InternetAndrew Stucken presents a concise guide to staying safe online – all with completely free software.
Malware is the term given to various malicious software threats to your PC*. Some banks are now questioning whether internet banking fraud victims have bothered to take precautions - reason in itself to protect your PC.
You need several lines of defence**:
Anti-virus software to protect against and remove viruses, trojans and worms
A firewall to prevent malware getting in
Adware/Spyware removal tools
Regular updates
A 'safety first' attitude toward anything suspicious
Some banks provide free anti-virus software. Barclays gives you the highly-rated Kaspersky Internet Security free for 12 months via the 'Kaspersky Offer' link on their website. HSBC meanwhile offers McAfee Virus Plus free for a year.
Free alternatives exist: AVG Free version 9.0 has been around for some time. It offers little technical support but is quite unobtrusive and updates automatically, and detects threats when surfing the web.
Avast! Home Edition version 4.8 at http://avast.virus-softwarez.com offers good all-round protection and good detection of known malware.
Avira Antivir at http://www.free-av.com/ provides the fastest and most through software protection - but is not the most user-friendly programme. Nevertheless a good bet for those with a technical bent.
Microsoft Security Essentials is quick and thorough, blending seamlessly with your Windows system. Available in XP, Vista and Windows 7.
The new kid on the block is the cloud-based anti-virus tool from Panda. It is incredibly light on system resources as all the processing is done online – with a great detection rate and no need to update. This could well be the future of virus protection.
A Firewall is all about prevention – stopping threats invading your PC at all.
Routers have firewalls – make sure yours is turned on. Consult the manual or look online.
Windows – XP or higher – has a built-in firewall. Only turn it off if you set up another firewall, e.g.:
Online Armour firewall - performs well in tests and uses few resources while providing heavy security. See http://www.tallemu.com to download.
Comodo Personal Firewall from http://personalfirewall.comodo.com it outperforms many comparable programmes but can be intrusive and over-zealous. Requires license activation for use beyond 30 days
Outpost Firewall Free Edition offers thorough protection and ease of use. See http://free.agnitum.com- it is highly rated by review sites.
Spyware and Adware
Numerous paid-for and free programmes will remove Adware and Spyware.
Adware is any software which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertisements to a computer after being installed or while the application is being used. Spyware collects information about computer users without their knowledge.
Most of these infections sneak in when you choose to download something. Exercise caution and if in doubt do a search on the URL to see if it throws up any warnings.
As ever, paid-for versions are superior but not essential. Free removal programmes include:
Spybot – Search & Destroy – see http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html- good detection rate but demands a lot of resources. May bog down a slow system.
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware free edition at http://www.malwarebytes.org/ is useful despite a lack of real time protection and scheduled updates.
A-squared Free Edition at http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/ a variant of the Anti-Malware paid-for programme - has received some favourable reviews and is user-friendly with daily auto-updates.
Ad Aware 8 free edition from http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php- a pared-down version of the well–known paid-for application. It does a good job of detecting and removing malware. Many features are unavailable in the free version however.
Avoid AntispywareBot. It is itself spyware and if you have been tricked into installing it, remove it immediately.
Updates are a simple matter for Windows users and fix flaws which hackers use to launch attacks. Simply go to Control Panel to set up Automatic Updates - and let this issue take care of itself.
Meanwhile a little caution when online will hinder hijacking by nasties:
Don’t open unknown email attachments – and avoid phishing attacks by not clicking on questionable links.
Use trusted websites to download software – www.download.com, www.tucows.com or http://downloads.zdnet.com for example.
Disconnect from the internet when finished browsing and turn off your PC when not in use.
*Virus threats to Macs are a more recent development. Consequently fewer free programmes exist. Two examples are PC Tools iAnti-Virus and ClamXAV Anti-Virus for Macintosh.
**Paid-for suites – i.e. collections - of programmes can deal with all the threats discussed here instead of using separate applications.
Written by Andrew Stucken, this article was published on February 18, 2010. Andrew's opinions are his own and for general information only. Always seek independent, professional advice.