The whole arena of spyware intrusion is extremely fluid with the
spyware writers trying to outsmart everyone, and the software
protection writers diligently working to keep up with the hundreds of
new worms and viruses appearing nearly every day.
Fortunately, there are generous individuals and organizations who
have the facilities to review the work of the Anti-spyware developers
and make the results available for all of us everyday users of the
Internet.
The challenge for us is to know where to go for these results and
recommendations, and to know which of the anti-spyware and anti-virus
programs to use on our computers.
There are many web masters, newsletter, and Blog publishers who
constantly monitor the results published by the anti-spyware reviewers.
Most of them pass these information alerts on to their readers and
subscribers, often offering suggestions and advice based on their own
personal experiences and expertise.
A real benefit for us is that most of the top rated anti-spyware
and anti-virus programs are free, or available in Trial or Demo
versions.
All we need do is find out where to get them. But first, we need to find the reviewers who post the alerts.
If subscribing to newsletters and Blogs isn't your usual surfing
activity, you can do a search for security alert newsletters or
security alert blogs. For example, do a Yahoo search for “security
alert newsletter” (use the quotation marks to get the most appropriate
search results). Do the same for a Yahoo or Google search on “virus alert blog”. (Blogs are web logs).
Investigate the first and second pages of the search results and
select three or four of the listings as a starting point. Many
newsletters are published on a monthly schedule and may not contain the
most current information. Some are published weekly. They may be better
choices.
Blogs are usually much more current since Blog authors often post
their information every couple of days – some even on a daily basis.
Blogs are riding a major wave of popularity. For the serious
searchers of current information, this is a great benefit. There aren't
as many Blog sites as web sites yet, so it's often much easier to find
the information you're looking for.
Many Blog authors make their publications available for RSS (Real
Simple Syndication) readers. If you have added a RSS reader to your
browser, you can get up-to-the-minute alerts presented to you
automatically. You don't need to go looking for them.
Many updated browsers, like Netscape 8 and Firefox include this
feature as part of their package. Expect the newest Internet Explorer
to have a RSS Reader, too.
Don't be overwhelmed by all of the information you get. After doing
these searches and reviews once or twice, it will be a simple task to
select what you need to keep yourself current.
For starters, it is generally accepted practice to select and use
at least two anti-spyware programs. Choose from among the two or three
that receive the highest recommendations and ratings from the
newsletter and Blog authors. Be especially watchful for and select one
of those programs that provides 'Real Time' monitoring. (Which means
that they monitor and catch any incoming bugs that may try to infect
your machine while you are online).
Downloading instructions are nearly always present with the
reviews. If not, you'll find sites like c|net.com to be a good source
for download links.
Just don't forget to check for and update your security software. The spyware writers won't give you a break if you do.