As I migrate to a new notebook computer, I’m going to be posting occasionally about my experiences with noteworthy and not-so-noteworthy software. While I’m no cheapskate, I prefer free software, preferably open-source. I’ve found a lot times it is more effective than the paid equivalents.
Security is big concern these days and your first-line defense should include a firewall, as well as antivirus and anti-malware software. Since these programs run all the time, you want them to be up-to-date, reliable, effective and light on system resources. These are my choices:
Firewall: Vista actually has an excellent firewall built into the system, but in order to fine tune it, you have to deal with a fairly technical interface. Why adjust it? Well, just from a convenience standpoint, it can be very annoying when software “calls home” to get updates, report on user experience, or something more sinister, When the software in question doesn’t have the option to turn off its internet use, you can use what are called outbound rules in a firewall to limit the program’s access. Also, if some malware sneaks its way onto your system, it will try to phone home as well.
There are many excellent free add-on firewalls out there. The best might be Comodo. That’s a great choice, particularly if you’re using XP, but it’s a challenge to set up. The most elegant solution I’ve found is Vista Firewall Control, which essentially adds an easy-to-use rules management system to the built-in firewall. There’s a free and a paid version. Honestly while I really like the paid (”plus”) version, the free version is plenty for a lot of people.
By the way, if you have a router in your house to split your internet connection among several computers, you might already be protected by the router’s built-in firewall. However, if you travel outside and use your local Starbucks for WiFi, you really need to have great firewall protection on your machine. Also note, while I wrote about outbound traffic, inbound traffic is always a concern, but from what I’ve seen, all firewalls handle that pretty well.
You should use an online firewall checker like Shields Up, or AuditMyPC occasionally to see how well-protected you are.
Antivirus: The most important thing to remember about antivirus programs is that you have to make sure you keep up-to-date with the virus definitions. Virus threats develop all the time and if you have a good antivirus program, it will update itself frequently. I also strongly recommend that you stay away from Norton or McAfee, because they are very resource-intensive. What that means is you have less computing power for the things you are actually doing. I’ve been using AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition for years. In my experience it’s very light on resources and reportedly very effective. It will get updates daily and you can schedule virus scans to happen automatically.
Malware/Spyware: While computer viruses generally cause damage to your computer other computers, malware and spyware tend to harm you by stealing passwords, monitor your activity and access other website to get more viruses. Like antivirus programs, you really should keep the program’s definitions database current to deal with the most recent threats.
Again, Vista has excellent anti-spyware built-in called Windows Defender. Microsoft usually issues definition updates twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. (You should have Windows Update set to automatically download or notify you of updates.)
If you want a third-party solution, Spybot Search & Destroy is a longtime favorite and it’s free. A new program I’m really interested in is an interface to download and manage different anyti-spyware programs: Anti-Malware Toolkit.
