# Best Way To Protect Non-Savvy Computer Users



## Mrs. Blaileen (Jan 28, 2007)

What I mean to say is, is there any programs specifically designed for protecting people who have no clue whatsoever how the internet works, and what dangers there are? More specifically- one's elderly parents. I have been going nuts trying to keep my mom's computer safe using Norton, but I can't be there everyday, and I wish there was a way to configure it remotely. It would be a great if there was a antivirus/antispyware/firewall/no-brainer product for people to install on their older parent's computers. So my mom can play her bridge game without having her computer communicating with strange computers in Eastern Bloc European countries!


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## newhouse1390 (Jan 10, 2005)

The best way to to educate them, but that takes time and sometimes it is just not worth the investment of time. Make sure you do the following.

-Install Anti-virus program and keep it up to date
-Enable Windows/MS automatic updates
-Run a third-party firewall (zone alarm)
-install internet filter software (i use K9 Webprotection --> FREE)

With all of those you should be fine.


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## SpySentinel (May 30, 2006)

There are two good free programs that will protect you against spyware that are basically for non tech savvy people.
got to: www.javacoolsoftware.com and download these two below:

SpywareGuard

SpywareBlaster


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## 8210GUY (Aug 29, 2006)

Those are both good programs, there are a few more I could list as well but nearly all of them require some interaction even if it's only to check for updates as is required with the one above.
I have a similar battle on my hands trying to educate mates in security etc, it's extremely time consuming and hands on, but I am slowly winning the battle and my perseverance is starting to pay off, but IMHO the best program you can install for them that requires little explanation and attention is SiteAdvisor from McAfee, and it is as simple as understanding traffic lights, Green is good\go, Red is stop\bad, Amber is in-between so use common sense.

Basically it sits in the top of the browser as a button, and the button changes colour like a traffic light as you go to different pages, there are pages it knows nothing about, these are shown as grey, but when you go to a red page it balloons out and is obvious so you shouldn't miss it, and if a site is really dangerous it will redirect you to one of it's own pages and it will tell you it has done this and why, it then offers you the choice of if you want to continue or not, updates are fairly automatic, but sometimes you may need to do part of it manually, but if you install and run it yourself as well you will know when updates etc occur and what to expect as you will get the same things.
There is no single fool proof solution to this, but what has been suggested so far will give you a good start, and maybe when the pro's see your query they will add some valuable tips as well.


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## Cellus (Aug 31, 2006)

One very interesting and new product recently released by Symantec is Norton 360. The nice thing about this product is that it is a fairly good "all-in-one" solution that is incredibly easy to use. It is as much of a no brainer as pressing a single button - if an issue comes up, just press "Fix Now" and it does the rest. If you see the green checkbox and it says "Secure", you're fine. If you get a yellow exclamation or red X, just press "Fix Now" and let it do the work for you. When you configure it initially, have it set to clean most things automatically to minimize user interaction.


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## Mrs. Blaileen (Jan 28, 2007)

Cellus said:


> One very interesting and new product recently released by Symantec is Norton 360. The nice thing about this product is that it is a fairly good "all-in-one" solution that is incredibly easy to use. It is as much of a no brainer as pressing a single button - if an issue comes up, just press "Fix Now" and it does the rest. If you see the green checkbox and it says "Secure", you're fine. If you get a yellow exclamation or red X, just press "Fix Now" and let it do the work for you. When you configure it initially, have it set to clean most things automatically to minimize user interaction.


That sounds perfect! Thank you everybody for your helpful replies. :smile: 
I'll surely be back when I run into problems doing a total reinstall on her currently badly-infested system. :sigh:


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