Way back in 2005 I wrote a post on how to build your own freeware security suite. It's time for an update I suppose.
- Avast! free antivirus - I'm still recommending this over the other free options out there (MS Security Essentials, Avira Free & AVG Free ). The new version 8 is, in my opinion, a game changer for Avast! The inclusion of a software updater feature, which monitors other applications on your PC and lets you know if there are updates for the software, is huge. It's a pain to keep up with all the Java updates, Acrobat updates, etc, etc, etc. Avast! will now do this for you. Pretty freaking cool. I predict that this is a feature that all antivirus makers will offer in the next year or so. Why wait. If you're a nerd and you're interested in real world anti-virus test results, take a look here. Avira Free does really well also, but I used it many years ago and wasn't impressed. Things might be different. Either way, make sure you at least HAVE an anti-virus app and that it's still getting updates.
- Windows 7 Firewall Control (for Windows 8 also) - ZoneAlarm dropped the ball on a 64-bit version for Windows 7. During their non-support period....I found something better. Sphinx-soft's Windows 7 Firewall Control provides a ZoneAlarm-like interface to Window's existing firewall. That also means no additional software overhead, since you're using the firewall built into Windows.
- Malwarebytes - Pretty impressive anti-malware scanner. Works with your antivirus. I've seen it remove some of the toughest malware out there.
- Super-Antispyware - Another very good malware scanner. If you're really paranoid, you can run scans with this and Malwarebytes.
- TrueCyrpt - Still absolutely needed if you keep anything remotely confidential on your PC. Use Turbotax? Who's reading your tax returns when your PC gets stolen?
