Computer Sleuth: Killing viruses, cleaning keyboards

Rob Sheldon is the author of Computer Sleuth, a feature of the Nevada City Advocate.

Most advertising on web sites today is served by third-party advertising companies, and those companies are not diligent enough in checking the content of the ads that they sell.

Question: I’ve had two viruses in the last week! How can I stop this from happening? I’m running antivirus software.

I’ve been seeing a lot of this recently. Most computer viruses come from either e-mail or web sites, and most Internet service providers are filtering viruses out of your e-mail for you, leaving you with the web sites to deal with.

Your computer can be infected by web sites if the web site itself is infected with a virus -- which can happen even without the web site owners’ knowledge -- or if the web site contains advertising that’s actually a virus in disguise.

 Most advertising on web sites today is served by third-party advertising companies, and those companies are not diligent enough in checking the content of the ads that they sell.

 For example, the popular cleveland.com web site got hit by virus-infected advertising awhile back, and many of its longtime visitors suddenly found themselves dealing with a virus.

Your best form of defense then is to use ad-blocking software, and the best ad-blocking software available is for Firefox, a popular alternative web browser.

 It’s easy to set up! Go to http://getfirefox.com/, download Firefox, import your settings from Internet Explorer, and then go to http://adblockplus.org/ and install the free ad-blocking software from there.

How can I clean all of the dust and crud out of my keyboard and computer?

Don’t bother with those cans of compressed air. They’re too weak to do much good, and the air they produce is moister than I would recommend for sensitive electronics.

Instead, just go to a gas station! Gas stations provide air compressors for filling flat tires, and most of those air compressors have fairly advanced moisture traps, so the air is nice and dry. It’s also powerful enough to do the job.

First, do a test blast of air into your hand and make sure the air is clean and dry. If it is, then hold the nozzle about six to eight inches from your computer, keyboard or other electronics and blow all that junk out.

 It’s probably a good idea to wear a dust mask as you do this because computers can collect some pretty disgusting stuff. And please purchase some gasoline at the station to be polite about using their air.

Have a question for the Computer Sleuth? Rob Sheldon is the owner of No Problem and can be reached by sending an e-mail to rob@associatedtechs.com.