Cheryl Poirier picks her top ten PC downloads of 2010 from among the numerous products she looked at in a full calendar year's worth of shows. She finishes off her countdown with numbers one through five of her faves for 2010. Check out last episode for numbers six through 10.

We're all looking for ways to

make online banking safer

to avoid having our life savings siphoned off by some distant ne'er do well. Cheryl find Zamana AntiLogger software that ensures your personal information, most especially logins and passwords, are safe. AntiLogger shuts down any key logger software that tries to take up residence on your PC.

Spyware. It sounds nasty... and it is. Spyware grabs your information and at its best, creates a marketing profile that is then sold to advertisers. At its worst, it can capture login and password information from your online accounts and this information is sold. See a pattern developing? It's all about the money. Spybot Search and Destroy helps to keep your computer free of this online threat. Fair to say, no computer should be without it.

With all the threats that are on the Internet, it's foolish to venture out without protection. Running low on cash? Not a problem because you can put together a solid security suite with free security software!

If you have a full security suite on your computer, the odds are that you're

protected against keyloggers

, though you may not know what they are. In this episode, we will give you the

definition of keylogger

, tell you

what keyloggers do

and show you how you can

protect your PC from similar malware

.

In

online sex searching

, an ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure. Kate takes a look at ways you can stay safe when searching for sex and porn online. Sure, there's a world of adult content out there for the taking but free doesn't always mean free of hassles.

Anyone with a working Internet connection is well aware of the dangers lurking out in cyberspace. There are

viruses, spyware and all sorts of malicious software

that are constantly trying to attack your computer. Here we'll tell you how to protect your PC for free using Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus!

Protecting your computer from spyware, viruses

and other malicious programs is not only important, it's easy! In this episode of the series we show you

how to install Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus

so you can surf the Internet safely and

keep your computer secure

.

Microsoft announced a

zero-day vulnerability

that might appear on malicious Web sites. If a Web site prompts you to press the

F1 "help" key

, Microsoft is telling you not to do it; it could be an attempt at accessing and taking control of your computer.

Windows users hopefully know that their systems are open to

online attacks

without some

reliable security software

installed. Be it Windows' overwhelming market share or security oversights in the code (or both), Microsoft's flagship product gets the lion's share of the bad guys' efforts.
If you're running a legit copy of Windows XP, Vista or 7, Microsoft Security Essentials is free and protects your computer from all kinds of Internet nasties.

Malware, spyware, viruses, Trojans

et. al. be gone!

The Internet is a great place to find things, get information, do research, and more. It's also a jungle out there with creepy-crawlies around every corner. With

viruses, spyware, malware, keyloggers, worms

and other such malware, having a computer without a robust security safety net in place is like hopping out of your car in a bad part of town waving $20 bills. This week Doc takes a look at three,

free security related products

that can protect you and test you level of protection.

Even for the most savvy web citizen,

shopping online

can be a frightening affair. As your

credit card information

whizzes across the Ethernet, you wonder if it's normal to feel a twinge of fear. The

Smart Swipe from NetSecure Technologies

promises a

safer and more secure online shopping

experience by securely processing your credit card information and never storing said information on your PC. In the days of malware, spyware and other attempts to access your computer and steal valuable information, that's a good thing.

The Internet is like a big city. It has it's classy neighborhoods and it's bad ones. To

reduce your chance of being infected with spyware

you need to know things you should avoid. The seedier parts of the Internet often leave you open to getting

infected with spyware

and other malware. Be aware and lock your doors while rolling through these neighborhoods. Or better yet, stay away entirely.

Aside from educating yourself as to

what spyware is and isn't

and changing some browser settings to avoid some attacks, the

best spyware detection software

should be considered a must-have. Michael "Doctor File Finder" Callahan runs through a few of the

best spyware applications

to

keep your computer spyware and malware free

. Only install anti-spyware software from a trusted source; we've noticed a lot of spyware, malware and other crapware masquerading as anti-spyware software!

For

spyware

that's installed via the Web your first defense is your Web browser. By changing some basic settings you can

prevent some spyware

. There are also add-ons and extensions that specifically

deal with spyware and malware

, but you need to be aware of what you're installing. The first and best line of defense is to up your browser's built-in security settings. Sure, it means a few more dialog boxes but it also makes for a

safe browsing

experience.

How do you get

infected with spyware

? First of all by not understanding what it is. You're taking the first step to conquer that by watching this tutorial series.

Spyware can infect

you via email and the Web and it's the biggest threat on the Internet today.

Spyware

has become the

biggest threat on the Internet

today. It invades your computer, steals your information, monitors your movement, and steals your identity. So, how can you deal with it? By knowing what it is and how to avoid it. Knowledge is power and the Doc abides.

PC Tools Spyware Doctor

is an easy to use and easy to understand way to

protect your computer from adware and spyware

. It detects, removes and blocks all threats with industry leading technology.

Spyware Doctor

auto updates to make sure that it's ahead of the game when it comes to malicious software. Spyware Doctor also comes with free customer support and a 30 day money back guarantee.

McAfee's Avert Labs has noticed an alarming trend. The amount of malware cataloged in the first half of 2009 has tripled the number for the same period in 2008.

Malware is any "malicious software" designed to damage computers or steal information

. This upward trend of

malware online

shows once again that users need to be vigilant to ensure they don't become a victim.

This week Michael "Doctor File Finder" Callahan takes a look a four

free anti-spyware programs

. On the Internet today

spyware

is much more of a threat than are viruses and worms. You can protect yourself from

spyware

and Doc shows you how to do it for free.

In the world of Internet security, there are the bad guys; the malware creators, the spyware makers, the hackers, spammers and so on. Fortunately for legitimate online users, there are also the good guys; the anti-virus makers, the anti-spyware makers and the people that patrol the Internet to keep it safe. Symantec is one such good guy and Sean Carruthers got the chance to see one of three of it's worldwide

Security Operations Centers

, working 24/7, 365 days a year to do the online detective work that keeps the Internet (and your personal information) safe.

Cheryl Poirier AKA Miss Download takes a look at Webroot Spy Sweeper, an anti-spywyare, anti-malware program for your Windows PC. With this program, you can keep your PC running clean and spyware free. Cheryl likes it so much, it's the spyware solution she uses on her home PC.

Most often you hear the term "adware" lumped in with the term spyware, but that needn't be the case. Adware started out as a way to distribute software that users got for free in exchange for viewing advertisements. All adware isn't created equal and you just need to beware.

The threat of spyware is very real. STOPzilla is a product you can use to protect yourself from spyware. It monitors your network, stops pop-ups and gives you real-time protection.

Spyware and Adware are very real threats on the Internet. Spyware can steal your personal information, lead to identity theft and has many more nefarious tricks up its sleeve. In order to protect you and your family you need to run software that will protect you against these threats.

What is spyware? It's software that's installed on your computer without your knowledge or consent. It can steal your personal information. It may gather information on you, your computer, your browsing habits and more. It can lead to identity theft and make your computer run slowly. If you're going to have a computer on the Internet, you need to understand what spyware is and protect yourself against it.

Andy and Sean explain how an anti-virus program work by protecting your system against viruses and other harmful Internet mayhem, using fruit and a baseball bat.

While Mac's don't have the problem with spyware and viruses that PC's do, it still never hurts to be cautious. Being cautious means you're
safer than you would be if you did nothing. We found a program called
MacScan that works really well and keeps the Mac free of spyware and tracking cookies.

Michael "Doc" Callahan runs through the finer points of online safety and security for parents, kids or just about anyone who wants a better understanding online safety, how to protect against online theft, phishing scams, spyware, viruses and more.

About 90% of all email is unsolicited. The slang term for this email is "SPAM". SPAM is used to distribute viruses and spyware. Unsuspecting young people are prone to respond to SPAM messages and open the enticing attachments. Using a good SPAM filter will help reduce the problem.

On the Internet today spyware has become even more of a threat than viruses. For this reason it's important to make sure you're always running Anti-spyware software on your computer. You can run a combination package that contains both anti-virus and Anti-spyware or you can run a separate program for each.

The Downadup/Conficker worm has already infected over 15 million computers in China, India, the United States, England and other countries. The worm affects primarily corporate networks, but personal computer users need to be vigilant. The worm is spread primarily via pirated software and through network connections. Microsoft released a patch that fixed the security flaws, but the infected systems did not apply the patch, often because the copy of Windows is pirated.

So, there's a new computer in your life, whether it's a desktop or a notebook. Let the Lab Rats be the first to say congratulations on your new addition. And, in classic Lab Rats form, offer some practical advice.
In episode 152, Andy and Sean take a look at what you should do after you've unboxed your new PC, have connected everything and are ready to boot it for the first time (how exciting!). The guys give some useful tips on how to stay safe and secure, along with a chronological listing of everything you need to do to make your PC your own.

Windows Vista includes a software firewall that is much improved over that of Windows XP. It allows you to easily manage which programs are allowed to connect to the internet and can also block incoming requests. Windows Firewall acts as a first line of defence so don't turn it off!

Andy and Sean answer email about the PDF's, video card issues, virus/spyware infections, and more.

Andy and Sean battle it out on the merits of the two platforms.

Michael "Doc" Callahan runs through the finer points of online safety and security for parents, kids or just about anyone who wants a better understanding online safety, how to protect against online theft, phishing scams, spyware, viruses and more.

Michael "Doctor File Finder" Callahan runs through

the do's and don't of spyware

. In short, do

avoid spyware

and

don't get infected with spyware

. Obviously there's a lot more to it than that... Doc gives us some

best practices for avoiding spyware, malware and other junkware

, explains

how to get rid of spyware

and where on the Internet to avoid to not get your

computer infected with spyware

in the first place.

The Internet is full of all sorts of foreign wonders and useful information. Unfortunately, it is also full of many threats to your computer such as spyware, viruses and other malware. Fortunately, you can

protect your computer from all that malware by using Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus

by

PC Tools

. It's easy to install and we'll walk you through all of the steps involved, including

setting up the IntelliGuard protection

and

running scans on your computer

!