Little Milky Shop + Republic Pink = Fashion

Article written by Jorrine See for Republic Pink
Article Word Count: 341

1. Keep your definitions up-to-date

Using the best knife but with blunted blades is of no use. To fight off spyware and adware successfully, you must ensure that your chosen fighter is loaded with the latest virus definitions. Only then it will perform at its best.

Most of the software already have the option to automatically download the latest virus definitions. Just remember to set the option for your safer protection.

2. My scan is taking its own sweet time!

If your scan is taking more than 2 hours to complete, something might be slowing down the process. However you have to take note that higher capacity storage will contribute to the amount of time taken to complete the scan too. What you can do is to close all other applications (especially Internet applications) while you're scanning. These include Internet Explorer, Firefox, and any other programs you have open that are accessing the Internet while you're scanning.

The problem with leaving programs running, especially Internet-enabled ones is that there's a remote chance spyware might still wiggled into your computer during the scan. On top of that, some applications might not be scanned. For example - Internet Explorer, Ad-Aware would not scan the offending object because Windows would see it as "in use".

3. Scan early, scan often

The war on adware and spyware is a sustained effort -not just an occasional spirited skirmish! The most effortless way to stay on top of these threats is to schedule regular scans right from the start.

To set up a Windows XP schedule:

a) Open the “Control Panel”.
b) Click “Next”, Choose “Scheduled Task” and then “Add Scheduled Task”.
c) Select the program that you want to run. You can also click on “Browse” to your software e.g. Ad-Aware and click “Open”.
d) Type a name to identify your scheduled task.
e) Lastly, you need to schedule it at a convenient time. A weekly scan should be sufficient but you can also set up a scan to run every time your computer starts up.