I was recently with a client who wanted to give their old software to other people or organizations. In general, giving to those less fortunate is a kind thing to do. However, there are circumstances when this generosity is not kind or legal.
The most obvious problem is that most software allows for people to install it only on 1 computer. This is where we run into the legal issue. You can’t give your old software to another person or organization to use on a different computer. You may be allowed to do this if you give them the entire PC, but on the whole, regiving software is frowned upon.
The second and less obvious issue is security. Some of the software that my client wanted to pass on was antivirus software. These are a security nightmare. The recipients of the software will believe that their computers are safe and secure but they aren’t. When people believe they are safe online, they take risks that they wouldn’t if they knew that they were unprotected. Therefore, this false sense of security is more dangerous than going without security software.
I don’t believe that people should go without security software so I would like to point out some excellent and FREE (to home users, not businesses) security software.
- Avira Antivir: Download it HERE.
- MalwareBytes: Download it HERE.
- SuperAntiSpyware: Download it HERE.
Tim
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On one of my other blogs, I am testing spyware blockers. I have collected an entire list of “infected websites” and after going through quite a few pages (probably more than 50) I am noticing a theme… They all want you to download a file of some sort. So here is my recomendation and the theme of this post.
Unless you specifically trust the website that you are at, don’t download anything!!!
Keeping yourself and your computer safe online is a bit more complicated than that but just following that one rule will go miles in keeping your computer clean and safe. By reducing the number of virus and spyware infestations you have you will save yourself money on repairs and how often you have to buy a new computer.
Spyware Blockers are a legitimate and sometimes necessary product but they can’t help you if you circumvent them by downloading every Java or ActiveX plugin that you are given.You have to use your head when you’re online. A spyware blocking program will help to keep you safe but you also have to use common sense.
To quote a few cliches, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” and “Don’t believe everything you read”. Scamming websites abound and you are their target. They don’t discriminate which is why you have to.
Happy and Safe Computing,
Tim
Biden PC is a Computer Network Consulting Company.
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Mozilla Firefox gives you many more options on how to deal with cookies than Microsoft Internet Explorer does. You have the options of:
- Accepting all cookies
- Not accepting 3rd party cookies
- choosing on a site by site basis which cookies to accept.
You also have options as to how long to keep the cookies that you do accept.
- Keep them until they expire
- Keep them until you close Firefox.
ITCSNY points out a few reasons why we should be more careful with the cookies that we accept.
So here are some easy instructions (for Windows Users) to change your default Cookie rules.
- Go to the”Tools” menu and choose “Options”.
- Click under the “Privacy” tab at the top of the window and look under the “Cookies” section.
- Choose your settings then click “OK”.
Cookies can be very helpful so I don’t delete them all but I do recommend AT LEAST removing the check mark from “Accept third-party cookies”. I also choose “Ask me every time” under “Keep Until” just so that I can actually see who is requesting the cookies.
Remember, cookies help you log into websites and some absolutely require cookies so I don’t recommend blocking them all, but you should at least learn about who is giving them to you.
Happy Computing,
Tim
Biden PC is a Computer Network Consulting Company.