Security Wizard Recommendations

Overview

Based on your answers you have been rated as a experienced technical user of Windows 2000/XP who engages in medium risk computer activities.

As a medium risk user your PC needs some solid protection so we have recommended products that will provide that protection that are also appropriate to your skill level.

However we do suggest that you also consider reducing your overall risk level by following the safe computing practices outlined at the end of this page.

The Wizard recommends:
  • That before you do anything check now to make sure that your PC is not currently infected with a virus or other malware infection. Click here to find out how.
     
  • That you make sure that your computer is up-to-date with all the latest Windows, Office and other software updates and patches. Click here to find out how.
     
  • You set up Windows Update to automatically download and install any future patches from Microsoft. Click here to find out how.
     
Security Product Suggestions

Anti-virus Scanner

For your anti-virus protection we recommend Avira AntiVir, a free, feature reduced version of the powerful commercial anti-virus scanner AntiVir Premium. And it's more than an anti-virus scanner; it offers anti- spyware capabilities as well. Also missing from the free version are web and email scanning capabilities but otherwise it offers the same outstanding protection against virus, worms and other threats.

The lack of email scanning is not a critical loss as AntiVir will still detect email borne viruses should they become active.

These reservations aside, Avira AntiVir offers class leading malware protection for free.

For alternatives to AntiVir, see here.  For installation tips click here.


Another possible option is to use  Microsoft Security Essentials which offers free anti-virus and anti-spyware protection and more. It gives good protection but  is not quite at the level of the top ranking products. MSE uses only little of your PC's resources so it it won't slow down your PC as much as many other products. So, if you have an older PC (or you simply like using Microsoft products) it is a reasonable option.  Note that it is currently not available in all countries and will only work with legitimate copies of Windows.


Anti-spyware Scanner

We recommend the free version of Malware Byte's Anti-Malware.  It offers fast scanning, superb detection rates and first  class infection cleaning.  The free version lacks the real-time protection, automatic updates and automatic scheduling of the paid version but the scanner is identical.   

To use Malware Byte's Anti-Malware you need to start a scan manually ( called an "on-demand" scan) but that's simple to do.  Before you do a scan we suggest you manually initiate an update of the malware signature  file to ensure best detection.  We suggest you scan your PC at least once a week.

For alternatives to Malware Byte's Anti-Malware see here. For a video covering installation and usage click here.


Firewall

There are two great choices available to you for your firewall:

The first is the free Comodo Firewall. This provides outstanding protection against inbound and outbound attacks. However this wonderful protection is only fully realized when Comodo is installed with the "Proactive Defense+" mode enabled.  In the default installation, it is disabled.

Your second choice is the free version of the class leading commercial product Online Armor. The free version is missing a number of features found in its commercial big brother including the web shield, keylogger detection and DNS spoofing detection but it still provides potent protection.

Despite recent improvements, both products still generate a considerable number of security warnings that require user response and to be honest, only very experienced users are capable of responding appropriately. That's why these products are not suitable for average users. Indeed such users may be better off with a simpler, less demanding firewall.

For alternatives to the these firewalls see here. For a video installation and usage tutorial for Comodo click here.   A guide for installing Online Armor can be found here.


 
The Most Important Security Advice of all

The task of protecting your PC from infection is similar to crossing a busy road unharmed.

There are two, very different ways of crossing that road:

The first way is to be very careful about where you cross and to be watchful and aware of the dangers. In other words, make sure you don't get hit.

The other approach is to protect yourself with something like an army tank and cross anywhere, anytime. If you get hit, you rely on the tank to protect you.

Now no sensible person would adopt the latter approach to crossing a road, yet when it comes to computer security that's exactly what many folks do.

If you want real computer security, you need to adopt safe computing practices rather than rely totally on security products to protect you. No security product or combination of products can or ever will, provide perfect PC security just like no car can provide you with perfect road safety.  With both cars and PCs you need to be careful  in your own behavior.

Like the rules of road safety we teach our kids, the rules for safe computing are simple and well known:

1. Be very careful where you surf. To help you stay away from bad sites install a website rating browser plug-in like WOT and make sure you only visit websites rated "Green" by the plug-in.

2. Never click on email attachments from unknown sources however tempting and attractive such attachments may seem.

3. Only download files from trusted sources. These include:

  • Files hosted on reputable download sites such as download.com, snapfilescom, softpedia.com, majorgeeks.com and other similar sites.
  • Files mentioned in the editorial sections of major computer websites and publications such as PC World, CNet, Lifehacker and of course, Gizmo's Freeware.
  • Open source software hosted on sourceforge.net, Mozilla.org and similar large open source sites.
  • Files available for download from Microsoft, Google, HP, Dell and other reputable vendors.

4. Never install programs obtained from P2P networks including BitTorrent, eMule, LimeWire and others as many of these files are infected with malicious programs. Some of these malicious programs are so powerful they are capable of overwhelming all your security defenses.

5. Never install programs that friends give you on removable media unless you have verified that they are clean by submitting them to free web based file scanning services such as Jotti or Virus Total.

6. Never accept free toolbars, media players or other unsolicited software offered to you by a website.

7. We recommend using an alternate browser to Internet Explorer such as Mozilla Firefox, Opera or Google Chrome.  With Windows XP/2000 all these are more secure browsers than Internet Explorer and are arguably superior browsers as well.

8. You should seriously consider creating a fresh installation of Windows and then back up your PC using a drive imaging program. Then if in the future your PC ever becomes infected you can use the drive image to restore it to a pristine, infection free condition. You can find a number of free drive imaging programs here.

By following these simple rules the chances of your PC becoming infected will be dramatically reduced. Combine these practices with the security software suggested above and you are well on the way to safe, secure, infection-free computing.

 

 This page is copyright © 2011, Gizmo's Freeware and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission.

Comments

by Anonymous on 18. February 2011 - 21:50  (66683)

Having just run the wizard I generally agree with the advice. For antivirus I do prefer Avast. I did run Avira v.9 as a back up scan, never found anything, but got tired of the nag screens and poor updates. I have found that Avast the only one that kept up to date and usable with 64 bit systems for a long time,(especially XP.) I find also as new versions of OS appear (Vista, W7) the support for the older operating systems do not degrade as quickly as other AV products. I tried Comodo firewall with XP 64 bit, was always a little cranky.
I regularly scan with free versions of SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes. I have Avast on one W7 64bit system and MSE on a W7 64bit laptop for evaluation, so far, so good but slow scans, updating slightly tedious and I miss having my updates announced in a throaty pirate voice which is kind of fun. MSE does have some firewall capability otherwise I rely on the windows firewall. Generally that is because as a retiree, this old dog only wants to learn some new tricks and find some firewall help or default options still need work to be user friendly.
For browsers I use Chrome, IE8 and Opera. However Opera, while fine on W7 has issues with XP. Again it is that issue of common but older OSes not getting the same attention, a trap that Avast seems to avoid.
by Anonymous on 15. January 2010 - 22:08  (41174)

none at this time
by Anonymous on 7. November 2009 - 13:49  (36165)

maybe a long procedure but surly it is safe
by Anonymous on 12. October 2009 - 23:14  (34467)

Thanks, this is my favorite site and I already have many of your recommendations installed and have had them for a long time thanks to your awesome reviews. Keep it up.
by Anonymous on 12. October 2009 - 16:48  (34435)

Well, it's good to know that the programs I'm running are some of the best in their class, although you recommended Avira and I use Avast. I've used Avast for 5 years on this machine, and an unknown number of years on my previous computer, and in all that time I've not had one infection. I've had 3 false positives and several warnings, but Avast caught all of them before installation, including a drive-by web site to which I was directed by a legitimate one. Love my Avast! :)
by dazeydog on 9. October 2009 - 4:31  (34210)

I think that a lot of work has gone into this item and that it generally contains great information and is a good guide. There are a couple of concerns that appear while browsing through the recommended steps to increase the security of one's home computer. Updating XP with the Microsoft updates would normally be considered good but I feel that I do not want my XP SP2 changed at all. I am not impressed with SP3 so I turned off automatic updates for my version of windows. I use Firefox and it is an earlier version (2.0.0.18) and I prefer to stay with that version. There have been several upgrades to FF and that is a good thing. But, IMHO, everytime there is an upgrade, there is a reduction in the available addons one can use. Addons that were used have gradually decreased through each upgrade from 2.0 to 3.5. The fact I am not a fan of keeping up with the latest upgrades to the OS, the browser and certain software is really simple......If people, bots, etc want to introduce harmful or information gathering into your computer, they are also trying to keep current. Thus, keeping up to date with what is loaded on your system is falling in line with keeping up to date with potential security problems. Another point is the scanning options recommended by this item. One of the sites is not available, another has a EULA and policy statement that is convoluted and the third appears OK. If these sites would consider an agreement that conforms to a more user friendly line of thinking endorsed by both their respective sites and techsupportalert, it would be nice (altho, imho, not possible). If you think back, you used to be able to get an antivirus or an antimalware or an antispyware software program. Now, they all want to be able to do everything concerning security in one package. There were security gaps in the individual security attempts so how can anyone believe that mulitple security packages would contain less leaks or gaps? I also have to agree with wilders with the RAM issue. Avira will not work properly on my system. Again, this item is my personal thinking and should not necessarily be consider the ultimate way to structure your system.
Just throwing in some food for thought. dazeydog
by wilders (not verified) on 29. September 2009 - 10:59  (33531)

very good idea i think . it would help inexperienced users greatly . however your wizard does not take into account available RAM - which should be a factor as ram usage is marginal with some systems . i have only 1GB of RAM and i know people who have less . maybe RAM advice - even if only to get more of it - would be helpful ? also , whatever combo of answers i put in i always got avira and SAS as result . i myself use Avast . looking forward to seeing how this develops - it's a great idea . cheers peter lakey

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