Resources to Protect your Computer, your Children and your Privacy
Software Review

These are all programs that I use or have tested.   None contain "SpyWare" or intrusive ads. This review is brought to you after seeing many of my friends get creamed by viruses, spam, etc.  I offer them here because I've searched high and low for these type solutions and I thought others could benefit (who am I?).  Many are completely FREE!  With no popups, advertising, or spyware.

This is how I protect my own family and my computers.

Using the Internet safely is becoming more complex. But that doesn't mean you need a degree in computer science to protect your computer and family members.  But you must be aware of the threats and you have to take some steps to protect yourself.  The programs and steps listed below will go a long way in doing just that.



Web Browser Alternative -  The Internet Explorer browser has been the victim of dozens (hundreds?) of attacks by hackers, identity thieves, spammers, porn promoters, etc.  Though Microsoft has released patch after patch it remains vulnerable to this day.   I highly recommend switching.  Even CERT, a highly regarded federally funded security research organization, recommends switching.  I give the Mozilla based Firefox browser my highest recommendation (you can use the link above to downloald and install it)..  It is a free Open Source application that prevents many of the common security problems.  Here are but some of its features.  

  • Its Free.  100% free.  No ads, no spyware, no donation reminders.  Its just free.
  • PopUp blocking.  Built in popup blocking stops those annoying ads.  You have the control to allow those you want.
  • Privacy and Security.  Built with your security in mind, Firefox keeps your computer safe from malicious spyware by not loading harmful ActiveX controls. A comprehensive set of privacy tools keep your online activity your business.
  • Cookie control.  You can view and block cookies.
  • Tabbed Browsing.   Reduces system overhead and enhances browsing by loading sites in tabs within the same window.  You have to try it.
  • Its a small 4.5mb download.
  • Very intuitive.  Nothing new to learn to browse the way you always have.  New features are easy to figure out.   It even imports your Internet Explorer bookmarks.
  • Extensions that allow allow you to block all banners ads!   This can really speed up your web browsing!   Many other free extensions are available that allow you to customize your browser to work the way you do.   I use the Adblock and NoScript extensions for added protection.
    •
I give Firefox  my highest recommendation.


Virus Protection -  Virus protection is an absolute MUST these days.  If you're not running something and keeping it up to date you shouldn't be using a computer on the internet.  

  • Realtime Protection - Where the antivirus program catches virus files as they're saved to disk and there are no manual steps required.  There really aren't any good real-time anti-virus freeware programs that I'm aware of.  I've used various commercial products, including; McAfee, Norton Antivirus (NAV), and TrendMicro's  PC-Cillen.   NAV is great, it auto-updates, etc.  But the yearly fee got tiresome.
    • After a lot of searching I found a free anti-virus program that is actually quite good.  Its called AVG, by Grisoft (free for personal use).  They figure if enough people use it at home those people will recommend its purchase at the office.   Both the application and the updates are free.
    • My second choice is TrendMicro's PC-Cillen.  Its not free but not only is it a great antivirus program but it also comes with a nice personal firewall (see below), PDA antivirus software, browser surfing protection, and eMail scanning.  The price is $49.95 but if you own a competing product you can get $25 off (even if your virus subscription is expired!).
      •
  • Manual AntiVirus scanning - If you can not afford real-time protection or are using someone else's computer you can use a  FREE manual antivirus scanning tools.
    •

Personal Firewall - This protects your computer from people or computer worms from trying to hack in to your computer.  Many of the attacks these days are automated,  one infected computer goes out and tries to infect other computers through the internet. No human required (except to get the process started of course).  Scary stuff.  If your computer ever connects to the internet it needs to be protected.  It doesn't matter how you connect;  DSL, Cable Modem, Dialup Modem, Wireless, etc.  your computer is vulnerable.

  • My first choice, and what I personally use, is Kerio by Sunbelt Software.  Yes, the link below is an affiliate link.  But I chose to carry their ads because I really like their software.  They offer a free trial to see if you like it (but its also very inexpensive).
  • My second choice is ZoneAlarm.  Though it can be a little daunting at first you don't really need to be a "techie" to configure it.   Best of all they offer a free version that works pretty  well.  See http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?lid=pdb_za1
  • My third choice is the personal firewall that is included with TrendMicro's PC-Cillin antivirus program (see above).  If you use PC-Cillin you may as well use this one.  
    •

Spyware Protection / Detection - Spyware takes on many shapes and guises.  In short its a program that runs in the background and spies on you.  It then sends that information someplace.  What happens next varies.  Most of them simply tailor popup advertising based on your web surfing habits.  Some are malicious and try to gather your userid and password information, or credit card numbers, etc.  Because these programs don't destroy data and don't spread from computer to computer they are not considered virus, worms, or trojans (though some may come in as a trojan).  Therefore the antivirus programs don't generally detect or stop them.   Spyware can get installed when you install some freeware software (such as Kazaa) or visiting a webpage that offers to install something automatically (eg;  Comet Cursor).   If you ever get popup messages when you don't even have a web browser loaded you can be certain that you have some kind of spyware.  But there is hope.

  • Use the Firefox Browser (see link above) to protect yourself from all this mess in the first place.  It prevents this stuff from being installed. You really can avoid a lot of problems simply by switching to Firefox.
  • Install a real time Spyware protection program such as CounterSpy.  This keeps you from getting this stuff in the first place.  Works much like your antivirus software, but protects agains Spyware, Adware, and other nasties.
  • The following page has a very good list of free online Spyware testers and downloadable trial programs.
  • Symantec Intenet Security Suite 2006 and ZoneAlarm Suite now both have very good Spyware protection.  But both have yearly subscription fees.
    •

SPAM - We all know what that is now.  I'm getting 1500 - 3000 SPAM messages PER DAY!  ^%@$^#  SPAM sucks and should be stopped.   I've tried MANY different anti-spam programs and have come up with a good one-two punch for killing most of it.  If you're tired of SPAM there are some things you can do, and some are FREE!

  • SpamPal - A FREE application that is very good at catching SPAM.  Highly recommended.  It uses various free "blacklists" of servers known for sending SPAM and compares sending server addresses of mail you receive against these blacklists (the blacklist lookup servers are called DNSDB's).  It then tags the messages as spam.  What you do with it after that is up to you.  You can use your mail program rules to delete the message(s), send it to a SPAM folder, etc.  This program works very well but its not perfect.  If you only check eMail once per day its probably about 90% effective,  if you check hourly its probably about 80-85% effective (the DNSDB servers need time to update their blacklists as Spam is automatically reported to them).  RegExFilter and URLBody filters for additional SPAM detection and protection!   A new plugin that I really like uses Peer2Peer technology.  The more people that receive the same exact message the more likely it is spam.   This program is hard to beat at any price,  but for free its simply the best out there.  It includes no ads, no spyware, no guiltware,  its a must have.   This is more than a review, its my personal endorsement of a fine free program. 
  • SpamAssassin - An EXCELLENT rules based Spam filter.  This program uses dozens of methods for ranking eMail on the likelihood that message is Spam or not.   Its probably about 95% effective.   The problem is there really aren't any good free versions of this available for Windows PC's.  The good news is your ISP may using it to filter the mail at your POP3 server.  If you uses a local or regional ISP there is a good chance their system uses Linux as their mail server.  Therefore they may be using the free SpamAssassin for Linux.  Contact them and see how you can turn on this feature (usually its free if its available).  Combine this with SpamPal and you can say goodbye to 98% of your Spam!!!    There is a commercial version of SpamAssassin for Windows PC's.  Its put out by McAfee and is now called SpamKiller.  It works very well but costs $40 and may be difficult to get working with SpamPal (though it is possible).  Letting your ISP run SpamAssassin is much easier.
  • Use whatever your ISP may offer.  MSN, AOL, Yahoo,  all offer some level of spam control.  But none can match using the SpamPal / SpamAssassin combination.
    •

Child Safe Surfing - The internet is a great place but for children it can also be very dangerous.   If you want to protect your child's Internet surfing there are many things you can do.  Here are two I've used:

  • We-Blocker - FREE!   A GREAT program for protecting your children (or yourself) from sexual and inappropriate websites.  This program is absolutely FREE and works great.  If you have children I highly recommend this program.   Even if you don't have kids but just don't like stumbling in to this stuff give it a try.  You can't beat the price.
  • NetNanny - I've used it.  It works "ok".  But it also costs money.  I would prefer We-Blocker.
  • If your ISP offers a child safe proxy server then use it.  You point your browser to their server and it retrieves pages for you and filters all the nasty stuff.  They're much better and keeping up to date on this stuff.  
  • If you have a Linux guru in the house consider setting up a "Squid" proxy server and installing DansGuardian.   Your Windows or Mac computers would go through it to download web pages (that parts easy to setup).   It filters based blacklisted sites and bad words.  Because no client software is needed it doesn't slow down the other computers that use it to reach the Internet.  Dansguardian  works very well and is free for personal use.  
  • Symantec Intenet Security Suite 2006 and ZoneAlarm Suite now both have very good content filtering protection.  But both have yearly subscription fees.
    •

PopUp Stopper - Popups are annoying.  When you visit a webpage you're often annoyed with popup advertisements. 

  • Use Firefox.  It comes with built in Popup blocking.  Free add on's can also block all advertisements,  including those really annoying flash ads!
  • Pop-up Stopper FREE edition - Works for most popup ads, though not all.  But only works with Internet Explorer.
  • Pop-Up Stopper Professional - Works with many browsers, and supports AOL, MSN, etc.  Stops nearly all popups.  Includes a browser cache, URL, cookie cleaner.
  • Google Toolbar - Now includes a free popup blocker, search highlighter, and it can fill in forms for you
    •
General Computer Protection -
  • Keep your computers Operating System up to date.  If you're using Windows turn on Auto Updates and download / apply all patches when they come in.  If you don't know how to turn it on visit Windows Update site at least weekly.
  • Update your Anti-Virus signatures at least weekly.  Use its auto-update feature if available.
  • Use some kind of firewall.  Rather it be a software program (like ZoneAlarm) or a hardware router using NAT (network address translation).  Use something,  worms spread via unprotected computers.
  • Use a different web browser.  Again,  see Firefox above.  Many problems are caused by the vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer.
  • Don't open executable attachments in eMail.  Even if you know the person that sent it.  Unless you requested an executable treat it as unsafe (even if it passes a virus check).
    •
 

Brought to you by John Herron at Eagle Stock Images (clicking here opens a new window)

If you found this helpful feel free to drop me a message and let me know.