Free Antivirus Programs

March 27, 2009 — Mrs. Mecomber

Every computer should have an anti-virus software program running, as well as a firewall. Back in the early days of the Internet, before baddies like trojans, worms, and viruses were invented and dispersed, security wasn’t much of an issue. But as with all things, people have taken the benefits of technology and have twisted them around for selfish gain. Your computer is severely at risk if you connect online without a firewall and anti-virus.

The great thing is that some people have made terrific software programs and offer them free of charge! And another great thing is that security your computer is easy- it does require effort and maintenance, but it’s not like moving trucks or anything! Here’s a brief list of some highly-rated anti-virus programs.

Some firewalls are now coming with an anti-virus built in to the program. I see that Comodo Pro Firewall (my favorite firewall) now includes an anti-virus. And AVG Anti-Virus Pro version now includes a firewall. I haven’t tested any of these extras: I still use just the Comodo firewall and the separate AVG anti-virus. Be aware that any software maker is going to market the paid-for version. So you may have to look around on the websites for the free version. The free versions give you just as much protection as the paid-for versions, have no fear, and they do regularly update. The paid-for versions usually have more bells and whistles, additional software, and offer tech support. Free versions almost never give tech support; but the forums for the product can be very helpful if you have questions or problems.

Also, be VERY careful where you get your downloads from. There has been a sudden increase in phishing sites set up to sound like or look like the real download site. What you wind up downloading is a trojan! If I ever have any doubts about the website I am on, I check the site with a nifty toolbar called Netcraft. It’s available for Firefox and Internet Explorer. I wrote about Netcraft here.

Install only one anti-virus program on your computer; two or more sometimes conflict with each other. It is also important to keep your anti-virus updated. The updates are crucial, ensuring that the anti-virus program knows what malicious files it needs to watch for.

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Posted in anti-virus, firewalls, free stuff, security programs. Tags: , , . 6 Comments »

Three Steps to Protect Your Computer Before You Go Online

January 29, 2009 — Mrs. Mecomber

I got my first laptop, an HP Pavilion, in 2003; it came pre-loaded with Windows XP. I made the mistake of connecting it to the Internet BEFORE turning on Windows Firewall. (Oddly, Windows Firewall was turned off by default– DUH!). While downloading Windows updates the first few minutes of using the laptop, I was hit with the Blaster worm. My laptop suddenly shut off– *poof* — then restarted. Then shut off, restarted, shut off, restarted…. I was terrified. I’d just bought the thing and it acted like a zombie.

Circuit City customer service told me my laptop had been infected with the Blaster worm. I had to reformat the entire operating system (thank God, Windows supplied disks back then).

It was a good lesson– turn on the Windows Firewall before ever connecting the machine to the Internet. I always use third party firewalls (Comodo), but I always turn the Windows Firewall on before I get the third party download.

Windows Firewall not comes turned ON by default. About time.

Getting a new computer is fun. But you just can’t plug it in to your ethernet and start surfing away. The Internet is too evil to do that, now. Here are some tips:

1.) Activate the Windows Firewall. It’s not the strongest of firewalls, but at least it offers some protection. You can go online, download your third party firewall, and install it. Then, shut off your Windows Firewall.

2.) Download Windows Updates. Oftentimes, computers are preloaded months previously with operating systems. As the weeks or months pass while the computer sits on the shelf, waiting to be purchased, Windows Updats come and go. Security holes are discovered and plugged. You don;t know when your operating system was installed– download the updates first thing. Sometimes this can be a real pain– downloading updates can take hours– you just got a new computer and want to use it! But the updates are important.

3.) Get an anti-virus program going. Windows now has something, I think. But again, I prefer third party (AVG). Download it, update it, and get it going.

You can read more tiips and some how to’s at the Microsoft website, including how to activate the Windows Firewall, which can be difficult to find in XP.

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Process Library and Scanner

December 31, 2008 — Mrs. Mecomber

Lots of virus- and trojan-creators have become quite shifty and sneaky: they are naming their malware after genuine, important software already on our computers. For example, do you have lsass.exe or Isass.exe in your process files list? It’s very difficult to see the difference between the two, but one is a virus and one is not. I used to scour my process list to check for scoundrels (in the Task Manager and also in msconfig), but these days, who knows what is what?

I have used quite a few online process libraries, some good and user-friendly, and some not. Here;s a good one: ProcessLibrary.com. There’s a searchable database AND it also has some good educational articles to help you understand your computer files a little better.

AND it has a free downloadable scanner, see here. This program will scan all your process files and tell you what’s running. Cool! Once you have a clean, trojan-free computer, you order those nice Votive candle holders online without the threat of hackers or spyware.

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Beware the Antivirus XP

September 23, 2008 — Mrs. Mecomber

Be very careful what you download. And be very careful with the websites you visit. Before reading this article, I’d never heard of Antivirus XP 2008. It’s not an antivirus, even though it looks, feels, and acts like one. Someone very crafty made this piece of spyware!

Antivirus XP 2008 is malware– malicious software. It is downloadable into your computer, where it gives you popups, pretends to scan, opens up Internet Explorer, and “Google” tells you that it has detected a threat. And you have to pay to remove the threat. Yikes. Symantec has a good and brief decription of this program, and the C|Net Forum has a simple tutorial on how to remove it if your computer is infected.

Be very careful about the sites you visit, keep your security software updated, and never download anything unless you are sure what it is. It’s disgusting, all the junk out there. You’d think people would have better things to do than create malware and wreck people’s computers?!

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AVG 8.0

June 6, 2008 — Mrs. Mecomber

I just updated one of my computers to the Grisoft AVG 8.0 version. It’s working very well. AVG is a free email scanner/antivirus program (they also have a paid-for “pro” version). I’ve been using AVG for many years on various computers and I really like it. This new version looks like a million bucks. They’ve done a good job with their interface (previous interfaces were a little baffling). And the download went smooth and easy.

I have two complaints– one is that the link for the download is rather hidden. AVG is now emphasizing their Pro version, and the links to that are everywhere. I had to be very careful what link I clicked, because I did want to accidentally get the Pro version and have to pay for after 30 days. Here’s a page with the download links. Look for “AVG Free.” If you’ve never downloaded AVG before, there are special instructions with a license key that is emailed to you. Just going to the home page and looking around will show it. Or, you can do a quick search at Download.com and get it directly there.

Secondly, AVG 8.0 has a toolbar (they do ask you first, and give you a choice; I chose yes) you can download with the anti-virus program. I really like the idea behind it (protect you from phishing sites, etc), but it either severely slowed down my Firefox browser or crashed it. And I was unable to uninstall the AVG toolbar, I could only “disable” it. It’s not in my Add/Remove programs, either. :(

So AVG 8.0 is much nicer, but dump the buggy toolbar and watch which version you download. I do wish software programs would stop trying to overextend themselves. I personally prefer the basic, minimal programs that only do one or two things. I don’t like software that dumps everything under the sun along with baby clothes and free sunglasses.

But AVG is free, and I can’t complain about that! And it’s a good program, to boot.

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Free Animation Program

May 2, 2008 — Mrs. Mecomber

I haven’t tried this out yet, but it looked so interesting and I have some readers who love graphic design that I thought I’d give you a heads up on this. There’s a little 3D modeling and animation program available for download called the Anim8tor. It looks really nice! I’ll bet kids would have a blast with it. The author says it’s not “professional” grade, but it’s free and it looks like a ton of fun. He put a lot of time into it and I think it’s great when developers offer their creations for free. :)

There’s texture support for bump maps, soft shadows, spotlights, fog, and more, for graphic files such as .BMP, .GIF, and .JPG formats. It looks like a great beginner’s tool. I know my young son, who loves creating graphics on the computer, would love this. I intend to download it and try it out. Soon. I hope. My son has a math book to finish, and that’s really the only reason why I haven’t tried it yet! LOL.

One quick reminder: when you download files–any files but especially executable files like those that run programs– always be sure to run a scan through your anti-virus. and always make sure your anti-virus is updated. Almost all software is safe, but it definitely pays to check and double-check. hotel deals are nice to have, but you don’t want them popping up in browser pop-ups, all over the place, because you didn’t scan and now you have spyware! Be sure to always scan your files. :)

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Posted in anti-virus, free programs. Tags: . 1 Comment »
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