Technical Tips - Anti-virus and internet security
What is "internet security"?
Internet security software includes one or more of the following:
It is now common to offer the retail customer an "Internet Security Suite" which bundles all this software together. Norton Internet Security and McAfee Total Protection are the best-known although Kaspersky Internet Security, which is highly-rated by techies, is also becoming more widely available on the High Street. Although these integrated products provide a quick-and-easy solution for the non-technical user, they are notoriously "resource-hungry" with a noticeable affect on the performance of many machines.
There are, however, perfectly adequate free versions of software to combat each of the main threats although they will need to be installed and managed individually. This does take a little more time than installing and managing the integrated suites but is the approach preferred by most techies.
Personal Firewall
What does it do?
A firewall helps protect your computer by preventing unauthorized users from gaining access to it through a network or the Internet.
Recommended software
ZoneAlarm [www.zonealarm.com] : The free version of this software is considered perfectly adequate for most home and small business use. Those running PCs with Windows XP (SP2/3) or Vista may prefer to use the built-in Windows Firewall, although the techies don't rate it as highly as ZoneAlarm.
Anti-virus software
What does it do?
Viruses are destructive or deceptive programs that spread from computer to computer over the Internet or a network. Viruses can be attached to other files or disguised as files that look ordinary. Anti-virus software protects your computer against these threats.
Although I remain sceptical that the threats from computer viruses are quite as serious as the software suppliers would like us to believe - I know of a number of PCs that are still happily virus-free although their anti-virus software is years out of date - there seems little point in not protecting your computer when high-quality products are available for free.
Recommended software
Avira AntiVir Personal [www.free-av.de] : The free version of this software had a very high rating when PC Pro magazine tested antivirus software in July 2007 - read [this article]. It is a very "light" application, with no noticeable effect on computer performance, although it does have an annoying "nag screen" which pops-up rather too often (don't be tempted into buying the paid-for version of Avira).
The only downside of Avira AntiVir Personal is that it does not scan emails. If this is an issue, then I recommend AVG Antivirus Free Edition 8.0 - [http://free.avg.com].
I recommend running full system scans monthly, or more frequently.
Anti-spyware software
What does it do?
Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's informed consent. Anti-spyware software protects your computer against these threats.
Recommended software
Ad-Aware Free [www.lavasoft.com] : Those running PCs with Windows Vista may prefer to use Windows Defender, which comes pre-installed, although the techies don't rate it as highly as Ad-Aware.
Many experts suggest that modern Anti-virus software will detect virtually all spyware threats and separate software is now unnecessary. If you do choose to install anti-spyware software, I recommend running full system scans monthly, or more frequently.
Spam filtering
Most email software (such as Microsoft Outlook) and web-based email services (such as Microsoft Hotmail) provide a degree of spam filtering, generally by diverting suspect mail to a "Junk" folder, and the spam filtering provided in Internet Security Suites is rarely more sophisticated. Most people now accept that deleting spam emails which pass these simple filters is part of everyday life, although there are specific programs available if the quantity of spam becomes a serious issue.
Phishing detection
Phishing, according to [Wikipedia] is "the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication." Phishing detection is now built into the latest versions of the most common browser software, although this can impact adversely on the PCs performance. I turn IE7's Phishing Filter off to speed download times, and rely on common sense. So far so good!
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