January 7, 2008

Dear Sassy: On my home computer I have Norton anti-virus program that I run. Do I also need to run SpyBot as well?
~I Just Wanna be Safe

Dear Safe: With all the different programs and technical catch phrases it is hard to know really what we need on our computers. Spybot helps to eliminate spyware. Spyware's purpose is to transmit our information to others without our knowledge. Not a good thing! The anti-virus software (Norton, McAfee) is just that - it eliminates viruses from our computers. Spybot is free and is a valuable addition to the anti-virus program that you already use. Sassy's recommendation is to use both Spybot and an anti-virus program just to be safe.

December 19, 2007

Dear Sassy: Thanks to your recommendation, I regularly use Spybot to look for and remove spyware that may found its way onto my computer. Will I automatically get a reminder to download updates to Spybot, or do I need to look for updates when I use Spybot?
~Shaken, not stirred in the Library

Dear Shaken: Excellent question! Just like with our anti-virus software McAfee, Spybot needs to be updated before using. Sassy does not see an option to automatically download updates so you must Search for Updates, Download and Install them before running Spybot for maximum efficiency.

January 8, 2007

Dear Sassy: I tried to update and run the Spybot program that you installed on my PC but it keeps giving me an error message “Bad CheckSum.” How do I fix this problem?
~ Spybot with Errors

Dear Spybot: Sassy is SO glad that you are active in keeping spyware off of your computer by updating and running Spybot! Sassy tried to update Spybot and received the same error message that you did. Spybot has come out with a new version (1.4) that must be installed in order to keep up with the new spyware out there. Let Sassy know if you have Spybot so that I can update your program to 1.4.

For those of you that don’t have Spybot on your machine – we need to get this program on your computer. Spybot is a program that eliminates spyware on your machine. Spyware is a type of software that is installed on a computer (usually without the users consent) that tracks information about the user. All of this activity occurs in the background and can slow down the performance of your computer. Sometimes spyware is attached to a valid program that is installed on a computer. Sassy could go on and on about spyware, so if you would like to read more view the wikipedia entry on spyware.

Spyware is not something to be afraid of, we just need to remove it.


Dear Sassy: I’ve noticed less of the brown webpage timeouts recently. Has something changed?
~ Less timeouts in the Library

Dear Timeouts: Great question! We had been experiencing a lot of trouble with the internet before the holidays. Librarians couldn’t get to valid websites to perform research. During the holidays networking has made a few adjustments that should eliminate the brown screen webpage that indicated internet congestion. If you should get the internet congestion error, please let me know and I will inform networking.