‘Free’ security programs
Having decent security programs installed on your system is the best way to stop malware problems.
You can of course pay for these programs, but there are good free versions readily available.
Here i will list the recommended security categories and some of the free software available.
Firewalls
A firewall is a hardware device or software application that forms a barrier between your computer and the Internet.
It then blocks all Internet traffic from reaching your computer that you have not specifically requested.
It is important to note that you should only have one software firewall installed and running at any one time.
A few ‘Free’ software Firewalls are:
Online Armor
Sunbelt Personal Firewall
Zone Alarm
If choosing Zone Alarm be aware that the free version also installs Zone Alarm Spy Blocker. It is recommended however that you UNcheck this option when installing.
Anti Virus software
Anti virus software is used to prevent, detect, and remove malware, including computer viruses, worms, and trojan horses.
Such programs may also prevent and remove adware, spyware, and other forms of malware.
It is not recommended that you have more than one anti virus product installed and running on your computer at a time.
The reason for this is that if these products have their automatic (Real-Time) protection switched on, then those products which do not encrypt the virus strings within them can cause other anti virus products to cause “false alarms”.
It can also lead to a clash as both products fight for access to files which are opened again this is the resident/automatic protection.
In general terms, these programs may conflict and cause:
1) False Alarms: When the anti virus software tells you that your PC has a virus when it actually doesn’t.
2) System Performance Problems: Your system may lock up due to both products attempting to access the same file at the same time.
A few ‘Free’ Anti Virus protectors are:
Avira AntiVir
Avast free
MS Security Essentials
Upon installation MS Security Essentials will check that your OS is a legal copy.
Anti Malware/Spyware software
A resident Anti-Malware scanner:
Installing Windows Defender and activating it’s ‘Realtime Protection’ will help to keep the nasties away.
A ‘Stand Alone’ Anti-Malware scanner:
Installing another scanner that you can run once or twice a week is always beneficial.
Something like:
Malwarebytes AntiMalware
or
SuperAntiSpyware
Remember to update these programs each time before running.
You can install more than one of these if you only run them as stand alone programs
.
