Here's a few items from my arsenal: Hijackthis, SpywareBlaster, WinPatrol, Filseclab Firewall and CCleaner.
I'm not saying these programs will work for you. They work for me. What I will tell you is that all of these programs are free. This article is about personal security software that won't cost you a dime. There are many wonderful programs that will keep the baddies out without forcing you to open your wallet. Too many PC owners operate under the misguided assumption that security software has to cost money in order to operate satisfactorily. That may be true for persons that handle sensitive data but most of us are plain folks who just want need to protect our machines from common threats.
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"...the typical non-adult surfer will never encounter the level of threats and spam as the people that actually work in the profession. For us to surf without protection is foolish." |
Granted, an adult webmaster is likely to encounter more spyware, malicious scripts and spam than the average web user. Just the same, it's not like most of us are doing the big-time computing that requires military-grade protection. We're simply people who spend the majority of our days, surfing not-so-safe web sites on broadband connections. For all the fear-mongering about the dangers of the adult Internet from the press, the typical non-adult surfer will never encounter the level of threats and spam as the people that actually work in the profession. For us to surf without protection is foolish.
Cue the hilarious responders: "Get a MAC."
Bwahahaha. That's rich. Not condescending or unrealistic at all. Thank you for your valuable input. Now, back to reality where PC owners need to protect their machines.
(You might have noticed that I don't mention anti-virus software in my little security arsenal. That's a personal preference. Meaning that personally, in the 14 years that I've owned a computer I've only gotten one virus and it came from a printer install disk. Viruses don't really frighten me. Now spyware and malicious scripts, those scared the hell out of me. In other words, in my role as a representative of Cozy, do do as I do, do as I say get anti-virus software.)
So, about that free security software. What exactly are we talking about? Is there one, magical program that will do it all for me? In my experience? No. You need several programs, especially when it comes to securing your machine from spyware, malware or whateverthefuckware they're calling it these days. Different software programs catch different gremlins. While I like my grouping of programs, many webmasters find that their groupings do the job just as well. The trick is to never depend on a single piece of software to do it all.
Here are some wonderful security programs that are absolutely free, categorized by type:
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Be smart with these programs if you want to keep using them for free. For example, Zone Alarm is notoriously heavy on the upselling. Make sure when you're installing any of these programs that you tick the proper boxes so that you don't end up, forced to pay for them. With SpywareBlaster, if you choose the AUTOMATIC UPDATES option, you'll have to pay for that privilege.
There are some other programs that you might consider using which aren't technically anti-virus, firewall or anti-spyware. Nevertheless, they're going to help keep your PC safe:
Firefox Sorry IE lovers but with great popularity comes great threat. Hackers love to attack IE. Keep the IE but for your personal safety, get Firefox and try to use it primarily when you're surfing. The cool part about Firefox is that you can install some great security plugins, my favorite being one called NoScript. Get Firefox!
Thunderbird This is the email client from the Mozilla project. It's a sweet program with an Artificial Intelligence Junk mail filter that learns as you use it. Get Thunderbird!
CCleaner - God, do I love this program. Basically, CCleaner is a registry cleaner and as it's full name, Crap Cleaner, explains, it gets rid of all those stupid unused files extensions, install logs and assorted bullshit that fills up your hard drive. The beauty of this program is that it's safe. It allows you to save backups in case you get rid of something you shouldn't have. I can't tell you how many times this software has taken care of some mysterious bullshit that was slowing my PC to a crawl. Get CCleaner!
You're an adult webmaster. The Internet is your business. Your PC/laptop is your lifeline to the Internet. You can protect yourself from vulnerabilities without spending money. Download three or four or download them all. They work. They are your arsenal against attacks from the bad guys.