PC SECURITY - Security Tools

The best, and well known, antivirus tools are listed on the sidebar. Norton (aka Symantec) Antivirus & McAfee Antivirus. Both cost, but are very well supported and equally good at their job and worth every penny (IMHO).

In is important to understand that no antivirus can stop unknown viruses or spyware. The "sickness" must be known before you can develop a vaccine. This is why it is essential the you keep your antivirus subscription up-to-date, so the latest threats can be blocked or found.

Also, it is "best practice" to have 2 tools protecting your system, a antivirus and anti-spyware. No single tool will catch everything.

One anti-spyware tool I recommend is Spybot - Search & Destroy (see sidebar). I've use this for decades, it is donationware (asks for donations), maintains timely updated definitions. The publisher, Patrick M. Kolla, is a member of an organization dedicated to protecting your system. Spybot S&D includes Immunization to protect your browser from threats. The only plug-in I recommend NOT to install, is TeaTimer (read description during install); you'll get tired of all the nags whenever you change something in your system. Advice, remember to Immunize immediately after all updates.

There are many, many other protection tools out there that are good, with one exception; HighJack This. The only real problem with this tool, is you have to be an expert to interpret the information it gives you. It is a poor tool for the common user, which is why may posts about problems include the HighJack list and ask for help in identifying a problem.

But if you do use HighJack, what you should look for is something listed that you did NOT install on purpose. Also look for anything that looks like ad-ware (advertising software). When in doubt, use Google to search for the filename in question and see what it is.