The solution to your problem may well be in a thing called a "firewall". We have a link to a site where an excellent product called "Zone Alarm" can be found. This product is very easy to install - it even asks you what programs you want to work into the internet, which you check off on a list it gives you on screen!

Computer Security:
'Snooping and Spyware'...

Now this is something a bit different. While nobody actually goes inside your computer, they don't need to, because there is already a program that has been planted there when you added some great new free software.

The old saying that "There's no such thing as a free lunch" is very true. If you pay nothing for a program that runs on your computer, someone has to pick up the cost of its development.

This type of thing is known as "Spyware"... how it works is simple. Every time you log into the internet, this little file tucked away somewhere keeps a running commentary going, reporting back to base, what programs you are running, what sites you are visiting, what files you are downloading...

So, the people who pay for that lovely free program are those who the snoop feeds the information to. It may be just someone making a buck out of knowing what software is being used. But it can obviously be used very easily for other purposes too.

If you don't know it is there, how do you know exactly what it is doing?

You think that is far-fetched? Sorry, it happens a lot.

Please visit the "Opt Out" website - there is a link at the bottom. There you can read which free programs do it. You will be surprised. The site explains it all in great detail, and more and more free programs are being found to do it.

GoZilla! and NetZip Download Demon (Download Managers), AOL, Netscape, and a range of others seem to have been recognised so far. So, apparently, have RealNetworks products. Please read about it.