Protect Your PC During March Championship Games

College basketball fever is about to take over the country as fans go crazy researching teams and players for their top pool "winning picks". New research shows that nearly one in four Americans will be online while watching the March College Basketball championships on TV. PC Tools just announced the findings of its March college basketball survey conducted by TNS Global*.

The survey discovered that:

• Fans admitted to online flirting and trying to hook up during the game
• Men watch up to three hours of sports games a day online
• Most common online activity while watching basketball on TV: chatting with friends and trash-talking through social networking or instant messaging
• Other people check scores when someone wanted to talk about "feelings," during an argument with a significant other, or when their boss was talking
• Fans are increasingly watching the game online, with over 41% citing the convenience over TV

Since social networking plays a large factor in how fans interact with each other, they need protection from threats and scams that appear on these networks. To ensure the best tournament experience, PC Tools recommends five tips to avoid the madness:

BLOCK OUT THE POP-UP ADS AND VIDEOS: Do not click on pop –up ads and videos promoting "cheerleaders," "watch game replays" or "player or celebrity" ads or apps because they may download viruses or other malware on your system. Run up-to-date antivirus software to keep yourself safe and protected. PC Tools Internet Security 2011 and Browser Defender protects against web-based attacks like phishing attempts and malicious downloads before they infect your system.

BOX OUT THE FAKE AV ALERTS WHILE BROWSING: While checking the latest brackets and scores, do not click on the pop up alerts "You're Not Protected, Install Antivirus Protection. Click Here." These are fake AV programs with malicious spyware, malware and bots that infect your system and steal your personal information.

SLAM DUNK ON SUSPICIOUS MESSAGES: When a friend sends you a link or a strange message via IM or a social network site, don't click on the link - especially if it has an .exe suffix or a foreign country suffix from top malware-producing countries like China or Russia (.cn and .ru). Hidden malware can creep into your system so set your system to always run auto security scans.

POWER FORWARD FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE: Top athletes and division winning teams work out to maintain strength and speed on the courts. PC optimization software, like PC Tools Performance Toolkit 2011, helps boost speed, improve performance, and optimizes browsers for optimal video viewing and online surfing.

CRUSH OPPONENTS WITH A POWERFUL DEFENSE: Prevent cyber criminals from taking your credit card and other personal information via scams and drive-by-downloads. Install real-time security and firewall software to block unauthorized users from gaining access to your computer. Use PC Tools Spyware Doctor Antivirus 2011 and PC Tools Firewall Plus 7 available on www.pctools.com.

*About the TNS Global Survey -This survey was conducted by TNS between February 17 – 20, 2011 on the Online Express Omnibus among 1,000 adults age 18 years and over.