I am a frequent traveller and often use public computers to check emails, occasionally also making airline and/or hotel bookings using my credit card. I understand there is an inherent risk using my credit card on a public computer and accept this risk, although I never logon to my bank or share trading accounts. On the Microsoft website I noticed that one recommended precaution when using public computers is to download the “X-Cleaner anti spyware” freeware program to a floppy disk and run the program on the computer before entering any sensitive data. This seems like a sound idea but I have not been able to find this program on the web. Do you know where I can locate X-Cleaner, or a similar program, and how do you rate the effectiveness of this recommendation? (more…)

I am confused as to the need for security software (anti-virus, anti-trojan, anti-spyware, firewalls, etc) for my new iMac. Many books and online articles state that such software is essential, however other articles and, perplexingly, store salesmen say that such utilities are an unnecessary waste of memory, as the threat is simply not there. Who should be believed, and what would you recommend? I am running Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.6). (more…)

Some years ago I was provided with a computer running CA eTrust antivirus. Having been alerted that the antivirus software was no longer current, presumably because the subscription has expired. I decided to uninstall CA eTrust and install McAfee Virus Scan. However, even after uninstalling eTrust the McAfee product refused to install as it detected a remaining component of eTrust on the computer. Furthermore, even after obtaining technical support from both CA and McAfee I have been unable to install McAfee Anti Virus. As such, I have now sought a refund from McAfee. However, there is now no antivirus protection on the computer. What should I do? (more…)

On several occasions I have noticed that you express a preference for the free version of AVG as an antivirus program. Some 18 months ago, after I became disenchanted with the problems and complexities of another bloated antivirus product, my computer maintenance person convinced me to have the paid version of AVG installed. I am very satisfied with both its simplicity and its performance. However, given that there is a free version, am I wasting money or are there significant protection benefits to be had with the paid version? The computer is running Windows XP SP3. (more…)

Intermittently I have found the LuComServer_3_4.EXE process running on the computer and chews up a lot of CPU resources. As a result this slows down everything on the computer, often at a rather inconvenient time. What does this process do and how can I stop it from being such a resource hog? The computer is running Windows XP SP3. (more…)