Absolute Beginners Guide to Security, Spam, Spyware & Viruses

If you are using a high-speed broadband service to connect to the Internet (from your phone company or cable TV service, for example), it's time to turn it off. Unplug the network cable from the back of your computer (see Figure 9.4). If you are using an old-school dial-up modem, unplug the telephone cable from your computer.

If you're connected via your wireless network, turn the Wi-Fi switch to off or disable your wireless connection in Windows. Click Start, go to Connect To: and Show All Connections, and then right-click on the wireless connection to disable it. In short, disconnect from the network entirely.