ip masking

[badforu]

Im running win 98se .. i have alot of traffic going through my computer... My kids use it and go to sites that load ur computer up with popups and stuff.
The house is networked and we use cable with 3 computers hooked up to the router. Both the router and modem is Linksys, and both work perfectly. The router supposely has a fire wall that dosnt allow stuff in.
So basically i want to mask my ip to attemp to stop some of this, and to keep any info i may have on my computer out of the wrong hands.
Im ok with computers but not a tech by far... so please break it down a little for me. I read some stuff on proxy servers, but couldnt make heads or tails out of it.

[Siliconjunkie]

I dont think that masking your IP is really what you are looking for.

You really need something to remove spyware.

Look at Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy.

[Roadkill]

My recommendation would be to first get a good pop-up blocker. I use Panicware's free Pop-Up Stopper. Then, download Spyware Guard and Spyware Blaster. These will stop most all spyware and adware out there.

You will also need AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy to remove anything currently on your machine.

You will want to download a good software firewall. Zone Alarm or Sygate.

Finally, you will want to set your browser to reject all third party cookies. I have mine set to reject third party cookies and ask me about all first party cookies.

All these are free, and with your router/ hardware firewall you should be free of your problems. I use this setup and I have no problems with pop-ups or adware.