Woody says get Microsoft Security Essentials

I was going to give you a list of antivirus and antispyware programs to install. (All of them free.) I have been using AVG but Woody Leonhard--the reining maven of all things Windows--took me by surprise. He says he dumped other programs and installed (are you ready?) security software from Microsoft.

So find out why I did the same: http://www.askwoody.com/2009/microsoft-security-essentials-da-facts/

For more about Microsoft Security Essentials see this MS press release.
To download the program go to http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/.

Be sure before you install MS SE to remove any other antivirus software you have installed: whether it's Norton's (Symantec), McAfee, AVG, Avast or any other. Don't run more than one antivirus program at the same time or your whole system can crash.

OK, I still double (triple and quadruple) check with Spybot Search & Destroy but I disabled the resident TeaTimer because you don't want too many resident programs running in the background, bumping into each other. I also use Ad-Aware without the resident Ad-Watch and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (free, non-resident version).

IMPORTANT: One caveat. One PC expert told me

Remember that installing and uninstalling software is NOT good for Windows. especially stuff that works intimately with the OS itself like antivirus stuff. it's just asking for problems playing around with it.

So if you already have a good antivirus program installed, you might just want to leave well enough alone. On the other hand, if you don't have a good AV program installed or you're just paranoid, this looks like a good option.

As for me, I have a lot of alligators in my moat. You can't be too careful these days. It's my personal Homeland Security system.

Travel Warnings for the Internet

New computer? Before you do anything, make sure you're protected.

I'm not exaggerating. These days I think the US State Department should issue Travel Warnings for the Internet, just like they do for countries that are dangerous or unstable.

As they say in the advertising business,  you have to be crazy not to be paranoid!

First Step: Make sure you update Windows regularly. Microsoft issues regular automatic security updates. But to get those updates, you have to have Automatic Updates set up to receive them, or you have manually update Windows yourself.

Go to Start, Control Panel, and double click on Security Center. See if Automatic Updates are set to load. That is Windows' recommended setting. If you don't want to let them take charfe of installing updates and want more control of what Microsoft is installing, change the setting to automatically download the updates and only notify you that you have updates ready to be installed. Then check the list and decide what to install and when. (If you have never updated before, check with your IT expert before installing Windows Genuine Advantage authentication or Service Pack 3. This is not the place for a detailed discussion, but these updates can sometimes cause more problems that they solve.)

Until next time, remember: NEVER DOWNLOAD ANYTHING FROM AN EMAIL MESSAGE. OK, not "never" but don't click on any links in an email unless you are expecting the link and know for sure who sent it to you. Even if you think an email is from someone you know, the return address might have been spoofed. And NEVER download any program from any site you're not absolutely sure is safe. I usually download software from http://www.download.com/. If there's a program you want to get, try them first.

Next time we discuss Firewalls. Meanwhile, follow these email precautions. Stay safe!

Why I Still Use Windows XP

OK, I'll admit it. I'm a late adopter. Back in 2006, my friends scratched their heads at the things I was doing with my old Windows 98 HP Brio box with 128MB of memory. Then the Lords of Redmond (aka Microsoft) announced they would no longer be supporting Windows 98.

Just after that announcement, I came across a Tech Republic blog entry from Steve Warren: "Microsoft vs. the Stubborn Donkeys." where he wrote

I still know some people who love and are very happy with their Windows 98 and Windows ME computers. If you are still a user of Windows 98 or Windows ME, you fall under what I call the “Stubborn Donkey syndrome” - you know the operating system, you know what it looks like, where things go, where things should be, and resist change with every fiber of your being.

After reading his post, I sent Warren this photo of the donkey and cart with the caption "Morty being supported by Microsoft." He wrote me back that I made his day.

In his post, Warren went on say that Microsoft was making a mistake by antagonizing people and making them upgrade every year. What he didn't mention is that not every new version is an "upgrade." Windows 2000 was. But Windows Millennium was overpriced at "free:"! (I threw away a free copy I got.)

I finally bit the bullet and got a new Dell computer with XP Professional. Guess what.... The bullet was delicious. Microsoft finally got it right! XP is solid and stable. No, I haven't tried Vista. But just about everyone I know who has hates it. It's so unpopular that Dell and Lenovo came out with new computers with the option to "downgrade" from Vista to XP!

Will I try Windows 7? Maybe. Ask me in a few years. Hee haw!