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Home::Malware
Free Computer Security Software - A Leaking Seal!
Author : Msingathi Mnyengeza
There is nothing wrong with taking less than adequate measures
to prevent a bigger damage to anything you treasure if you have
financial or other constraints, as long as this is done
temporarily over a short time. Similar reasoning applies
when it comes to computer security threats.
Unfortunately some (if not most) computer users tend to forget
this. They search on the internet for free computer security
software which they dump into their computers and hope for
the best. Most of the free software developers consistently
forget to inform the downloaders of the inadequacies
of their software - and they are many and significant!
A simple search for free anti-spyware programs on any search
engine yields significant results. If we exclude genuine
beta-software from these results, almost all of these
anti-spyware programs operate on the principle - "Get
infected first, then call us". In other words these
programs are reactive. They scan and destroy spyware as it's
found in the user's computer. The real downside of these
programs is that they offer no real-time protection. Are
you surprised? Maybe you've forgotten that "there's no such
thing a free lunch"!
The big computer security software developers spend millions
of dollars every year developing products that can quickly
detect and destroy new computer security threats like spyware,
adware, viruses, hacking techniques, Trojans, worms keyloggers
etc
Do you think the developers of free computer security software
inject millions of dollars in order to bring users of their
software regular software updates? I think not!
Computer security software is such a critical purchase
that I think one should actually buy the software before
bringing home a new PC!
The most critical software that you should have in you PC
is:
1. Firewall - To protect your PC from hackers and
internal malware that maybe trying to "phone home".
2. Spyware/Adware - To detect the "ETs" that are "phoning
home" from your PC, endangering your sensitive information such
as passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive
information. These programs also use lots of your critical
computer resources. That's why your computer is slow and
crashing lately!
3. Anti-virus Software - These can either completely wipe
out your critical data or render it or your computer useless.
The most dangerous thing is that you may end up (unaware!) being
a source of the virus (e.g. through email or infected website
pages).
Here are common-sense measures you can take to protect
your PC:
1. E-mail - Avoid replying to chain letters. Also be very
careful of image attachment. Hackers attach malicious JavaScript
program on these.
2. Regularly update your anti-virus definitions by
running the update function of your security software.
3. Before buying a computer security software or package
make sure that it offers regular updates to keep up with
new viruses, adware, spyware and other computer security threats.
I want to repeat what I said at the beginning of this
article: There is nothing wrong in taking temporary security
measures as far as your computer security is concerned (i.e.
using free software/downloads). What is wrong is forgetting that
the measure was supposed to be over a temporary period in the
first place.
Copyright: 1st Analyst Information Services 2006, All rights
reserved.
Website owners can use this article on their websites and
ezines, as long as no part of this article is changed/amended.
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