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The Basics
of Security
You should actively protect your computer and its
data from avoidable problems by employing these basic
security measures.
Anti-Virus
A good anti-virus will monitor all data traffic
whether from the internet, your hard drive, e-mail,
floppy disks, CD's, flash drives, etc. It will
update itself regularly and should scan for existing
infected files on at least a weekly basis. Avoid
running two or more active A-V programs as they
might clash with one another.
Anti-Spyware
Spyware is primarily used for marketing, whether to
directly send you advertising or to gather
information about your habits which might then be
used to better target future ads to you. It slows
your system down and serves little purpose to you or
your computer. A manual scanner solution works fine
but must be updated and run regularly to help.
Firewall
A firewall monitors all traffic between your
computer and your network/internet. It prevents
hackers from gaining directly access to your system.
The best firewall is a hardware-based firewall which
are included in most routers. Most firewall attacks
are thwarted at the router before they ever reach
your computer.
Anti-Spam
These products try to stem the ever-increasing flow
of junk mail, or spam, that you receive. Because
there are so many different e-mail programs, there
is no single solution to filter the spam from the
good e-mail. If you use an on-line web-based e-mail
reader, your service may have options to turn on a
Spam Filter of some sort; use it.
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Current
Security Recommendations
ANTI-VIRUS:
Avira AntiVir
Personal (home only, Win2000-XP)
AVG 8.0 Free (home only, Win2000-Vista, free)
AVast! 4 Home Edition (home only, Win95-Vista,
annual free renewal)
Comodo 2 (home or business, XP/2000 only,
free)
Clam-Win .94
(home or business, Win98-XP, manual scanner only,
free)
ClamXav
(home or business, MAC X+ only, free)
Free anti-virus protection for your Mac!
ANTI-SPYWARE:
MalwareBytes'
Anti-Malware (home or business, WinNT-2003,
manual only)
This is my current favorite free anti-malware
remover. It will eliminate many of the new-wave
malware/spyware. Try it first when fighting a new foe.
SpyBot 1.6 (home or business, Win95-Vista,
manual only, free)
Threatfire 3.5 (home or business,
Win2000-Vista, manual only, free)
Microsoft Windows
Defender (home or business, WinXP-2003,
validation)
Webroot SpySweeper (home or business,
WinXP-Vista, 30-day free trial)
FIREWALL:
Your router. Almost all routers have a hardware firewall built-in,
the best type!
ZoneAlarm Free
(home only, Win2000-Vista, free)
Comodo Firewall
Pro (home or business, Win2000-XP, free)
Outpost Free Firewall (home or business,
Win95-XP, free)
Online Armor
Personal Firewall (home or business, Windows
2000-XP)
ANTI-SPAM:
Spam Terrier (home or business,
Win2000-Vista, Outlook, Outlook Express)
MailWasher
(home or business, Win95-Vista, Outlook,
Outlook Express, limited to one email address only)
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