Not everyone is very good with computers so I thought I'd make some suggestions for extra computer security.

What happened to me was, I believe my computer got hacked, and specific kinds of information were targeted... My word documents were the main target, one night one of my programs was alerting me that internet explorer was attempting to access virtually every word document i had, and some of it was sensitive material, such as the conversations with a 13 year old friend which i had saved. i really felt as though someone was trying to find information to use against me somehow. i managed to block the access to all those files, but it seems as though there was damage done that was too late for me to undo... Somehow a "dummy" administrator had been installed(?) to my computer, and the computer no longer recognised ME as the administrator... frightening, huh? And then a short while later my computer crashed and I lost tons of important data.

Now I have employed the usage of some simple but important programs that detects and blocks unauthorized connections/attacks... and I am telling you that without certain kinds of software like I have, these kinds of things could happen without you ever being aware of it.

Harden It and Secure It, two seperate programs, basically their job is to harden and secure your computer settings.

Also install Port Monster. more security, and it catches incoming connections and blocks them. It still catches them once in a while on my computer so I'm glad it's there.

You can find all 3 of these by searching for them on Google.

These programs have helped me feel less paranoid and more secure. If you get the feeling there might be hackers or someone trying to invade your personal files, I suggest you try them. But first let me say this. If you are doing anything ILLEGAL, then really the best defense you have is to just plain STOP IT. I use this protection not because I do anything illegal, because I don't, but because I need to know my computer is safe from prying eyes and that people aren't going to find something and misconstrue it and use it against me.