Twelve years is a long time. And in that 12 years, a lot has happened in the malware scene. The biggest change, however, has been you dear reader. Over the last twelve years, you've become increasingly savvy about security threats and the need for antivirus software. Selfishly, I'd like to think I had some small part in that but I think the real driver has been one of supply.

A dozen years ago, computers weren't common household appliances. Today they are. And today the discussion isn't about whether you have a computer, it's about whether you have a PC or a Mac. And chances are, whatever you have, you have more than one of them.

Of course, this also means someone in your household has probably taken on the informal role of IT, making sure those computers are patched, the antivirus is updated, and serving as general tech support for everyone else in the house. If you're the IT guru in your home, give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it.

And now it's time for another change. After a dozen years as your guide, I've decide to leave About.com. This is not without some sadness as I will miss all of you. But the beauty of the Internet is that there really is no such thing as goodbye, it's just I'll see you later. In the meantime, you can always find me on Twitter or Google+ and of course working at my day job.

Many homes now sport multiple PCs and Macs, smartphones and tablets. Protecting all these devices from malware can be costly - not to mention the cost of credit monitoring, backup services, system performance utilities and the like. The newly announced Bitdefender Sphere helps solve the cost and management challenge, providing holistic whole house protection at an affordable price. For a review of this new product/service, see: Bitdefender Sphere.

The SecurityTool scareware and others like it may prevent access to Task Manager and otherwise prevent your viewing or disabling their malicious processes. Here's how to use Microsoft Process Explorer to Remove SecurityTool scareware and similar threats.

Using unique passwords doesn't have to be complex. There are easy tricks you can use - including writing them down. More on this in Creating and Managing a Strong Password System.