Well, being that that this is my first hub, I'll just do some fun stuff, not too serious, I'm sure I'll be getting way more serious later. There are so many websites for blogs and poems and stories and to make money. It's very hard to navigate through them without getting scammed, overloaded with spyware, and adware, being put on a million lists and invited telemarketers or weirdos to contact you at pretty much anytime.

I've learned this stuff the hard way as I'm sure many of you have. I'm very careful now and also discipined in protecting my computer and myself from all of these lovely annoying things.

Everyday that I'm online, which is most everyday, I run 3 programs. The three programs have kept my computer free of so many of the things that can slow it down or hijack my stuff, popups, the works.

The first program I run is Advanced Windows Care, this is a free program and is very effective at all of the things we need to clear out to keep us moving on the net. The second program is Spybot Search and Destroy, again this is a free program and invaluable. The third is also free, it is called Start up Mechanic. This program will find all of the extra programs that you have no idea start when you start your computer, it even gives explanations of each startup program so you can decide what you want to start and not. Programs can be started or installed by visiting most websites and installing programs, they sneak in kinda like the earmarks on bills.

Be sure and go through the uninstall program process every once in a while just in case some slip through. A lot of instant messengers start automatically, if you don't use them as soon as you start your computer, then you don't want it using your computer's resources to run it when not needed.

I think that being aware and diligent can keep our computers running pretty smoothly without too many hassles. If you let this stuff go too long, you may be looking at a format, not fun. Read everything, every popup, every warning and every message to see any hidden agenda.

Lastly, know your computer. You should know what your computer's processor and memory is, your internet service provider, your hard drive and any other hardware. If you know what you have, then you'll know when something is wrong.

Happy computing and thank you for checking out my first hub.

JEN