Free PC Security: Basic Computer Security

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May 5, 2009

Basic computer security is essential as the internet is constantly expanding and as it does so do the threats from malware, viruses and rogue programs. There are many ways that hackers and well organised criminal gangs will try to infiltrate your system so you need to take a pro-active role in defending your computer against such threats.

Whether you use a dial up connection or high speed, you need a good firewall which will monitor inbound traffic as well as outbound. The built in firewall offers little protection but it is better than no firewall at all and if you have a wireless router, many of these have a built in hardware firewall which can be configured to add another layer of security to your system.

Some advocate that with a router you don’t need a software firewall, but the advantage of a software firewall is that you can easily monitor inbound and outbound traffic. If you use a router, how often do you check your router logs?

You need a reliable antivirus program. The majority of computers come with pre-installed trial versions of Norton or McAfee but these can be a resource drain. There are many free firewalls and antivirus programs which offer excellent protection as well as the option to upgrade to the pro version. I only ever use and write about free programs that I have used, tested and put through their paces and if they work I add them to the growing list of programs that I have posted.

Firewalls:

Online Armor Personal Firewall - Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7

PC Tools Firewall Plus Free Edition - Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000

Comodo Firewall Free - Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows XP

Check your firewall at Gibson Research using the ShieldsUp test program. This will check your firewall for vulnerabilities, open ports, file sharing and messenger spam, not to be confused with Live Messenger but the inbuilt Windows Messenger service.

Also direct your browser to pcflank where you can run several tests, scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the options recommended based upon your level of experience.

Anti-Virus:

Many users have their own preferences and stick with what they know, this is not necessarily the best that is available. AVG has been the most popular for some time, but it has also encountered many problems and has become more bloated.

Avast Home Edition is a complete certified antivirus, anti-spyware and anti-rootkit package.

AntiVir Personal Free Antivirus is another popular choice with a comprehensive, easy to use program which is free for home-users only.

AVG Free Edition is the well-known antivirus protection tool. AVG Free is available free of charge to home users.

Anti-Malware:

Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware is one of the fastest, most effective quick scans and malware removal programs on the market and is the perfect addition to your PC’s defenses.

SuperAntiSpyware is another great addition that will happily run alongside existing anti-malware scanners and uses slightly different methods.

SpywareBlaster which prevents the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, dialers, browser hijackers, and other potentially unwanted programs.

Microsoft Security Essentials which monitors for malware in realtime and is free. Microsoft say that it should NOT be run with any other antivirus or antimalware programs, but it was made compatible with other antivirus programs and I have used it since its first Beta release through to the public release with Avast on one machine and AVG on another with NO conflicts whatsoever. If using Malwarebytes, Superantispyware or any other realtime antimalware program do not install this. If using the free versions of other antimalware programs use them as 'on demand' scanners only, it is quite safe to do so.

Essentials:

On your Desktop, create a New Folder and rename it ‘Downloads’ so that ALL program downloads are in one easy to find location.

One Firewall, One Antivirus, generally TWO Anti-Malware programs.

Web of Trust browser addon for IE and Firefox, which will alert you to known dangerous sites.

WinPatrol 2010 which will alert you to hijackings, malware attacks and critical changes made to your computer without your permission and allows you to easily undo these changes.

HijackThis which will generates an in depth report of registry and file settings from your computer. should you have any problems and there are many forums in which to post HJT Logfiles for analysis.

CCleaner which removes unused files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space and also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history.

Macrium Reflect to create an image of your drive, including all updates, drivers, programs etc. Used regularly you will always have an image to restore if malware does take hold. Please read this article to explain more about using Macrium Reflect

Bear in mind that each PC is configured differently, and there is no ‘one size fits all’. What works for one user may not work as well for another, because they have different programs and configurations, so you need to play around to find out what works best on your system.

Tweaking programs allows you to create a balance between the best protection against the minimal intrusion which constantly asks for permissions . It may take a few days for you to get the settings to your liking, but it will be worth it.

Prevention and taking a pro-active role in protecting your PC is the best way to deal with many of the threats from spyware and malicious downloads. Stopping it is much easier than removing it once it has installed itself.

DO NOT click unknown links on websites or in emails and DO NOT be fooled by the promises of programs that can scan and clean your computer or clean your registry, many contain malware and do more damage.

Also ensure you back up your registry in the event you need to restore from a good working copy. Go to Start > Run and type in regedit which will open the Editor, click on ‘File’ and then ‘Export’.

Whatever programs you use, they should prevent spyware installation and virus infections. If they fail to do so, then change programs to ones that will protect your system. Once malware gets installed, eradication can become time consuming and difficult and prevention is much easier than cure.

ALL programs listed above are free, not shareware or time limited and there are more to be found in the A - Z Index, including a partitioning program from Easeus and drive copy from Paragon if you have a large drive or external drives to store data images.