Viruses, Spyware, Adaware and Trojans are programs that can install on your computer without your knowledge, these programs can steal your identity as I've already mentioned and subject you to un-wanted advertisements in the form of popups. 
It has been reported that up to 90% of all computers connected to the internet may be infected with these types of malware programs! Here are some of the nasties that can be installed on your system - • Perfect Keylogger – records all keystrokes (including personal information, passwords, etc), clicks and web sites visited. Stores then and sends them to the program owner. • CoolWebSearch – hijacks home page, Internet Explorer settings, and Web searches. • Transponder - monitors sites visited and any data entered into online forms, and then delivers targeted ads. • KeenValue – an adware program that collects personal information and delivers advertisements. • PurtyScan – popup ads that trick users into installing by claiming to find and delete pornographic images. • n-CASE - adware program that delivers targeted popup adds. • ISTbar/AUpdate – spyware posing as a toolbar. Has been reported to display porn, pop-ups, and to hijack homepage and Internet searches. • Internet Optimizer – hijacks error pages and redirects them to its own site. etc. etc. What has this got to do with MySpace? With all the fuss recently over the size of the MySpace membership and the traffic MySpace receives. MySpace has become a target for some unsavoury characters intent on getting into your system and stealing your details, bombarding you with ads, redirecting you to another site while you browse or just plain messing up your computer and your browser. There's a hole in your system letting these people in. Can you guess what it is, you may be surprised? Answer: Internet Explorer Because Internet Explorer is so widespread and integrated into the Windows operating system it has become one of the major targets for hackers across the globe. Two of the main routes into your system through Internet Explorer are via the ActiveX control and VBScripting. Both of which are Internet Explorer specific. These holes are allowing in the viruses, spyware, adaware and trojans I mentioned earlier. So What Can You Do? Simple! Never go online again. ;) Just kidding, no what you can do is switch to a much more secure browser. A browser without these holes, a browser that doesn't integrate with Windows. The Mozilla based Firefox browser offers the same features that you get with Internet Explorer, plus many, many more and viruses, spyware, adaware and trojans CANNOT automatically install in Firefox. The Firefox team made a conscious decision not to support either ActiveX or VBScript, since they were seen as security vulnerabilities and are not accepted web standards anyway. The chances are that you're going to love Firefox to. It's quicker to load, it loads sites faster, it's stuffed full of features to boost your browsing pleasure and you can install it alongside Internet Explorer without any issues. It's pretty sexy looking to.. ;) The installation and setup are very simple and straightforward and were designed to minimize the effort for the user. All your settings will be imported into Firefox. For example, you will see the same favorites as you saw when using Internet Explorer or you can start afresh. Firefox is the result of an open source project and as you probably know, the open source community provides solutions to software vulnerabilities much faster than Microsoft ever could for Internet Explorer. So you're future proofed now to. ;) It only takes few seconds to download, install and secure your system. now
Here Are A Few FireFox Features 1. No Pop Ups. Unlike Explorer, Firefox has a nifty pop up blocker in place. No more garbage to fill your screen as you search the internet with Firefox. Can't say the same for Explorer, however. 2. Your Security. viruses, spyware, adaware, trojans, ActiveX controls and VBScripting are stopped in their tracks. 3. Quick Downloading. Downloading files is a snap, they're done quickly and painlessly. Once Firefox completes the download you will be prompted to clean up [remove] unneeded files. 4. Tabbed Browsing. Surfing the internet is easier as users can open up one window and set tabs for quick access to multiple web pages. Specifically, all your browser windows actually work within one window, each marked by tabs that you can click in and out of with ease. 5. Tons of extensions, themes, and plug-ins. You can customize Firefox to work the way you want it to work. Download an ad blocker, a new toolbar, a special theme, or include plug-ins such as Adobe Reader, Windows Media Player, Shockwave, Flash Player, and more. Get a true 21st Century browser.
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