Q: Is there any way to know what is being updated when Microsoft updates come through? Being a learned -- rather than born -- skeptic, I'm suspicious each time an automatic update appears indicating that something is happening that will make it easier for somebody else to run my life or take more of my money or freedoms away.

P.H.

A: Skepticism regarding unknown software updates to your system has some merit, says Jeff Crume, executive IT security architect for IBM.

"There have been cases when bad fixes got propagated that left systems even more vulnerable," he said. "In other cases, privacy issues have been introduced, previous functions were removed or, worse still, the system became completely inoperable."

The truly paranoid or security conscious (depending on your perspective), could find it worthwhile to change the settings on the Windows Update feature to "download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them," Crume said.

To do this, go to the Start menu, then "control panel," "security center" and then click to manage the security settings for automatic updates.

Choosing this option gives you time to investigate the nature of updates on Microsoft's Web site before installing them, Crume said. You also can subscribe to Microsoft's security bulletins if you want the company to send you e-mail about security-related fixes.

You can sign up for monthly newsletters at www.microsoft.com/protect/ secnews/default.mspx.

Manually installing updates also allows you to wait a few days to make sure the updates don't introduce problems for other users, Crume said, but if you fail to install needed security updates immediately, it also could leave you vulnerable for a longer period of time.

"Either way," Crume said, "at least you can gain some level of control back if the trade-off is worth it to you."

Q: Help, I am under attack! This all started recently when I accidentally hit a button on a Web site that sent me to another page and started downloading stuff. Now every time I log on to the Internet, I am bombarded with these full-page sites that want me to sign up for their services. I have the button checked that prevents pop-ups, but that does not seem to stop them. I have run Ad-Aware and Mal-Warrior, as well, but nothing seems to work.

C.R., Las Vegas

A: Ad-Aware is a good spyware removal program, but it would probably be worthwhile to also try another one, such as Spybot (www.safer-networking.org), because none of these tools finds everything, Crume said.

Antivirus programs often can help. However, it is important to be careful about which of these antispyware and antivirus tools you use, he said, because some malware poses as security software but just makes the problem worse. As a result, it's best to use well-known, reputable tools. One such good, free product that we use is AVG (free.avg.com).

Finally, it is possible that disabling applications such as ActiveX, Java and JavaScript will make the pop-ups go away. Using the Firefox browser with the "NoScript" add-on can help, Crume said.

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