I am writing on behalf of my mother. She doesn’t use the internet that often so she had the Net Zero free dial up internet account. She received a virus alert saying that she needed to remove her current net zero and re-install it. Well she did the remove part fine but now she can’t re-install because she doesn’t have an internet connection and she can’t remember how she got it to begin with. Can you please advise me what she should do? Thank you for your time.

- Linda, March 12, 2007 (name changed for privacy)

Hi Linda, you can order the CD for Net Zero online from the Net Zero official website, click Existing Member and use the login and password your mom was using for Net Zero email.

I’m not sure how your mom would have accessed the internet to download the software originally. One possibility is that when she purchased the computer there were pre-installed internet service promotions like free AOL 90 day trial, etc. Maybe take a look at her computer, click START, then Programs and look around for something regarding internet offers or the brand names. Sign up for something then cancel after you re-install Net Zero Free again.

Viruses are a problem that will never go away. In the past it was a guessing game if you would ever encounter a virus. Today it’s a matter of when you will get your first one, and how often you will get others. If you mom’s computer isn’t well protected with anti-virus software, then she should purchase better software as soon as she can. Alternatively, get protection through the internet service provider.

Read the system requirements carefully, because today’s AntiVirus packages slow down the computers quite a bit. If your mom’s computer is more than 2 years old, she will notice a significant slow down in performance. Unfortunately this is what we’re faced with going into 2007. The more advanced the viruses get, the bulkier the AntiVirus software gets, the more powerful the computer needs to be to keep up.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 14th, 2007 at 9:17 am and is filed under Dial Up Internet, Internet Service Providers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.