new computer. do i need adaware?

well, i bit the bullet and sprung for a new computer. it's a dell dimension 4600 series. 2.66GHz 512MB at 333MHza Pentium 4 processor. my question is whether or not i need to add adaware. i had it on my last computer and would use it every time i logged off. i don't know if it's necessary now. whaddya think?

 

new computer does not equal more secure, every computer should run adaware, every time you log off, now thats way too much, it should be more along the lines of once a week unless you start to notice a lot more things. Its free, its fast, its easy why not?

 

What Mocean said. In spades!

The fact that the thing is new means nada to the bad guys who'd love to infect it with all sorts of trash that will not only track you and possibly report things to them that you really don't want them to know, but it will also slow you down eventually to a grinding, miserable halt, because the nasties are taking up all of the space, the memory, and the CPU cycles.

Get yerself a good firewall, a good anti-virus program, and Ad-Aware plus Spybot installed before you go out and get caught with your pants, er, your guard down.

And yes, once a week or so is just fine for the spyware, unless you smell something fishy.

 

thanks for the advice. is there anyplace that i can go to download this stuff via shareware?

 

You know, MA, I was just about to suggest the same place.

 

I was almost afraid to scroll down after I saw clemmo's second post. LOL

All 3 items M A mentioned above, should be considered "standard equipment" for ANY computer that connects to the internet.

 

Just adding my thoughts on the previous post.... follow MA's advice and grab the proggies mentioned. New PCs are just as vulnerable to those pests as older ones. -So grab 'em (the proggies mentioned) ...update 'em...and use 'em!
-522.

 

Re: A new pooter.....

Kabillion? KAbillion?

Oh, yeah. That's the number of undesirable things you get on your machine after you decide (as in "make an apparently conscious choice") to download Kazaa and other file-sharing programs of that kind.

 

thank you all for your advice and i must admit i deserved the sarcasm. i had a senior moment and completely forgot about this website for adaware and other goodies. have downloaded and am a happy camper.
happy thanksgiving all.