Free online protection for your PC

Without getting into the differences between viruses, malware, spyware and all the other nasty programs that can infiltrate your computer and do harm to the contents of its hard disk, it’s safe to say that you do not want to suffer from any of them because their consequences can stop your computer in its tracks.As with human ailments, prevention is the best cure, and it’s the purpose of this Workshop to show you how you to ward off common forms of attack, including threats from hackers. The place to start is Windows Security Center. This is a feature of both Windows XP and Windows Vista and acts a dashboard indicator of the protective measures built into Windows. It also monitors the activities of anti-virus programs provided by third parties.If you fear that your PC is already infected with spyware, then read the Workshop on page 46 first.Windows Defender Windows Defender is built into Windows Vista. Users of Windows XP can get it by following the same procedures described in Steps 6 and 7 but using this download address. Install the program using all the default options. The operation of Windows Defender can be customised but the default settings are ideal for most users.