PC SUPPORT LINKS AND INFO FOR WINDOWS USERS   I have included this page for all those that are having problems with spy-ware, viruses, hi-jacked home page, etc.  These are tool that will aid in the removal or repair of spy-ware and viruses. Most of the links will lead to free software or free internet scans. None of the products listed on this page are endorsed or guaranteed by me see each software EULA for warranty etc. The information on this page is here to save you some time searching the internet for hours on end trying to find help with a problem. I have already been there and done most of it for you. So here is my gift of endless hours of searching fixing and searching some more.  Windows Update The first and foremost is security always keep your operating system up to date with Windows Update you should check often as new security patches are coming out on a daily basis it seems like.  Firewalls The next is to use a firewall this will help keep the bad guy's out of your machine. Windows XP has a built in firewall but it is good to use an additional one as well. If you use a router to network your home computers most of them have a built-in NAT firewall (referred to as hardware firewall) Nat firewalls are the better protection but it is recommended to use a software firewall also. There are some good free firewalls that can be downloaded one of the better ones is Zone Alarm form Zone Labs you can get it free if you want more options with this program of course like most freeware you can purchase a full version. Sygate also has a free fire wall I have not used this one personally but a friend does and seems to like it. Anti-Virus Anti-virus software is a must Norton and McAfee both have a free on line scan McAfee Free Scan , Symantec Security Check and then one I like to use is Trend Micro on line house call from the makers of PC-cillin. For a free downloadable Anti-virus software I use one from Grisoft  AVG 6.0 Anti-Virus scanner scans incoming and out going email it picks up viruses that the others miss. Schedule complete system scans, online updates, etc. I recommend to use them all! They are all good products each one finds something that the other may not see as a security risk or is not in that database yet.  And yet another free scanner from Emsi Software GmbH is a² free. a² is a complementary product to anti-virus software which is specialized in protection against harmful software. Antivirus software often features an inadequate protection against Trojans, Dialers and Spyware. a² fills this gap. Spyware Detection and Removal "While the Internet is a powerful resource and provides users with many useful and often entertaining things to see and do, it also has its dark side. Most people are familiar with freeware, shareware, cookies, media players, interactive content, and file sharing. What they may not realize is that some of the aforementioned may contain code or components that allow the developers of these applications and tools to actually collect and disseminate information about those using them. They can track your surfing habits, abuse your Internet connection by sending this data to a third party, profile your shopping preferences, hijack your browser start page or pages, alter important system files, and can do this without your knowledge or permission. The security and privacy implications of these exploits should be quite obvious and undesirable on any system or network!" (From Lava Soft) My self and people I know and have helped understand this turmoil . So here are some of my favorite links to aid in spyware detection and removal. The first is Spybot Search and Destroy completely free and updateable  ... to www.spybot.info, the home of Spybot-S&D, the best (according to PC World, PC Mag, ...) privacy software available! Next is from Lavasoft Ad-aware 6.0  free for home use. These are the most popular two tools to use. I use them both as with anti-virus software the more the merrier! Each has its own benefits. Another of my favorite links is PC HELL lots of great information and links to to help you with spyware and viruses. just remember in some cases you may have to edit the registry which is the heart of your system so be careful it is possible to crash your system so always read and understand the consequences of each action that you might need to take. It's no fun having to try to retrieve a lost system or starting all over re-formatting and installing all your software over again.   Security Ever wonder how exposed to the internet your computer is well here is a way to find out! From Gibson research check out Shields Up this utility checks your ports to see if internet traffic is able to ping your system and allow some one to use or even possibly take over your computer get credit card info or personnel files. Here the best scenario is to have your computer running in a stealth mode but still have full functionality on the internet. All the software that can be found here is written in machine language so file sizes are very small down loads only take seconds with a cable or dsl connection minutes with dial-up. A screen shot of my system I left out my ip address but you will see yours when the probe is run. Your computer at IP:  Bone's Computer  Is being profiled. Please stand by. . . Total elapsed testing time: 5.004 seconds Your system has achieved a perfect "TruStealth" rating. Not a single packet — solicited or otherwise — was received from your system as a result of our security probing tests. Your system ignored and refused to reply to repeated Pings (ICMP Echo Requests). From the standpoint of the passing probes of any hacker, this machine does not exist on the Internet. Some questionable personal security systems expose their users by attempting to "counter-probe the prober", thus revealing themselves. But your system wisely remained silent in every way. Very nice. Port Service Status Security Implications 0 Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 21 FTP Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 22 SSH Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 23 Telnet Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 25 SMTP Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 79 Finger Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 80 HTTP Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 110 POP3 Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 113 IDENT Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 119 NNTP Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 135 RPC Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 139 Net BIOS Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 143 IMAP Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 389 LDAP Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 443 HTTPS Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 445 MSFT DS Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 1002 ms-ils Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 1024 DCOM Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 1025 Host Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 1026 Host Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 1027 Host Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 1028 Host Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 1029 Host Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 1030 Host Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 1720 H.323 Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! 5000 UPnP Stealth There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address! Determine the status of your system's first 1056 ports   This Internet service ports "grid scan" determines the status —  Open,  Closed, or  Stealth — of your system's first 1056 TCP ports. 32 ports, represented by each horizontal row, are probed as a group. The results are posted as the next set of ports are probed. During off-peak hours the entire scan requires just over one minute. For guaranteed accuracy, the scanning time will increase during peak usage when many people are sharing our scanning bandwidth. A scan of a stealthed system is up to four times slower since many more probes must be sent to guarantee against Internet packet loss. The test may be abandoned at any time if you do not wish to wait for the scan to finish. You may hover your mouse cursor over any grid cell to determine which port it represents, or click on the cell to jump to the corresponding Port Authority database page to learn about the port's specific role, history, and security consequences. (Depress SHIFT when clicking to open new window and allow unfinished test to continue.) Your computer at IP:  Bone's Computer  Is being carefully examined: 0  31 32  63 64  95 96  127 128  159 160  191 192  223 224  255 256