Protecting Your PC (General Computing Series) (Paperback)

by Ian Barile (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
New computer viruses are released everyday, spam continually overloads our inboxes, identity theft is in the news daily, and system crashes seem to happen for no reason! Figuring our how to protect your computer against all of these problems is a challenge for every user, so Protecting Your PC was written to help you keep your computer safe! It provides a detailed guide to the many risks that affect your interaction with your computer, including spyware, adware, spam, viruses, personal identity theft, and a variety of surreptitious tools used by hackers. Then it teaches you about the tools and techniques available for preventing these hazards from wreaking havoc on your computer. The book is divided into six major areas, including Getting Started, Malware (pop-ups, adware, spyware, etc.), Networking, the Internet (email, instant messaging, chat rooms, phishing, spam, etc.), System Maintenance, and Protecting Personal Information. So whether you use your computer for work, family finances, homework, or just for surfing- you'll learn how to have a safe and enjoyable computer experience! What you'll learn: * What the major computer hazards are and how to address, prevent, and fix them * How to protect your computer from viruses, spyware, adware, and personal information theft * How to stop spam and avoid pop-up ads * What potential system and security issues come with instant messaging and chat rooms * How parents can protect children on the Internet * How to avoid viruses, worms, and Trojan horses * How to surf the Web safely using firewalls and intrusion detection * How to back up and recover from a disaster, install operating system patches, create secure passwords, and protect personal and confidential information The book also includes a CD-ROM with Norton Internet Security 2006 trial software from Symantec that allows you to implement the lessons from the book and start protecting your system immediately.

About the Author
Ian Barile (Los Angeles, CA) is currently a principle software engineer for Symantec, where he designs various security solutions for Symantex AntiVirus. He has also worked as a software engineer for embedded and distributed systems, and is a regular contributor to Dr. Dobb's Journal.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 1 edition (May 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584504862
• ISBN-13: 978-1584504863
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #162,215 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars With luck, you'll never need to go further than this book, June 5, 2006

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Using a computer that's connected to the Internet seems to be to be a lot like living in the old west must have been. That is rather like a law of the jungle with the Sheriff out of town a lot.
There are people out there who would like to send your computer troublesome software like viruses, spyware, adware, all kinds of malware. For some reason they seem to think that just your being there is an open invitation for them to try to compromise your system.

The author is a principle software engineer for Symantec, the company that produces the Norton security software. In this book he describes the various types of attacks you are likely to get and tells you how to protect yourself from virtually all types. He includes with the book a trial version of Norton's Internet Secutiry 2006 and tells you how to get the best out of it.

The interesting thing about computer security is that if it is working perfectly you never know that its there. You simply use your computer without interruption, without popups, without mysterious -- well, you get the picture.