I’m sure you have all heard these statements before. Well, in most cases it is true but there are exceptions. I have been around Computers since the late 70’s (yes, I am an OG - Old Geek) and have spent a lot of money for computer security. After years of buying and trying I finally decided to try the free stuff. What the heck, it isn’t costing anything and if it doesn’t work then I haven’t lost any money. So over the years I have come up with different security setups that work and best of all, it’s all free.
I use Avira AntiVir as my antivirus. It used to be a pain as they did not have a nice definition update system but now – wow! It is said that the free version does not scan emails. That’s true but it does scan those “files” when you are writing them to your harddrive, so that works for me. If you want to try it here’s where to get it:
http://www.free-av.com/en/download/1/avira_antivir_personal__free_antivirus.html
Something that I have recently added is MBAM – Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware. It is a nice, easy to use, well let’s say, anti-malware. It’s a little of everything all rolled into one. One of its best features is how fast it scans. MBAM has replaced two other applications that will remain nameless. I like multi-tasking, I like free, I like fast. Download it from:
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
Firewall, hmmm, good question. I have tried most all of them and depending on which computer I was using I used different firewalls. At this point in time it seems like Zone Alarm Free is doing the best for me. It has been easy to set up and doesn’t bug me all the time wanting to block or allow access to my PC or to the Internet.
http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp
Some other tools I use to keep my computers running smoothly are, as you would think – free!
Keeping all of the junk cleaned out, CrapCleaner from http://www.ccleaner.com. Just incase something gets deleted that should not have, I have started using Recuva, a nice little recovery tool located at http://www.recuva.com. Keeping track of all the software updates and patches is not easy and it also takes a lot of time so I picked up a nice little tool called, Secunia PSI. Find it at https://psi.secunia.com.
As they say in Germany, “Geiz ist Geil”(google it), and I believe it. This set-up works for me, it may not work for you. You might even want to try out different set-ups. If you do, you can go here, “A guide to assembling your own computer security suite ... free of charge!!” http://wiki.castlecops.com/Roll_your_own_Free_Security_Suite
Safe Surfing!
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