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Stuff for Safe Computing

Almost every person that has asked me about a problem they are having with their Windows based computer always ends up being the usual list of suspects...Viruses, Spyware, etc. This section of my site lists several utilities that I end up using to get and maintain a PC in nice running order.

Antivirus.

You need an antivirus and antispywqre solution. Period! And, you need to keep it updated. Many people do not seem to realize if you pay for an antivirus solution, it will expire, and you MUST renew it to keep it active. Even with many of the free ones, they require you to at least re-register the product to keep it active. DO IT! I have a few choices for antivirus:

Microsoft Security Essentials A really nice antivirus/antispyware system by Microsoft. It is free, fast and does an excellent job. Other paid products will bundle other features such as parental filtering, and integrated firewall, but if all you need is antivirus and antispyware, then look no further. Perfect for home use. It doesn't slow your computer down, it doesn't annoy you with pop-up messages about things you don't care about.



Vexira Antivirus Central Command has been providing ISP's and major companies antivirus protection for many years. They are not a common antivirus product you will see on retail store shelves, so don't let that fool you. This antivirus/antispyware product is my favorite! Incredible amount of control and abilities, and no noticble performance hit on your computer's resources. This program is not free, but if you want incredible antivirus protection for one PC or all the servers and workstations for a large corporation, this is the product you need! The support for the Central Command products is probably the best you will find also.


AntiSpyware.

Spyware is that annoying crap that isn't really a virus, but gives you pop-up messages, advertisements, and junk you don't want but gets on your computer. It's like a gray area of viruses. Some internet security suites contain antivirus and anti-spyware. If you are not using a security suite that contains both, then you need anti-spyware protection. If you use Windows Defender or Microsoft Security Essentials, you already have antispyware protection, but if you need a more thorough antispyware system, then I do need to mention Malwarebytes.

SUPERAntiSpyware

My new preferred antispyware product! The free version can clean the spyware, malware, and rid your computer of some of the worst fake security alerts, and other scareware products infested on your computer. the paid version provides a realtime protection for continous updates and security. Use this along with your favorite antivirus. This product picks up stuff I've seen Kaspersky not even see.

Cool Web Shredder CoolWeb Shredder. One of the all time worst pieces of spyware is called CoolWeb. It's parasitic in nature and is constantly changing. A wonderful programmer made the removal of the CoolWeb spyware his personal vendetta after his computer was mucked up bad by CoolWeb. Most anti-spyware programs detect CoolWeb, but do not remove it very well. Download this tool and make sure CoolWeb is not on your machine (Another great free tool).

Firewalls.

A firewall protects your computer form unauthorized access and network threats. The Windows built in firewall only provides basic port and application blocking. A full featured software based firewall should also provide threat detection and protection. There are two software based firewalls that I would recommend.

SoftPerfect Personal Firewall An extremely simple and straightforward firewall, with a very powerful rules capability in a simple interface. Allows an option to set a password to keep someone from changing settings or even shutting the firewall off -Something that all software firewalls should do, but don't. I had a Rapid7 scan done on a PC running this little firewall and the vulnerability scan came back clean! Not bad for free. This is my new favorite freebie!

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Utilities.

There are many free utilities out there for disk cleanup, performance improvements, and such. Below I have listed the ones that I use and would recommend.

CCleaner is a free tool that removes garbage files (Temp files and other system files that are no longer needed) that accumulate from your system to improve performance and free up disk space. The program is small, fast, and easy to use. CCleaner also includes a Windows registry cleaner option that removes regitry entries that are no longer needed or point to dead entries. Great little tool to have and constantly being updated with new features.

Ultimate Boot CD for Windows is a bootable recovery CD that contains software used for repairing, restoring, or diagnosing almost any computer problem. UBCD4Win is based on Bart's PE©. Bart's PE© builds a Windows® "pre-install" environment CD, basically a simple Windows® XP booted from CD. UBCD4Win includes network support and allows you the ability to modify NTFS volumes, recover deleted files, create new NTFS volumes, scan hard drives for viruses, etc. An incredible tool to have.

Use OpenDNS OpenDNS service enables consumers and network administrators to secure their networks from online threats, protect users from phishing sites and provides typo corrections for website addresses. Also this service usually resolves DNS names faster than your ISP and can speed your internet requests. This service is free and easy to start using. I recommend everyone to use this!

Windows HOSTS file. You can use a HOSTS file to block ads, banners, cookies, web bugs, and even most hijackers. This is one of the best and most thorough methods of protecting your computer. Read the info on the website if you are not familiar with where to install this file. -I use this mainly on those people who repeatedly hose their computers and will click on freakin anything. Basically, to help protect them from themselves. Myself, I don't use this anymore, but it still comes in handy.

PerfectDisk. Disk defragmentation is a problem with any Windows file system. There are many disk defrag tools out there that all promise the same thing, but only one product actually does what it says and does it better than any other. PerfectDisk is that tool. Keep your system running at peak performance with a real disk optimization tool. It's not free, but worth it. I've been using Perfectdisk on multiple machines and servers for years.

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