PC Maintenance and Security

I watched a few tutorials about PC Maintenance and Security on the Atomic Learning site and I'm posting my findings below.

The first tutorial I watched was titled "Using Firewalls."  I learned that if you have a wireless Internet connection, you will need both a hardware firewall and a software firewall.  One thing I'd like to share with others is a protection agent called Zone Alarm.  There is a free version of this available and the free version is enough protection for most systems.  What most surprised me was that hardware firewalls don't block spam emails and they don't stop me from spreading viruses.  I need to take precaution and start protecting myself better.

The second tutorial I watched was called "Making Emails Safer."  Recently I was made aware that my email sent out a "spam" email to most of my contacts.  I have never had this problem before and was extremely interested in how I could stop this from happening again.  It is worth sharing with others that there is a program called "Mailwasher" that can be downloaded free and will help prevent the problems with spam emails.  I was surprised to find that there are so many options in setting up an email account (on hotmail, gmail, or yahoo) that allow you to better protect yourself.  After watching the first video in this series of tutorials, I went right to my hotmail account and changed my settings.

The third tutorial I watched was "Helpful Website Resources."  I am always looking for resources that will help educate me in one way or another.  I can honestly say that I have never "googled" or searched for websites that will help give your computer a "tune-up."  I would like to share the website "PC Pitstop."  On this site, you will be able to give your PC a tune-up.  It will give a status on your computer in comparison with others who have similar systems as you.  Also, you can go to Gizmo Richards' Tech Support Alert and get free tools to help make your computer safer.  It surprised me that there are so many different free options out there to help keep your PC secure.