AOL 9.0 IS BADWARE

I’m still occasionally asked why tech support people hate America Online. Here’s part of the answer.StopBadware.org evaluates software to determine if it presents any risks to your computer or your privacy. It is funded by major tech companies –...

MCAFEE TOTAL PREVENTION

The deterioration of Symantec and McAfee products continues. Seems like every week I solve someone’s problem by uninstalling a Norton product. (This week a client’s outgoing e-mail was suddenly blocked, with an incomprehensible error message. After...

MCAFEE SUBSCRIPTION SECURITY SERVICE

Windows Live OneCare continues to be one of the most satisfying products in years – the design is elegant and glitches have been few and far between.For that reason, I don’t expect to spend any time with the competitors this year – they’ve been...

WINDOWS DEFENDER UPDATE

Windows Defender is Microsoft’s antispyware program – highly recommended for all computers running Windows XP.Windows Live OneCare is supposed to take over operation of Windows Defender, but it doesn’t thoroughly integrate it – Windows Defender...

WINDOWS SECURITY UPDATES

Lots of new security updates from Microsoft today, the regularly-scheduled once-a-month release that’s become known as “Patch Tuesday.” Here’s an article about this month’s patches.Some of you will find your computer restarted after...

PHISHING

A momentary lapse led a client to respond to an e-mail from Wells Fargo, clicking on a link and filling in account information on the login page.The message wasn’t from Wells Fargo, the account information went to sophisticated criminals overseas, and a lot of...