It's not a bad idea to buy a product like Norton or McAfee to protect your computer from viruses. But you can also do pretty well with tools that you can download for free.
Here's a look at some of the more popular free tools:
Avast, AVG and Avira offer free antivirus scanners that check your system in real time and let you schedule scans of your files. Combined with the firewalls built into your network and operating system, these scanners are a strong line of defense. AVG's free version also scans Web links and warns you if a link is a potential threat.
If something does get through, chances are it will install software that tries to steal your passwords, hijack your browser and/or spread viruses. Malwarebytes and Ad-Aware offer free malware scanners that allow you to search your system for rogue software.
Gmer is a free open-source scanner that peers deep into the recesses of your computer looking for rootkit infections. Rootkit viruses are among the most dangerous and most difficult to find and remove.
It's a good idea to use two or more of these tools rather than relying on any one, preferably an antivirus scanner and a malware scanner. It's also important to remember that no tool, even the ones you pay for, are foolproof.
If you think you've been hit, immediately disconnect your computer from the Internet and DON'T click on anything, even messages that look like they're from an antivirus software package. Use keyboard commands instead: Alternate Tab switches among programs and Alternate F4 closes the active program. Then run your scanners, one at a time.
I recently wrote about how to monetize your blog or website by carrying ads. Here's a related way to make money: affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing pays you to carry advertisements on your website, but it works differently from traditional advertising. You get paid when your visitors go to your advertisers' websites and buy something like a book, request information like an insurance quote, or sign up for something like a newsletter.
If your visitors buy things, you'll use a cost per sale (CPS) affiliate program. If your visitors request information, you'll use a cost per lead (CPL) program. And if they sign up for something, you'll use a cost per action (CPA) program.
If you have an informational site, you can, for instance, become an affiliate of a major bookseller like Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. Or if your website or blog contains product reviews, advice for hobbyists or a shopping guide, you can become an affiliate of a major e-commerce site like eBay or Amazon.com.
If a visitor clicks on an ad and buys a product like a book, you get a sales commission. In the case of Amazon.com, the current commission is 4% for 1 to 6 items per month, 6% for 7 to 30 items, and so on up to 8.5% for 3,131 or more items.
As with regular advertising, you can expand your affiliate marketing options by signing up with an network, which is a middleman between advertisers and publishers. The largest is Commission Junction. AffiliateSeeking.com has an extensive list of affiliate marketing networks.
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