Goldilocks and the three Anti Spyware Products Once apon a time, there was a young lady who became lost while traveling. She decided to pull over at a rest stop and get online with her laptop to find directions. As she booted up her trusty laptop, she remembered her AntiVirus was about to expire. Well, she thought, I'll just search online for something that will get me by for now. The search engine results offered a variety of results, all claiming to be the best...some even claimed to cure gout! First she reviewed the freebies. FreeAntiVirus4u.com looked good, but wait, here's a review about it that says it's actually Spyware! That won't do. Ah, here's one that's only $ 12.95 and if I download it right now, Wow,I get a Ginsu knife set for free with it! They even cut pipe! But alas, she noticed that it had no online protection and the signatures had to be updated manually. This one won't do either. Goldilocks was beginning to wonder if this was worth all the trouble. After all she thought, I just need a quick look at WolfsMaps.com and I can be on my way to Grandmas, but just then she remembered the website she had been recommended to last week. What a cute dog the websites Company Mascot was! The site stated that a computer could be hacked very easily without proper protection. The thought of losing all of Grandmas recipes stored on her hard drive gave her a chill. The site also said, be it free, cheap or expensive, make sure it works for you! Read the agreement, read the manual, educate yourself in its use, also check reviews for customer satisfaction. Sounds like good advice she thought. Goldilocks now felt purpose in her quest. She would insure her online safety, and then get directions over the hill and thru the woods. Wait a minute, That Website with the cute dog! She was sure it would have what she needed. It just felt....safe, like Grandmas house. After all, her Internet Security was paramount! She had heard horror stories about those wolves lurking online to take advantage of unsuspecting souls. Especially during full moons. (Opps, wrong story) As the site loaded, she gasped! Ah, this is just right! After just a few minutes she found an Anti Virus Product that ranked in the top 4! And it was not even expensive. Happily she downloaded and installed it. It only took her a few minutes to set it up. Before she rebooted to finish the install, she bookmarked the site so she could return later. She wanted information on Anti Spyware Products too. And there was a article titled "Facts about Firewalls" that looked interesting. A few minutes later at Wolfsmaps.com she found where she had made her wrong turn. The way she was going now led to "Wolfsburg" where the "Lil Red Riding Hood Memorial" was. As she pulled back onto the freeway she thought, this would have made a great story! Goldilocks was one of the lucky ones. Many have no idea they are not adequately protected while online. Some suffer incidents of identity theft which is rising drastically. Insure your Online Safety. About the Author: Doug Woodall has a website at http://www.spywarebiz.com There he provides free information and recommended products to combat Spyware. He also runs the SpywareBiz Blog at http://spywarebiz.com/blogs/297/ He is a member of the IWA (International Webmasters Association) Doug can be reached at spywarebiz@comcast.net Article edited for proper content by Wendy McCallum