Over the last few weeks I’ve been talking about keeping your computer safe from viruses and spyware.  This week, I’m going to tell you about a simple upgrade you can make to your computer  that will fundamentally improve your experience.

But before I jump into that, I want to back up for a minute and answer a question that I’ve been getting a lot lately: “What exactly IS spyware?  And how is it different than a virus?”  

[Scroll down if you don’t care ☺]

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this, because, to be honest, it’s less important you understand what it is, and more important that you’re staying safe by way of the methods I’ve been discussing.

Basically, spyware (or malware, or adware, or whatever you want to call it) is software that gets installed on your computer (usually without your knowledge) that does all sorts of bad stuff.  Spyware can do anything from tracking your online activity, to stealing your credit card information, to slowing your computer down.

Unfortunately, most people only notice spyware when their computer starts running slow, or perhaps when annoying popups start appearing.  In reality, this is the least of the concerns when it comes to spyware. 

Yes, it slows your computer down, and yes, it can annoy you with popups that won’t go away, but the real threat is much more insidious – and that, as I’ve mentioned, can include stealing your credit card information, and mining your personal data to be shared around the world for all sorts of nefarious purposes.  And you won’t even know it’s happening.

Spyware is different than viruses in that it’s usually downloaded inadvertently as a part of some other software, but it doesn’t usually spread on its own to other computers like a virus can.  It’s also usually missed by even the best virus scanners because, technically, it’s not a virus.

Nevertheless, in my many years of tech support, I can say with certainty that spyware is a FAR bigger threat to your computer, your personal identity, and your financial data than viruses are.  This is why it’s imperative you keep it at bay.

One last point I’ll make on the subject is that spyware tends to let MORE spyware into your computer once it has taken root.  This is why you must stay on top of your spyware scans.  If you let it go too long, you can find yourself in a situation where there’s no simple way to remove it and you’re faced with much bigger problems than if you had you been consistently running Spybot, for example.

Ok, that’s it for spyware – now I want to tell you about…
 

The single best upgrade you can make to your computer to speed it up.

And that upgrade is….drumroll please…

Solid State Drives, or SSDs for short.

A SSD is a replacement for a contemporary hard drive that really is, in some cases, TEN TIMES faster.

There are also numerous other benefits to SSDs that I’ll get into in my next email, but here’s a quick list:

  • SSDs are way, WAY faster than conventional hard drives
  • SSDs are getting very inexpensive (you can get an SSD for as little as $35!)
  • Much less power drain = much longer battery life

Next week I’ll tell you more about SSDs but consider this – you really can make your laptop WAY faster (not just 10 or 20% – but possibly 10 TIMES faster) with this one upgrade.

Imagine booting your computer in 15 seconds.  Imagine opening programs in 1 second.

On most days I have more than FIFTY internet tabs open (today it’s 80), plus 5 or more other programs, and I almost NEVER wait for my computer to do anything.

And most of this is thanks to my SSD.

I’ll tell you more next week…