MySpace may be killing your computer…

It is true. Some of you are asking how? Others, I am sure grimacing about the fact that it has crashed your computer or given you viruses.

 How is MySpace killing your computer? MySpace itself doesn’t kill your computer. It is the HTML you put for your background display and/or comments. HMTL is wonderful and lets you do really cool creative things. But, it also has a darker side. The graphics you are using can have secret codes in them. That lets people hack into your page. Ever had a bulletin or comment posted that you didn’t write? That would be a hacker and you need to change your password right away. It is like an STD! You will need to notify your friends because it spreads and kills. Ever clicked on someone’s page and been redirected to a graphic site? Well, the page you were on has been hacked and you most likely are going to download a virus/spyware. You should let them know.

Most of the pages you get your graphic codes from have spyware on them and/or possibly viruses. It is really important to limit the pages you get graphics from. Also, after searching these pages run your virus protection program and a spyware remover program. I use Spybot for my spyware remover but there are many others. On top of that, you should learn a little about HTML to remove the links back to the original page. I do it with almost every comment I post. Also, please go and click to see your profile preview every so often. That will let you know if you have a problem like redirection to another site. I hope you don’t want to be infected and/or have your friends infected.

You may ask why I’m writing this. Well, my MySpace was just hacked into. I noticed right away and took care of it. I also ran Spybot and found 10 spyware files with sub-files. I love my computer and want it to run the best it can.Below are a few suggestions to help you with the health of your computer:

1) Make sure you have virus protection; you update regularly and scan often (especially if you go on questionable sites.)2) Make sure you have a good spyware remover and use the latest version. You need a spyware remover program even if you have a virus protection program. It will remove the stuff that your virus protection program can’t. 3) Get a pop-up blocker.4) Change your passwords.5) Limit the bad sites you go on…that includes porn and game sites.

6) Run Disk Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup ever once and awhile. This will help clean the crap off of your computer. Use defrag especially after you delete a lot of things from your computer. You will find them under system tools for windows users. These two programs should be used at least once a month depending on how much activity you have on your computer.

7) Don’t keep a lot of crap on your computer. Photos and music take up a lot of space and will slow down your computer. Delete unnecessary programs if you aren’t going to ever use them.  Please do not delete something if you don’t know what it does.  It can cause your computer problems. Get an external hard drive for music and pictures if you can. Otherwise, back them up on disk and online servers. I use Picasa, but there are many others out there. These sites are nice. You can access your photos from anywhere, you can send links to friends and you will always have a backup.

Delete your temporary files and cookies. They can carry viruses. Disk Cleanup can do it for you but you may not want to always run it. You can delete them under internet options. I would give you instructions but different versions have different instructions. This will delete all of your passwords and presets. You may want to go into the settings and delete the files you don’t need.

9) I also like to use CCleaner. It is easy to use and can help you get ride of unwanted files, ect.

10) Put parental controls and passwords on your computer if it is a shared computer. Your kids can do a lot of damage to your computer and you would never know it. Well, until you have pop-ups or it crashes. Plus, you don’t want them looking at questionable material.

11) MySpace has a profile editor now. You should use it. They don’t like hackers.

12) Join Facebook. This crap doesn’t happen on it.

13) I like the site www.download.com.You can find anything on there and for free sometimes. Plus, they give helpful advice and you get to see comments from the end user. They have software for virus removal, spyware and parental control.

I’m sure I’m leaving some stuff out. Let me know or tell me about better programs to help people out. Mac users let me know if you have any tricks. I know your computers are a lot safer than windows. Hope this helps someone!!!  Let me know if you have any question.  Addendum:  I am now using Google’s free Spyware Doctor.

I have written a second blog on this subject called Myspace Viruses/How to regain internet safety!