I don’t know if the latest version of Conflicker was just an April Fools joke, or if the joke is that all it will do today is download some files and that “Skynet” (Terminator movie reference) comes later. If nothing else I hope that all the hype concerning this latest version of Conflicker has severed to remind people that a computer needs to have some maintenance, just like a car.  If you drove your car and never changed the oil or belts or tires, how long would your car actually run?

It is also important to have a good antivirus product installed on your pc. Once you get your antivirus software installed on your pc, you need to make sure that it is set up to update (There’s that word again!) on a regular (regular = no less than once a week or sooner)

I also understand that in these economic times that it may not always be possible to spend money on the computer, so here is a list of antivirus software that is offered by the manufacture free (“For home use”).

AVG FREE -http://free.avg.com/download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition (http://free NULL.avg NULL.com/download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition)

Avira – http://www.free-av.com/en/download/index.html (http://www NULL.free-av NULL.com/en/download/index NULL.html)

Avast – http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html (http://www NULL.avast NULL.com/eng/avast_4_home NULL.html)

All 3 of these have pay versions of their software, but for the average home user, the free version is all you will ever need.  **The other thing to keep in mind is that you should never install / run more than one antivirus program on your pc.  What will happen is that the programs will think they are each a virus and basically as they fight to see who wins your pc will not work right.  So if you have an old antivirus and you would like to replace it, please make sure to uninstall the old version before installing the new antivirus.