After reading my article, you should already know that “safe browsing” comes first before softwares. You won’t bet entirely on security software to be safe. It is all up to you, what you browse, what you download and what you watch.
Now, what is the use of security softwares? Security softwares “HELPS” you to be safe. In the cases that you left your guard down or maybe you forgot to scan your flash drive before using it. With that here are some of the security softwares I recommend.
ANTIVIRUS
Avast – This is the AntiVirus I used. It has a free version for home use. The suite includes protections for, E-mails, Instant messengers, P2P programs and other more. You need to register it to use it for more than 30 days. You can check it out here.
Avira Antivir – This is what I use before moving to Avast. Lightweight compared to avast and has good reviews. I also recommend this one if you don’t like Avast. Of course it has a free version. Check the site here
AVG – This is the first AV I have used. Free, of course and and works decently. This is also highly recommended along with the two above. You can check it here.
AntiVirus is really a personal preference. All of them works fine, and almost all of them has free version for us home users. I only don’t recommend Norton. The program is “bloated” (meaning it consumes a lot of resources) compared to the ones I mentioned above. If you have a personal AV that you can recommend hit it up on the comments.
Also I want to inform you that before installing a new AntiVirus you must uninstall the old AntiVirus present in your system. You may need the uninstaller tool provided by the AntiVirus maker just to completely uninstall the AntiVirus. Also you don’t need two AntiVirus running on your PC. It can cause conflict and a serious computer slowdown because two scanners are trying to access the same file.
WEB BROWSERS
People tend to use internet explorer because they doesn’t know that there are safe and faster web browser that they can try. Here are some that I recommend.
Firefox – This is the one I recommend the most. It is fast and secure. It also has lots of add ons to choose from. To make it safer and more compatible to your needs. It is well supported by the makers and I believe it will be for the next decades or so. Use it now, you can download it here.
Google Chrome – Yes this web browser is made by Google. This new browser is getting positive reviews and now has extensions. (like add ons on firefox) Seems like this will be a tough competitor of firefox. It has an “incognito mode” which is more secure because it doesn’t allow script to run. Good for testing doubtful sites. I personally think firefox is safer but I can say this is an alternative. You can download this here.
Opera – I used this once and I find it good. While they are more incline with mobile web. Its desktop counterpart still does good compared to internet explorer. Another alternative for IE. Check it here
OTHER SCANNERS
The difference between an AntiVirus and an Scanner is that AntiVirus offers real time protection and the other one is on demand. While both detects and delete malwares, the latter has specific database mostly for new malwares. 30% of the time these scanners can scan malwares that your resident AntiVirus cannot. Now, you know why I don’t bet entirely on AntiVirus alone.
Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware – This is the scanner I liked most. Simple and effective. It can scan your system, Detects infections, Deletes them and creates a log that a malware expert can examine. I strongly recommend you use this. You can download it here. Don’t forget to update first before scanning.
Spybot Search & Destroy – Another scanner that I use. Think of this as a second opinion. You can use along with MBAM, just don’t run them simultaneously. You can download one here.
Why can you have more than one scanner and not AntiVirus? AntiVirus offers real time protection. It means that if you have two AV both of them are running simultaneously. They are eating up your resources that cause slowdown and worst errors cause by them trying to access the same file. While Scanners are on demand task. You can let the one finish first before starting the other one. That is there difference.
There are also Online scanners that pretty much do the same. Here are some of them
SPECIAL TOOLS
There are some special tools that I do not recommend for everyday use. These are powerful tools use by malware experts to clean up your system. However these tools gives false positive result which makes them dangerous in the hands of an average user. The reason I include this is because I find that lot of people are using these tools and even promoting the use of them. Please do not use this tools unless instructed by a malware expert.
Here are some of them:
- ComboFix
- HiJackThis
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