Today,on most internet user's computers, we have the

ability to employ software, along with our

intelligence, to prevent viruses and spyware.

To put this article into proper perspective, we'll use

Medieval defense tactics.

This is accomplished by 3 methods. First, a firewall...

'The Castle Moat' so to speak. A firewall can't see

inside your computer beforehand though, so if any viruses

or spyware were present before the firewall was installed

then its of no use. Of course, its extremely good at preventing new

attacks.

Second, a anti-virus program.... 'The Castle Drawbridge!

They will not provide much help with spyware, but good

virus protection is as desirable as one of Avaris's

dreams! One drawback can be the updates, of course.If

you've just updated Wednesday night and a virus hits the

next day, then you may not be protected till next

Wednesday night, and by then it may be too late. If you're

smart, you will have signed up for email alerts with

the provider, or even better, you'll have a anti-virus

program that has a real time update feature. I get the

tingles when I see that little pop-up saying a update

is available and click here. Its downloaded ,installed,

and updated in about 20 seconds! A new virus or Trojan or

God forbid, a new keylogger can hit the internet and spread

in a matter of days, and I'm sure this must make the definition

writers lives a living hell. I have great admiration for

them as they could have been wealthy doctors, but they have

chosen to help us... the end users. (moment of silence here)

Last, we have anti-spyware programs,'The Flaming oil'! (my favorite).

Their update features are like the anti-virus programs,

so you have to be as vigilant with this method of defense

too as you would be with the others. I've heard there are

people out there that don't even know when their

updates run, or even if its configured to do so! I

refuse to believe this sordid rumor!

So you've got your defenses set up, you're looking good.

But the best defense is a good offense, attack!

That's what some organizations do. They prowl the net

looking for websites that harbor drive-by downloads,

URL Re-Directing and such. When they find them, they

shut them down, or report them so effective protection

can be manufactured. These people have my sincere

thanks for what they do. With identity theft on the

rise and Websense reporting that the average computer

has 28 items of Spyware on it, we need all the help we

can get. Oh sure, you're saying not my computer !

Well, lets discuss those little boxes that you click

"I Agree" to when you download something. Do you read

the entire statement? This is one way spyware has

become so rampant, because so many downloads have extra

software included in them. These can be harmful to

your computers well being. KeyLoggers, popups, adware, malware...

Need I go on?

So my idea is that we need these shining knights from the

castle to journey forth on a quest. They will be

little robots or spiders like the search engines use.

They will be given absolute power over harmful

programs they find. They will be like Gort in the

movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still".

Dell recently reported that 12% of their calls were

for spyware damage, Microsoft says half of their

reports of system crashes are caused by spyware. These

calls cost these companies millions of dollars in

revenue, which they then pass the costs of onto us,

the consumers.

Who knows, if viruses and spyware ever get controlled,

the average computer may only cost a dollar!