Kathryn, I'll add a bit here around Windows-based machines and prevention. The most obvious free route you can take is to use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer as your browser. The learning curve for using Firefox isn't, in my opinion, very steep. This is down to the fact that FF, like IE, has MSAA support and many of the commands you are used to should work fine, though I'm not familiar with all the JFW support for Firefox. A lot of this unwanted spyware stuff is done via Active X which, whatever its virtues, does open the door for installation of nasties. I also have Firefox allow cookies for the firefox session only which I trust is a good compromise between denying them altogether and not having some sites work properly, and having some of the more horrible tracking cookies hanging around. Unless someone is prepared to tell me knowledgably the contrary, I'd say pretty well all free solutions are going to clear up after the event, rather than offering a shield against mal-ware installing itself. Worth bearing in mind now that anti-virus packages increasingly incorporate anti-spyware detection in real time. NOD32 does this, and also Kasperski. Dare I say, Norton does too, but I won't go there, (smile). AVG do a good anti-spyware program these days, but again, after evaluation you get only passive protection from the program which does continue to update in free mode. As for the Apple solution, I'll say only this. Yes, Macs are at present, relatively free of this stuff, but not entirely so. This is as much to do with writers of anti-social software targeting Windows more than non-Windows machines, though the Mac is, I believe, a much better designed system from the ground up. Its accessibility is another matter entirely, and might become a topic of discussion here in its own right. Afraid at the moment we're at the stage of people trying to make comparisons between it and Windows and, worse still, the Macs model of access vs. JFW, God help us! Just to give a hint of what I mean, the Mac system doesn't use an OSM but rather is integrated into the operating system. that's a very different kettle of fish to what we're used to in Windows, and is one reason why I think ill-informed people shouldn't criticise 'what they don't understands as the great man said. Cheers, From Ray I can be contacted off-list at: mailto:ray-48@xxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- Catherine Turner Ok, well thanks for the info; I suspect it probably isn't as simple as that but don't want to get into that...the main point is at the moment I have a windows based machine and no money to spend on anything new (hence my question about it being a free solution)...some time in the future though I plane to investigate linux... Catherine ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gordon Keen" <gordonkeen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: "Gordon Keen" <gordonkeen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 2:38 PM Subject: [access-uk] Re: Preventing malware? > Oh yes, it's simple - do not use windows based browsers or mail clients. > An apple mac does not need any anti virus or malware protection. > > Cheers > G > (On an apple mac running leopard with voice over - it's very cool!) > From glorious Devon, England. > > On 10 Dec 2007, at 14:04, Catherine Turner wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> Is there any free way, through having appropriate internet options or >> anything else, of trying to prevent malware/spyware/whatever you want to >> call it, being installed on my computer? I'm sure stuff gets put there, >> and every time I do a scan for adaware, spybot, advanced windows care or >> anything else they find and get rid of some. But is there any way of >> preventing it in the first place? >> >> Catherine >> >> ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- >> ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] >> ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: >> ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx >> ** and in the Subject line type >> ** unsubscribe >> ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the >> ** immediately-following link:- >> ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subjec > > Gordon Keen > gordonkeen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq