PC Solutions - Security

PC Solutions, computer assistance for real estate professionals, small businesses and individuals www.billpfaff.com

How effective is my antivirus program? Wonder how good your antivirus program is compared to others? Check out the site http://www.av- comparatives.org/ to find out. They regularly test and report on many of the antivirus and security suites you’re familiar with: Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky and others. And it’s interesting to learn about others you may not have heard of before, ones that may just do a better job than what you are using now. Check their reports to see how what your using fares. It’s free.

Will the malware villains storm your PC’s defenses? Can you name the antivirus program that’s on your PC? I hope so. With later versions of Widows XP, and all versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7, the Windows Security Center will remind you if you don’t have one at all, or if it is out of date. If your antivirus is about to expire and you’re trying to save money, there are free choices out there that are worth trying. One notable program that debuted this past year was Microsoft’s own Security Essentials. The program is quick to download, and it’s interface and detection rates are good. Other good free choices (that also offer paid versions) are Avira, AVG and Avast.

Is your PC secure? Check the effectiveness of your firewall the easy way Steve Gibson of Gibson Research Corporation has created a great online tool that allows you to test your Windows firewall. It’s called ShieldsUp!! and tests the myriad ports that exist in Windows to communicate with the Internet and other devices. The online test can thoroughly test your software and hardware firewalls, and let you know if and how your system is exposed to harm over the Internet. You will also find a SecurityNow! section on the GRC.Com website, with podcasts of various programs of technical interest.

Why not run multiple antivirus programs, especially if they’re free ones? Running multiple antivirus programs or security suites is a prescription for trouble. They will conflict with one another and if your system doesn’t crash it will certainly slow down. Running a utility like Malwarebytes anti-malware to perform a scan while using a regular antivirus program won’t cause a problem. Because no one program catches every piece of malware you may need secondary programs like Malawarebytes periodically to keep your system clean.