Spyware is loaded on a computer over Internet without user knowing. It is loaded in background through holes in a user's computer setup. Internet Explorer has been very vulnerable to spyware and is a major reason why so many people are getting infected. Spyware ranges from more benign programs to more extreme programs that will hijack your browser's startup page or cause pop ups to occur relentlessly. The following is defense system that I use, and I strongly suggest that you use.

1. Download and install all of latest updates to your software. Once a week you should be checking for software updates to install. This will help protect you against latest threats.

2. Use a firewall. Many people have a direct connection Internet and do not setup and run a personal firewall. This can potentially be very dangerous. Firewalls should be running for protection against many potential problems including hackers, spyware, and data protection. Windows XP has a built in firewall. Make sure you have updated your system to Service Pack 2 (SP2) if you have Windows XP. Microsoft has added many security features and fixed bugs in this update and should be updated as soon as possible.

Sygate Personal Firewall is a free personal edition firewall that works pretty well. You can download it at http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm

Working With Registry

By Stephen Bucaro

The Registry is central database for everything about your computer. It stores configuration information about operating system, hardware, software, and types of files on computer.

The registry database consists of "keys" and "values". A key is a "place" to store a value. A key may store many values, or it may have subkeys, each which store values. The Windows 2000 registry has five top level keys as listed below.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEHardware configurations HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIGOperating system settings HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTFiles types and software objects HKEY_USERSAll users configurations HKEY_CURRENT_USERCurrently logged in user configurations

The Registry is normally modified through Administrative or Control Panel utilities, but it is possible to edit Registry directly. Making an incorrect modification to Registry can cause your computer to fail to start, so it's wise to backup Registry before making any changes.

To backup registry, you can export it to an ASCII file with .reg extension. You can export Whole Registry or just a branch of Registry. First select or create a folder where you would like to save exported registry. To export Registry, open Registry Editor program by selecting Start | Run and typing regedit in Run dialog box.