Okay, I'll admit I got lazy posting here, and it's not because of Facebook. It's because of Twitter. I find the idea of microblogging, just firing off a few words instead of writing several paragraphs appealing since a few words don't take that much brainpower to compose. Follow me if you've got a twitter account.
Today I decided to share some advice I gave a twitter buddy: how to get the best internet security products for free. Yes, completely, absolutely FREE. And I'm talking about the VERY best, well, okay, maybe toned down versions, but nonetheless, good enough to keep the average PC user's computer safe from all the bad malware that's out there.
A security suite consists basically of three products: An antivirus, an antispyware program and a good firewall.
Let's start with the firewall because this should be no surprise to anyone who's serious about internet security, arguably the best of the bunch is COMODO's free firewall. Surf over to COMODO's site, however, and you'll find that the standalone version has been discontinued and you'll be forced to download a huge installer for both COMODO's firewall and antivirus. Have no fear, though, once you run the install, you can choose to install only the firewall, so go ahead and download the dang thing. I don't recommend installing the antivirus, but make sure you install something called Defense +.
An alternative to COMODO is the free edition of Agnitum's Outpost firewall but I find it slows my computer down significantly. If you've got a fast system, though, it might come down to a preference on the user interface.
Now for the antispyware. Did you know you can get a free version of PC Tool's Spyware Doctor? You won't find the free version at PC Tool's website but if you look for Google's Google Pack you'll find that the starter edition of Spyware Doctor is included. Choose whatever else you want to install but make sure you get Spyware Doctor. Once you've installed it, go to the settings and turn on rootkit scanning.
Finally the antivirus. Hmmmm.... okay, while the two previous products have been consistently at the top of their reviews, I'll have to admit you can't get Kaspersky or G Data for free (legally).
However, Avira Antivirus has topped AV-Comparatives' on demand-scanning test for removing the most viruses and has been given the same overall rating as one of my favorite paid antivirus programs, BitDefender. Avira only earned minus points for the number of false positives it found, but I say hey, for a free product, I'm willing to suffer some false positives. The only problem for most users is the nag screen of its free version that pops up whenever you go online encouraging you to go paid.
Compared with my other favorite free antivirus (avast!), Avira works better with Spyware Doctor because it gives you the option of NOT installing its own antispyware and antirootkit engine. Spyware Doctor does a much better job at doing that so choose NOT to install the antispyware and antirootkit technologies of Avira.
There you go, a top of the line, FREE, security suite that works on XP 32 bit, Vista 32 and 64 bit.
Waitaminit! Am I not an XP x64 fan?
Okay, you got me there. I only use COMODO with a paid version of Sunbelt's VIPRE antivirus + antispyware. However, for those XP x64 users who don't want to pay for their security programs, I've found avast! to be a still solid product. Although avast! bundles its own antirootkit and antispyware capabilities, I'd still pair it with Lavasoft's Ad-aware Millenium edition, which is still better at removing spyware than avast! Note that avast! doesnt' give you the option to disable its antispyware. Not as ideal a combo as the one I suggested for other systems, but still good enough if you want to get your security for free.
Some recommend installing the COMODO's antivirus with its firewall but I still think the jury's still out on that. Nevertheless, you have some really good choices if you don't want to pay for internet security. Be aware that except for COMODO, all the software mentioned is FREE only for personal use.
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