Your Expert Guide to Desktop Security Software

The logic of most internet users would be to find a free antivirus software before buying any antivirus software. Of course! Why buy when you can have one with no cash out? However, you get what you ask for, so to make sure you get an antivirus that will work well, and also be free to use, here are some of the necessary features you should look for in the free antivirus software.

Does it have real time scanning?

This means as you work or play on your computer while being online, will the antivirus program work as well? Will it be able to detect incoming files or applications that contain dangerous viruses?

Does it have on-demand access and scanning? Can you pre-schedule scans?

For instance, when you open an email from a person who sounds like someone you met, but you are not sure, will the antivirus be able to detect a malware as you open the file? Also, can you schedule scans when you want, or do you follow its schedule?

Does it have a Heuristic scanning feature?

This means your antivirus should be able to figure out new threats based on what it knows, even before the updates are installed?

Can it go through your compressed files and find viruses sneakily hiding there? Often you will find out, a lot of malware tend to effectively bury themselves under a pile of files, making it extremely difficult for manual detection. Many times, the only way to find these threats is through a good antivirus program.

How well can it protect when you are online?

Can the software check the websites prior to your visiting them, and can it detect danger from instant messaging?

Article Source: http://goo.gl/FmnBY

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Die-Hard Norton Antivirus User No Longer

Actually, it started a few days ago. Nothing definitive, but definitely something "not quite right" as I used one program or another or surfed online. Of course the first thing I did was scan my hard drives. Nothing wrong (according to the 2006 version of Norton's Antivirus program).

But still the lagging and odd this and that persisted. Running out of virtual memory at the drop of a hat, on and on, problem after problem. Scan, scan, update, scan, scan. Never one little thing did 2006 find.

In reverse, I also ran my spyware sweeper from my Zone Alarm Pro (and before you think that was my problem, it's not - these two programs had been working quite harmoniously on my computer for years, the problems only started AFTER I upgraded to Norton's 2006 version!). And... each time Zone Alarm found spyware and typically things that Norton, if working correctly, SHOULD HAVE ALSO FOUND.

Hmmmm... So, having spent the extra bucks and also had Symantec ship me a backup disk, I started the (now) unthinkable. I uninstalled everything - both Norton and Zone Alarm for good measure.

At around 8:30 p.m. last night the fun began.

By 3:00 in the MORNING, after repeatedly trying in vain to get Norton to fully install on my computer, and with only my lowly Zone Alarm Pro to protect me against the bitter outside world - in total disgust and RAGING ANGER I turned everything off and went to bed.

Five hours later, I was at it again.

Only this time, I was SO smart! I headed straight to ZoneLabs never giving Norton another backwards look.

I called the wonderful folks at ZoneAlarm, received some OUTSTANDING support, help (and sympathy which I sorely needed by then), and upgraded to ZoneAlarm Security Suite 6.5.

I did my homework. I read around. C/Net has actually moved Norton way down the list (it might even be past McAfee at this point), and clearly proclaimed ZA's Antivirus program superior.

As a current customer, it's an easy upgrade to the ZA Security Suite - and a financial savings to boot.

Fully installed on my computer SURE ENOUGH there was a big bad bundle of trouble that ZA caught - the first time around (!) - and fixed and eliminated. Since spyware checking also comes with this suite, along with a bunch of other things, I ran that, too. A total of six spyware sneaks eliminated.

I am a paranoid individual when it comes to me and my computer. I don't want you to get the idea that I wasn't updating or wasn't scanning or using Norton's Antivirus 2006 properly. I was. The rotten part is I THOUGHT it was protecting me. It wasn't. Glitchy, nasty, stinking rotten program - and it takes a lot for me to say that... I've been using Norton for years. However, if you currently have 2004 or 2005 on your computer my advice is DO NOT upgrade it to 2006. It's like a bad beta program that should never have left the shelves without a lot more research.

Article Source: http://goo.gl/Xcnfw

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Install Antivirus Security Software

A lot of people in the antivirus industry were afraid that Microsoft was going to kill the antivirus market. This hasn't happened yet, despite the fact that Microsoft is performing OK in independent antivirus tests.

But Microsoft's is but one free antivirus product; there are many other brands as well. What are the free antivirus products and can we trust them?

Initially, free software was always associated with Open Source Software: tools made by smart geeks; not very pretty, but working well.

Instructions

1. Choose an antivirus program. Popular programs available for purchase on disc include McNorton and McAfee. Online programs include Trend Micro and AVG. These are are available from their websites (see Resources) as free or charged editions.

2. Check for viruses. If your computer is already infected by viruses it may block the installation of the software. Use an online virus scan, such as that from Trend Micro (see Resources), to check for the existence of such viruses before you begin installation.

3. Remove any other antivirus software from your computer's hard drive. To do this, enter the Control Panel menu and open the "Add/remove programs" window. Scroll through the list and delete any remnants of previous antivirus software.

4. Close all programs. Ensure programs are closed and not just minimized. If there are icons or items listed on the taskbar at the bottom of the computer, close them by right-clicking once on the item and then left-clicking once on the "Close" option on the drop-down menu that appears.

5. Insert the software disc or run the downloaded file for your antivirus program. Follow the onscreen prompts to install the software including selecting the file destination and agreeing with the licensing requirements.

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Provideing Security to Your PC Through Antivirus

As technology advanced, and computers got empowered from just computing devices, the threat also increased for corruption or theft of data. Many fraudulent and treacherous people using the ability of programming languages, developed malicious code which could perform a task harming your computer in one way or the other. Also that code was capable of replicating itself. These snaps of code came to be known as Computer viruses. Initially they were just programming errors but later on seeing the potential of damage they can create, people started making them deliberately. Thus totally a new breed of applications was developed to provide security to computers called Antivirus software applications.

The inception of anti-virus software applications goes back to 1971, where Bob Thompson of BBN Technologies developed an experimental self-replicating program called Creeper. Now, Creeper affected a lot of computers there to the extent that it had to develop another program called Reaper to delete it. So you can say that, not technically, but yes Reaper was the first anti-virus. Slowly and steadily as programmers got powerful, more and more deadlier and damaging viruses came into the market and with the flourishing of internet the infection of viruses spread like a tsunami. But simultaneously even the anti-virus applications got powerful enough to curb them down and provide security to the host computers.

Several big names came up in the market with their products as antivirus software applications. But products like AVG, McAfree, Kaspersky, Avast, Notron, Avira, BitDefender, etc. gained a considerable appreciation and worked very nicely against viruses and other malicious content. Even the technology of scanners used in antivirus applications saw a great deal of development. Today we have Quarantine technology to keep viruses in a secured vault rather than deleting it completely because if the virus has bonded itself with some crucial system file then it will delete that too along with it causing the system unwanted damage. We also have Sandbox approach to run unknown code. There were also viruses and malicious programs which decorated themselves as antivirus programs like WinFixer, MS Antivirus etc and infiltrated the systems. But they couldn't last long as all good anti-virus programs have a regular update system where they constantly update their virus definition files providing maximum security against even the freshly detected viruses.

Article Source: http://goo.gl/Haq0J

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