Ad-Aware FREE by Lavasoft

is designed to keep your computer safe from

viruses, spyware and other malware

floating about on the web. Ad-Aware FREE is a great choice for

Internet protection

as it updates automatically, weighs in at a relatively small 9MB download and is completely free.

Trend Micro seems to be looking to the Android platform as a next growth area. Recently, some malware made its way into the Android Market and while it was quickly nixed, it raises some valid concerns. Trend Micro has a $4 app that promises to keep malware off your smartphone or tablet. There's still work to be done to fully protect Android users from possible malware, but Trend Micro seems to be moving in the right direction.

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.

You may have heard of

black hat hackers

while exploring the Internet. While there are many

types of hackers

, those referred to as black hat hackers are ones who

create viruses and worms

. They

hack computer networks

in order to cause disruption and generally make things miserable for others. We tell you more in this tutorial.

A macro virus is a type of

computer virus

that hides itself within the

macros used in programs

. In this tutorial, we explain more about

how macro viruses

work and how you can

protect your PC from macro viruses

.

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.

Here, we explain

what malware is

and what it means to your

computer's security

. Malware is a

computer term

that is used as a catch-all phrase to describe

malicious software and security threats

like

viruses, spyware, Trojans, worms

and more.

If you know the Greek tale of Troy (or if you've seen the movie), then you should know

what a Trojan Horse is

. It's an unwanted surprise waiting in a package that you actually wanted to receive. In

computer terms

, a

Trojan virus

is placed inside of useful programs or other files you might want so it can

infect your computer

.

If your computer has worms, it's no laughing matter. As big a

threat as computer viruses

,

worms are serious security issues

to your computer. In this tutorial, we'll tell you

what computer worms are

and

how worms work

.

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.

If your computer is secure, you probably have

protection from rootkits

even though you may not know

what rootkits do

or what they are. In this tutorial, we'll give you the

definition of rootkit

and explain

how rootkits work

and where they come from.

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.

Running a scan is only the first step to spyware security. The next step is to

safely remove any spyware or malware

that the scan might have found. We'll show you

how to remove that malware using Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus

and show you how to make sure the selected files are really threats to your system.

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.

Andy and Sean respond to viewer mail, with letters about multi-monitor configurations, BIOS flashing disasters, how to pronounce "2010" and more.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

In Internet Explorer 7 Microsoft introduced its anti-Phishing component. Phishing, you'll recall, is when the perpetrators try to convince you that their email is from your bank or other institution and lure you to a fraudulent Web site to steal your information. In Internet Explorer 8 SmartScreen Filter takes the battle against malware and phishing a step further.

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.

Google Chrome's built-in Safe Browsing function such a welcome feature. With viruses, trojans, malware, phishing, and more lurking out there on the Internet Google Chrome points out bad sites before you can actually visit them.

McAfee has announced a noticeable increase in the amount of scam or spam email that contains the word "valentine." Playing on our softer side, some scam emails invite us to a Valentine's themed page and invite us to install software. Don't do it!

Andy and Sean use tiny potatoes to explain how home network routers protect against inbound malware.

Andy and Sean show how to get rid of browser hijackers with a free tool.

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.