PC Tip #2: Free Computer Security

Personally I don't use any sort of anti-virus software because I'm pretty confident a trojan won't sneak into my computer without me knowing. I know when my computer starts acting up by how much RAM is being used, or when something acts slow.

I noticed on Yahoo! Answers that many people are asking about good, solid antivirus programs. So I figured I'd put up a list that I have used in the past & highly recommend. Best of all everything is free.

Anti-Virus: AVG Free Edition
This program is great for an anti-virus. It's free (in case you didn't notice) and works really well. A lot of people will waste their money on Norton Antivirus. Yes I said waste. Norton Antivirus slows your computer down so much because it is a resource hog. It uses the processor way too much and eats up your computers temporary memory. However AVG is designed to take up the least amount of resources possible. This makes it ideal to run on computers that are even 7 years old (like my parents')

Firewall: None!
The built in firewall that comes in Windows XP SP2 & Windows Vista is sufficient. You do not need another firewall on your PC!

Adware Removal: Ad-Aware Free
Ok so it is possible you already have something on your PC or you forget to update your Antivirus and something slips through. This program is good to run periodically just to make sure there is nothing on your PC. Let it do a full system scan once per week at a minimum.

File Protector: WinPatrol
WinPatrol just has one major basic function. It protects important configuration files on your computer. This is very important especially if you do anything online that requires financial information such as credit cards or bank account numbers. WinPatrol is a must for total security. The free version is sufficient, but you can
pay for the Plus version that as a few extra features if you think it's necessary.

NOTE: Please keep in mind you MUST update your definitions on a regular basis for all of these program to work effeciently. If you do not let them update, they will not protect you from the latest computer viruses and trojans.