[blueskieswoman]

First, I love this site! Geekstogo is wonderful & not only have I gotten help, but I also gladly let everyone I know that this is the site to go to for help.

Now....on to the serious discussion part....how would I know if there is 'hidden' malware, redirecting software, spyware, or even someone who would have access to my network here in our home? Other than a computer crash or something really dire, how does anyone know?

Not trying to sound ignorant, but with this laptop came with Webroot Spysweeper & Desktop Firewall; am running with Vista Home Premium (32), AND then I came to g-t-g & added ATFcleaner, Spybot S&D, & MalwareBytes. I am very good about getting updates & running the programs, but what I am confused about is how would I know if someone decided to use my internet (altho I had to input a keyword/security key - not sure what to call it - when I came home & added this computer to the desktop here at my parent's home).

The stealing of information that I keep reading about (most recently from Gov. Palin's private email), makes me nervous. Not that I have anything on here that has to do with state/government business, etc., but I wouldn't want my own email 'hacked' and my contact list published. I don't think anyone wants that!!!! And most of the articles advise buying this product or that product. So I am well & truly confused!

How do you prevent this stuff even with all I am trying to do? Please answer in the simplest terms possible as I am a little slow - but I DO have a valid excuse: I am a blonde, chemo-brain!

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Well, Gov.Palin was using a free public email address for her mail - while you would hope Yahoo has protection in place to prevent hacking, it's a good reminder to everyone that you should be careful what you send in email. The reason she should have used her official address is that it would have been more secure.

While I can't guarantee that the protection you have in place is 100% failsafe, having updated protection, using a firewall, and just being careful about the sites you visit and the links you click will go a long way towards keeping you safe. Usually, people who are infected with anything that could be used to steal information also experience symptoms - slowness, crashing, popups, etc. It sounds like you're trying to keep yourself safe, and that's good.

[sari]

Well, Gov.Palin was using a free public email address for her mail - while you would hope Yahoo has protection in place to prevent hacking, it's a good reminder to everyone that you should be careful what you send in email. The reason she should have used her official address is that it would have been more secure.

While I can't guarantee that the protection you have in place is 100% failsafe, having updated protection, using a firewall, and just being careful about the sites you visit and the links you click will go a long way towards keeping you safe. Usually, people who are infected with anything that could be used to steal information also experience symptoms - slowness, crashing, popups, etc. It sounds like you're trying to keep yourself safe, and that's good.

[sari]

http://www.geekstogo...;page=How_did_I is a really useful link too.