Description

Batten down the hatches! Hackers, spammers and thieves (oh my!) are after you! The mere act of turning on an Internet-connected computer can put you, your family, and your personal finances at risk by exposing you to viruses, scam artists, hackers, identity thieves, and spammers. How do you fight back? Absolute Beginner's Guide to Security, Spam, Spyware and Viruses is your first line of defense.

 

Clear, easy-to-understand definitions of viruses, spyware, and hackers will help you understand what you're up against everytime you go online. Then, you'll learn about other threats, such as identity theft, phishing, and other potential dangers you'll face in your everyday computing. Find out how to search out and destroy spyware, malware and other viscious programs that could potentially harm your computer. Then find out how to lock out hackers, spammers, and theives for good.

 

We'll tell you how to immediately cut the risk of being attacked in half — in less than 10 minutes! Protect your bank accounts, digital photos, digital music collection, masters thesis, and everything you hold near and dear on your computer with the help of the Absolute Beginner's Guide to Security, Spam, Spyware and Viruses.

 

Table Of Contents

Introduction.

How This Book Is Organized.

Special Elements Used in this Book.

Reader Competition...of Sorts.

I. SECURITY BASICS: SOME VERY REAL THREATS.

1. Viruses: Attack of the Malicious Programs.

    What Is a Computer Virus?

      What Is It?

      Who Triggers a Computer Virus?

      How Does It Spread?

      What Damage Can It Do?

    Viruses: As Many Kinds As Sniffles in Kindergarten

      Macro Viruses

      Memory-Resident Viruses

      File Infector Viruses

      Boot Viruses

      Multi-Partite Viruses

      Worms: Network-Savvy Viruses

      Trojan Horses: Hey Helen, the Achaeans Left Us a Present!

      Virus Hoaxes: Fake Viruses that Scare the Heck Out of You

    Who Creates Computer Viruses?

    What Not to Do!

    When Viruses Attack!

      Disconnect As Soon As Possible

      Virus Infection Found! How to Cleanse Your System

      My Antivirus Program Won't Update!

    Now I Have Your Attention...

    Antivirus