Very helpful book

Very helpful book.
but it is 2010 and an update to it should be written.

Author: Craig Keller


Covers all kinds of PC pests, from adware to viruses, Torjans, and pop-ups

Preston Gralla's PC Pest Control: Protect Your Computers From Malicious Internet Invaders covers all kinds of PC pests, from adware to viruses, Torjans, and pop-ups. This not only identifies the characteristics of common invaders - it tells how to prevent attacks. From locating and installing free anti-spyware programs to customizing cookie handling and dealing with worms, this assumes no prior knowledge and comes packed with preventative tips which are simple and inexpensive to employ.

Author: Midwest Book Review


THE PC PEST MOTEL: THEY CHECK IN, BUT THEY CAN'T CHECK OUT!

Think you're safe online because you're running firewall and anti-spam software? Wrong! As author Preston Gralla, points out in this outstanding book: "As long as you're armed with the right knowledge and tools, you'll be able to stop pests and intruders cold!"

Gralla begins by scaring you to death with a discussion about all of the dangerous PC pests that exist. Next, the author shows you where your computer is vulnerable and how pests make their way into your system. Then, you'll learn about the software you need to keep your system secure. The author continues by showing you how to detect pests based on the symptoms you see on your PC, such as pop-up swarms, system slowdowns, and clogged Internet access. In addition, you'll also learn how to protect yourself from threats or disinfect yourself if you've already been hit. The author also focuses on how to kill all types of spyware and keep your PC free from infection. Next, you'll learn how to protect yourself against the oldest and newest PC pests, viruses, Trojans, and bots. Then, the author shows you why you don't need to stop e-mailing or sending instant messages if you want to protect yourself. He continues by showing you how to keep yourself off spam lists--and how to kill spam before it ever makes its way to your PC. In addition, the author also covers how to protect your self and your kids against online dangers, plus a whole lot more. Finally, he also covers the kinds of threats you encounter when using wireless computing at home or at a hotspot, and shows you what you can do about them.

At the end of the day, if Internet invaders are still attacking your home computers, you need to really read this most excellent book--again and again. Why you ask? Because, if you're still being attacked, you only skimmed through this book; and, did not comprehend why various pests invaded your PC and/or followed Gralla's general advice about prevention, monitoring, and recovery.


Author: John R. Vacca


Recommended if you want to try to resolve problems yourself

If there is one thing that is truly pandemic within the PC computer environment it is the various forms of pests. Whether it is SPAM, viruses, worms, pop-ups, page hijacking, adware, spyware, cookies, malicious scripts, phishing, or any number of other problems the one thing for certain is that it is all out there waiting to take advantage of you. This book examines these and other pests and provides both an excellent explanation of what they are and how they work as well as steps to be taken to try to avoid them. The author actually does an excellent job of explaining the various threats, common signs of infection, and how to remove them. He even includes a list of common file names used by pests. While this is all good information for the person who wants a basic understanding of what is going on and how it is accomplished it does not deal with some of the truly malicious pests that even pest removal software does not remove. For example, there are some now that cannot be removed even by entering the registry in safe mode and trying to remove the key. I've had some where I've had to boot to Linux, mount the drive, remove the key and then boot back into Windows. These particularly tenacious ones are not covered in this text and as such it cannot be recommended for the true computer geek who does this for a living or as a computer network administrator. On the other hand, it is perfectly suited for the home user who has some of the common problems and wants to both fix them and do all they can to prevent being reinfected. It contains one of the better discussions of pests for the average user that I have come across. The book is written for the average reader and contains no real technical terms. PC Pest Control is recommended for the average user who wants to become informed about PC Pests or who wants to resolve some of the more common problems.

Author: Harold McFarland


Stop Those Internet Pests From Ruining Your Computer Life!!

"PC Pest Control" is an outstanding look at the common problems that computer users will face on a daily basis. Preston Gralla writes in a concise, clear manner that will benefit anyone from the most novice of user to the most experienced (while the focus is on novice to amateur, this is a nice overview that will help reinforce the old pros).

The author looks at the most common problems users will face, broken up into the following topics:

Viruses
Spyware
Trojans
Bots
Spam
Worms
IM Annoyances
Identity Theft
Wireless Signal/Data Theft

Mr. Gralla not only provides the history and background on how these threats came to be, but he goes into thorough detail about what everyday users can do to make their computer experience as "pest free" as possible through the use of:

Anti-virus programs
Anti-spyware programs
Stronger e-mail filters/applications
Recommendations for how to protect from Identity Theft
Locking down MAC/IP addresses to limit wireless theft

This is just a quick overview of what this fantastic book provides. For anyone that wants to learn more about what problems users will face on a daily basis by going online (or just sharing data), the author goes into exceptional detail and you will be hard-pressed to not find this manual instantly useful.

I highly recommend this book for anyone that wants to tighten down their own computers or their own computer behavior and I honestly think it's a steal at the price that this book goes for, considering how dense the material is inside.

You won't be disappointed!!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Author: Daniel McKinnon