Free Solutions For Protection Against Viruses, Hackers and Spyware

Any computer must have adequate spyware, virus and hacker (firewall) protection. Otherwise, you run the risk of having the private data on your computer being accessed. The right protection software is a life-or-death matter for your computer. Here are some of the programs I recommend for ordinary users. I believe that such software should be completely free and I only use free protection programs. For programs which I use, I give my own review, and for the others, I have copied some of the description. I have recently replaced the "AOL Active Security Monitor" as the vendor no longer supports the program.

To find software, simply type these terms into Google, for example, search "Avast Home Edition" or "Google Pack".

Avast Home Edition

Avast Home Edition is the well-known free antivirus. I can proudly proclaim that I was using it long before it became popular on Download.com. You can easily scan new files by right-clicking and using 'quick scan'. Avast Home Edition is available free of charge to home users for the life of the product. Virus database updates are lightning fast, thereby providing the high level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. Avast Home Edition is easy to use and will not slow down your computer (low system resource requirements).

Category Antivirus

On my computer? Yes

Available for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

AVG Free Edition is the well-known antivirus protection tool. AVG Free is available free of charge to home users for the life of the product. Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. Highlights include automatic update functionality, the AVG Resident Shield, which provides real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run, free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product, and AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files. This free antivirus program offers rock-solid protection for no financial burden.

Category Antivirus

On my computer? No

Available for Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista

Ad-Aware 2008

Ad-Aware 2008 is a free program to remove spyware from your computer. Updates a quick and the database is often updated. Although the SE Personal should still be available, Ad-Aware 2008 is now out. The new version is worse in the fact that the program tries much harder to make you upgrade to the paid version, however it is still an excellent adware remover. Ad-Aware scans your Registry, hard drives, RAM and external storage devices for known advertising, data-mining, and tracking components. Ad-Aware should be part of anybody's anti-spyware arsenal.

Category Anti-spyware

On my computer? Yes

Available for Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista (only 32-bit)

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner is a free program which removes spyware, adware, Trojan horses, trackware components and keyloggers. The main advantage of this program is the lightning-fast scanning (the scanning process only takes a fraction of a second and gives you uninstall instructions on their website). Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner provides a nice, simple solution to keeping those annoying programs out of your hard drive.

Category Anti-spyware

On my computer? Yes

Available for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/2003/XP/2003 Server

Spybot - Search & Destroy

Spybot - Search & Destroy is a popular anti-spyware program that can detect and remove a multitude of adware files and modules from your computer. It has been in the anti-spyware game and can be expected to offer one of the best protections in its category. Spybot also can clean program and Web-usage tracks from your system, which is especially useful if you share your computer. The handy online-update feature ensures that Spybot always has the most current and complete listings of adware, dialers, and other uninvited system residents. Although users should be warned, the program has the tendency to lock up and bugs often cause errors in the program.

Category Anti-spyware

On my computer? No

Available for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista

Comodo Firewall Pro

Comodo Firewall Pro is a free firewall used to secure your system against internal attacks such as Trojan viruses / malicious software and external attacks by hackers. Safeguard your personal data through a simple user friendly single click interface offering full immunity to attack. Comodo Firewall Pro helps you connect in a secure way to the internet and global networks. Don't be confused by 'Pro', the program is totally free. Comodo Firewall Pro is very simple for beginners and runs smoothly and silently in the background.

Category Firewall

On my computer? No

Available for Windows XP/Vista

ZoneAlarm

ZoneAlarm is a free firewall for non-commercial use. It keeps up with the latest firewall protection and there are frequent updates. Apart from blocking hacking attempts, ZoneAlarm also notifies you and asks your permission when a program tries to access the internet.

Category Firewall

On my computer? Yes

Available for Windows 2000/XP/Vista (Vista different version)

CCleaner

CCleaner is a useful privacy tool. The program does a range of things to make your computer work smoother and faster. According to Wikipedia, CCleaner is a freeware system optimiser and registry cleaner. CCleaner scrapes your computer quite comprehensively, cleaning up temporary files, download history, cookies, auto-complete form history, index.dat, URL history, temporary files, recent documents, Recycle Bin, log files and more. A warning that users should be careful what they remove, in case they don't get it back! Nevertheless, CCleaner comes with a "comprehensive backup feature". I'm impressed with this privacy program, it removed about 100 MB of junk from my computer.

Category Privacy Software

On my computer? Yes

Available for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

Avant Browser

Avant Browser is a freeware browser. It allows users to browse multiple Web sites simultaneously and to block all unwanted pop-up pages and Flash ads automatically. The integrated cleaner helps users clear all traces and maintain privacy. The built-in Yahoo and Google search engines enable users to search for Web pages, images, software and news on the internet. Avant Browser provides options for blocking the download of Flash media, pictures, video, sounds, and ActiveX components, so users can efficiently use their bandwidth and speed up page loading. All opened pages can be stopped, refreshed, closed, or arranged with one click. It also comes with built-in RSS reader. Its similar Web sites bar displays Web sites, which are related to the opened Web pages.

Category Web surfing

On my computer? No

Available for Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

McAfee SiteAdvisor

This is a free program which works in conjunction with your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox and others) to warn you about particular sites. The system is surprisingly simple, the SiteAdvisor button goes red when there's danger on the site, yellow when you should watch out and green when it's safe. A lot of sites will have a colour (especially all the popular ones), but obviously the SiteAdvisor staff and volunteers can't take care of all the 'minor' websites. McAfee SiteAdvisor helps protect you from all kinds of Web-based security threats including adware, identity theft, online fraud, viruses, browser exploits, spam, spyware, and phishing.

Category Web surfing

On my computer? Yes

Available for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP

Mozilla Firefox

It is well known that most online browser exploits target Internet Explorer, so why not use another browser? Mozilla Firefox is a fast, full-featured Web browser that makes browsing more efficient than ever before. It was actually Firefox which introduced the clever idea of tabbed browsing. Over multiple tests, it has been found that Firefox is in general, a faster browser than Internet Explorer. As more users continue to abandon Internet Explorer, Mozilla's popular Firefox gains a large chunk of the browsing community. Firefox is currently the second most popular browser in the world. The built-in pop-up blocker is still extremely effective and Firefox's security is still top-class. Anyone who is tired of Internet Explorer should think about trying this free alternative.

Category Web surfing

On my computer? Yes

Available for Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

Additionally, Google offers a collection of software called the Google Pack. Google Pack is "a free collection of essential software from Google and other companies". In the Google Pack, the Spyware Doctor Starter Edition caught my eye. I had been a user of the free version until PC Tools updated the software so that users could not longer fix problems without paying for the full version. It seems to have only a three-star user rating on Download.com, so I'm not sure of the adequacy of the new "Starter Edition". In any case, you can check for more information in the Google Pack details. All in all, the Google Pack helps you organize your photos, browse the web faster, remove spyware and viruses, and more.

One final note, you can often check for new programs, software updates and which programs are kicking ass on the Download.com Top 50 List at http://www.download.com/windows/most-popular/3101-20_4-0.html

Zhigen Lin is a chess player and computer enthusiast. You can check out his website at http://pc.geniusprophecy.com

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