How to protect your (computer) self

Anybody who is active on the Internets is exposed to merchandising efforts constantly. Lots of these are in the form of creepy little programs that follow what you do to figure out how to sell you more stuff.

Some spyware is malevolent, thus malware. It doesn’t want to sell you something, it wants to rip you off in some way. It can bring in programs to make your computer part of an alternate network to distribute spam, or it can install a keylogger to steal credit card numbers and other data. Or not. You can prevent most of this with good computer security habits.

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Reduce your hassle

To make your computer run faster and more reliably, protect you from outside creeps, and make it easy to find your documents and pictures, and smooth the way should you ever crash, consider incorporating cleaning, customizing, and preparing for disaster into your computer habits.  

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Why me?

A very long time ago I visited a psychic. I was an electrical engineering student and a skeptic; naturally when he asked me what I did for a living I told him I was a flight attendant. He looked at me quizzically, turning his head sideways like my dog does. “Are you sure?” he asked. I affirmed my story and that look returned to his face. “You should think about being in computers,” he said, shaking his head confusedly. “’Cause that’s what I see.”

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