrived at my destination and went straight to the emergency room. I explained to the tech that I was afraid it was "DOA" (dead on arrival)! 

 
After calming me down, he explained that he could bring it back alive providing I gave it the proper prescription. He said the infections were severe, and there was evidence of viruses, worms, trojans, adware, malware and spyware.  I told him I had no money to buy commercial preventatives.  He pointed out the Internet today is far too dangerous to surf without at least three lines of defense and he recommended a fourth. He told me that his prescription was free, and all were tested software which was regularly updated and free of adware or spyware.

The first line of defense against viruses, trojans, worms, etc. was AntiVir, which can be downloaded free from www.free-av.com. The second line of defense against adware, spyware, malware, etc. is Ad-aware, which can be downloaded free from www.lavasoftusa.com. The third line of defense against hackers, crackers, etc. is the Sygate Personal Firewall, which can be downloaded free from www.sygate.com.

Most of you recall the "browser wars" that Microsoft eventually won. Today Microsoft's Internet Explorer is used on approximately 95% of all computers and that is the problem that creates a suggestion of a fourth line of defense. Internet Explorer with its huge market share is the target for endless attacks. Several security professionals are suggesting the use of an alternate browser, like Mozilla Firefox, which can be  downloaded free from www.mozilla.org. This browser has less than 3% of  the market and consequently is not a major focus for malevolent assaults.

The "four defenses" are all freeware, no demos, and no shareware; several do have commercial pro versions available for those interested. Commercial software offers additional options, and there are numerous excellent ones. There is, of course, other freeware available on the Internet. The "four defenses" were chosen because of their popularity and user friendliness.  Who said there were no more freebies?  There still are a few free lunches.  Incidentally, I daydream when writing at times. Remember, the life you save from being "DOA" may be your very own computer!

Berry Phillips is a member of the OKCPCUG and a regular writer for the OKCPCUG website and the eMonitor