Chapter 1: Spies, Spams, Scams — They’re Out to Get You

In This Chapter

arrow.png Determining which hazards and hoaxes to look out for

arrow.png Keeping up to date with reliable sources

arrow.png Figuring out whether you’re infected

arrow.png Protecting yourself

Windows XP had more holes than a prairie-dog field. Vista was built on top of Windows XP, and the holes were hidden better. Windows 7 included truly innovative security capabilities; it represented the first really significant break from XP’s lethargic approach to security.

Windows 8 included marginal security improvements to Windows itself, but better safety nets to keep you from shooting yourself in the foot. Also a fully functional, very capable antivirus program is built in. That’s important.

Windows 8.1’s security improvements over Win8 are marginal, but at least we haven’t gone backwards.

askwoodycom_vista.eps When you hear about a mass infection, it’s invariably on XP computers. There’s a reason why. It’s getting harder and harder to take out Windows. Of course, the bad guys ...

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