Get Protected !!!

Point blank, as long as you have internet access, you, your data, your privacy and the health of your PC is at risk.

There is not one program out there that can protect you from every risk but there is a number of excellent paid products available from venders like Symantec, Mcafee, Trendmicro and Microsoft and many others designed to give you maximum protection and are designed to be fully automated offering many features.

If you are looking for some comparable products that are completely free and do not require a yearly subscription, here are some excellent alternatives. Some are feature limited and / or do not have the fully automated features or real time protection but do an excellent job at keeping your computer clean with some user interaction and routine maintenance.

AntiVirus Protection :

AVG Free Edition AntiVirus: Download Here

An excellent free antivirus application that includes real time protection, automated updates and no yearly subscription fees. This version protects against virus and spyware threats and also has a paid version called AVG Internet Security which adds firewall, antispam, rootkit and instant messaging protection.

AntiSpyware Protection :

MalwareBytes AntiMalware: Download Here

Excellent scanning utility which detects and removes all types of malware including spyware, adware, trojans, and hijackers.
This free program requires manual updating and scanning and doesn’t have realtime protection but does come in the paid version that includes completely automated protection, scanning and updating as well as realtime protection.

Spybot Search and Destroy: Download Here

Excellent scanning utility which detects and removes all types of malware including spyware, adware, trojans, and hijackers.
This free program generally requires manual updating and scanning but can be configured with some built in utilities to schedule updates and scan and has a realtime protection plug-in that is not exactly user friendly but is definitely of use to an advanced user.

Lavasoft Ad-Aware: Download Here

Excellent scanning utility which detects and removes all types of malware including spyware, adware, trojans, and hijackers.
This free program requires manual updating and scanning and doesn’t have realtime protection but does come in the paid version that includes completely automated protection, scanning and updating as well as realtime protection.

Windows Defender: Download Here

Excellent scanning utility put out by Microsoft which detects and removes all types of malware including spyware, adware, trojans and hijackers. This free program includes completely automated protection, scanning and updating included in Windows Updates as well as realtime protection.

SpywareBlaster: Download Here

This application works differently than most antispyware tools by adding a permanent block to known bad web sites into your web browser. The free version requires manual updating but does come in a paid version that includes automatic updating of the database.

Firewall Protection :

Windows XP SP2 and SP3 as well as Windows Vista have a built in Windows Firewall that offers basic incoming firewall protection. This can be located and activated by going to the control panel and then Security Center

Self Protection :

The most effective tool you can use to keep yourself protected is curbing your own internet habits. Avoiding risky behaviors, knowledge and common logic go a long way.

If you avoid behaviors such as those listed below you greatly decrease the chance of getting infected.

  • Downloading illegal music, movies, programs using file sharing applications such as limewire and bittorrent.
  • Visiting of risky web sites such as pornography, piracy, copyright infringement web sites.
  • Not opening attachments to e-mail messages unless you know who they are from and are expecting the attachment.
  • Not clicking on links in e-mail messages unless you know it is indeed a safe site.
  • Clicking on advertisements and pop-ups.

Common Knowledge:

  • Know what risk are out there.
  • Use common sense.
  • Be sure Windows Updates are always kept up to date.
  • Be sure your antivirus and antispyware applications are kept up to date.
  • Run the antivirus and antispyware scans weekly.
  • Don’t assume the above are happening by themselves. Check yourself ...

 

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