Need Spyware, Virus, and Browser Protection? – Free Solutions

Searching out, downloading, and installing free security programs from the Internet may appear to be a “no brainer”, given the vast quantity of such programs out there in the wild blue of the Internet.

The problem, as I see it, for the casual computer user, is not the availability of these programs, but which ones work; which ones have a deserved reputation for quality and functionality.

I’ve been involved in system and Internet security for many years, and I have tested the following recommended applications and their updates over those years for reliability, functionality, and quality. These programs have a strong and loyal following that is well deserved.

Anti-virus software:

avast! Home Edition

This anti virus app is a real fighter, scanning files on demand and on access, including email attachments. Let’s you know when it detects mal-ware through its shield function. An important feature is a boot-time scan option which removes mal-ware that can’t be remove any other way.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

AVG Anti-Virus Free now incorporates protection against spyware through a new combined anti-virus and anti-spyware engine as well as a “safe-searching component” which has been incorporated into the new AVG Internet Security Toolbar. This program scans files on access, on demand, and on schedule and scans email incoming and outgoing.

Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic

This anti-virus program offers comprehensive protection with an easy to use interface. In the eight months I have been testing Avira I have been impressed with its performance, and I have come to rely on it as my primary anti-virus program. I highly recommend this one.

Anti Spyware Software:

Spyware Doctor Starter Edition

Spyware Doctor Starter Edition from PC Tools is an excellent choice, as a secondary line of defense. This free version of the award winning program, with its easy to use interface, is used by millions of people worldwide to protect their computers; it’s reported there are a million+ additional downloads every week. Be aware however, there is no real-time protection offered with this version and this is the reason I recommend this application as a secondary scanner only.

Spyware Terminator

Having tested virtually all of the major anti-spyware applications over the past year or more, I’ve settled, for now, on Spyware Terminator primarily due to its strong real-time protection against spyware, adware, Trojans, key-loggers, home page hijackers and other malware threats. Spyware Terminator excels in strong active protection against know and unknown threats. If anything, I find it perhaps a little overly aggressive. On the other hand, better this than the alternative.

Internet Browser Protection:

SpywareBlaster

SpywareBlaster prevents ActiveX-based spyware, adware, dialers, and browser hijackers from installing on your system by disabling the CLSIDs (a system used by software applications to identify a file or other item), of spyware ActiveX controls. A secondary but equally important function offered by SpywareBlaster, is its ability to block spyware/tracking cookies and restrict the actions of spyware/adware/tracking sites in Internet Explorer, Mozilla FireFox, Netscape, Seamonkey, Flock and other browsers.

Since SpywareBlaster doesn’t scan for or clean spyware, but as stated earlier, prevents installation only, you should use it in combination with Spybot Search & Destroy and/or Ad-Aware, in addition to your normal anti-malware security applications to gain the maximum amount of protection.

Web of Trust (WOT)

WOT is a free Internet Browser add-on (my personal favorite), that has established an impressive and well deserved reputation. WOT tests web sites you are visiting for spyware, spam, viruses, browser exploits, unreliable online shops, phishing, and online scams, helping you avoid unsafe web sites.

Adware Protection Software:

Ad-Aware – Anniversary Edition

In my view, Ad-Aware Free is the best free adware remover available. It does a good job of protecting against known data-mining, Trojans, dialers, malware, browser hijackers and tracking components. The only downside with the free version; real-time protection is not included.

Firewalls:

Comodo Firewall Pro

The definitive free firewall, Comodo Firewall protects your system by defeating hackers and restricting unauthorized programs from accessing the Internet. I have been using this application for 10 months and I continue to feel very secure. It resists being forcibly terminated and it works as well, or better, than any firewall I’ve paid for. This is one I highly recommend. Amazing that it’s free!

PC Tools Firewall Plus

PC Tools Firewall Plus is a powerful free personal firewall for Windows® that protects your computer by preventing unauthorized users from gaining access to your computer through the Internet or a network. By monitoring applications that connect to the network Firewall Plus can stop Trojans, backdoors, keyloggers and other malware from damaging your computer and stealing your private information.

ZoneAlarm Basic Firewall

The free version of ZoneAlarm lacks the features of ZoneAlarm Pro’s firewall. Its program control asks you regularly whether to allow programs; for some this can be intrusive and annoying. But it’s been around forever it seems, and it can’t be shut down, or out, by mal-ware.

Additional System Protection:

WinPatrol

Do you want to get a better understanding of what programs are being added to your computer? Then WinPatrol is the program for you. With WinPatrol, in your system tray, you can monitor system areas that are often changed by malicious programs. You can monitor your startup programs and services, cookies and current tasks. Should you need to, WinPatrol allows you to terminate processes and enable, or disable, startup programs. There are additional features that make WinPatrol a very powerful addition to your security applications.

HiJackFree

If you are an experienced/advanced computer user and you’re looking for a program to strengthen your anti-malware resources, then HiJackFree is one that’s worth taking a look at. This free application, from EMSI Software, offers a potent layer of additional protection to add to your major anti-malware programs. The program operates as a detailed system analysis tool that can help you in the detection and removal of Hijackers, Spyware, Adware, Trojans, Worms, and other malware. It doesn’t offer live protection but instead, it examines your system, determines if it’s been infected, and then allows you to eradicate the malware.

HijackThis

HijackThis is a free utility by Trend Micro which heuristically scans your computer to find settings that may have been changed by homepage hijackers, spyware, other malware, or even unwanted programs.

This application has a well deserved reputation for being aggressive in tracking down unauthorized changes that have been made to your system/applications.

The program doesn’t target specific programs, but instead it analyses registry and file settings, and then targets the methods used by cyber-crooks. After you scan your computer, HijackThis creates a report, or log file, with the results of the scan.

Because of the heuristic methods (behavior analysis), used by HijackThis, the results of the scan can be confusing/intimidating to those who are not advanced users. On the other hand, the strength of this program lies in the large community of users who participate in online forums, where experts (voluntarily and for free), will interpret HijackThis scan results for you, and then provide you with the information you need to clean any infection.

Despite the fact that you may only need this small application infrequently, it deserves a place in your anti-malware toolbox.

ThreatFire

ThreatFire blocks mal-ware, including zero-day threats, by analyzing program behavior and it does a stellar job. Again, this is one of the security applications that forms part of my front line defenses. I have found it to have high success rate at blocking mal-ware based on analysis of behavior. Highly recommend this one!

SnoopFree Privacy Shield

SnoopFree Privacy Shield is a powerful application that guards your keyboard, screen and open windows from all spy software on Windows XP. I have been using this application for quite some time, and I have been amazed at the number of programs that have requested access to my keyboard and screen. In particular, programs that I am in the process of installing. If you’re serious about privacy, this is a must have addition to your security toolbox.

Sandboxie

Surfing the Internet without using Sandboxie is, to me, like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. Deadly! This application creates a “Sandboxed” protected environment on your machine within which you browse the net. Data that is written to your hard drive is simply eliminated, (or not, your choice), when the sandbox is closed.

Utilizing this application allows you to surf the web without the risk of infecting your system with mal-ware or other nasties. This is another security application I have been using for over a year and it has yet to let me down.

KeyScrambler Personal

KeyScrambler Personal is a free plug-in for FireFox, Internet Explorer, and Flock web browsers which protects all input you type into the browser from Keyloggers. This free version of KeyScrambler encrypts your keystrokes at the kernel driver level.

By encrypting your keystrokes at the keyboard driver level, deep within the operating system, a Keylogger is beaten since it can only record the encrypted keys which are indecipherable.

Unlike AntiVirus and AntiSpyware programs that depend on recognition to remove Keyloggers that they know about, KeyScrambler will protect you from both known and unknown Keyloggers.

Good luck and safe surfing.

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Munch Malware With Free Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware

There is no one anti-malware tool, that is likely to identify and remove, all of the malware that infests the cyber world.

So to ensure maximum safety, it’s important to have layered defenses in the ongoing fight against malware.

In other words, it’s necessary to have front line line active malware defenses which provide real time protection, coupled with a secondary malware scanner which should be employed on a regular basis, I recommend once a week, to ensure your computer stays clean.

Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware, which I have been testing for over 8 months, is an excellent choice, as a secondary line of defense and I’m glad to report, it works smoothly on Windows 7 RC. This application definitely munches on malware!

The free version of this speed demon (it’s faster at scanning than any anti-malware program I’ve tested in the last 2 years), with its easy to employ interface, is used by millions of people worldwide to protect their computers.

I wasn’t surprised to see that this free application has been downloaded over 2 million times from Download.com alone.

It’s important to note; the real time protection module is disabled in the free version. Less critical, is the disabling of scheduled scanning, and scheduled updating in the free version.

Since real time protection is disabled, I would not recommend that you use this free version of Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware as a stand alone security application, since it simply will not offer you adequate protection with this restriction. Instead, use it only as an on-demand, secondary scanner.

Despite this real-time protection limitation in the free version, Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has an excellent reputation (shared by me), as a first class security application, for its ability to identify and remove adware, Trojans, key-loggers, home page hijackers and other malware threats.

Numerous users of this Blog, have commented on Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware’s ability to deal with one of the real scourges currently making the rounds on the Internet; rogue security applications.

As a secondary line of defense, I highly recommend that you add this free version of Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware to your security toolbox.

As a full fledged security application, with all of its features unlocked; real-time protection, scheduled scanning, and scheduled updating, Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware is a terrific value at $24.95 US.

Regular readers of this site are aware that I generally do not recommend the purchase of commercial software, but in this case, I have to do so. This application is just that good.

Fast facts:

Blazing speed on quick scanning

Full scans for all drives.

Daily database updates

Quarantine function

Additional utilities for manual malware removal

Multi-lingual support

Command line support for quick scanning

Context menu integration to scan files on demand

Quick summary: Discovered malware, including 3 Trojans, not found by SpyBot, or AVG, on a recent test on my test bed systems.

Systems Requirements: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7.

Multi-lingual support: English, Albanian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish.

Download at: Download.com

Spyware Doctor Starter Edition, from PC Tools, is another excellent free secondary line of defense against malware threats. You can read the review, and find the download link in my article “Spyware Doctor Starter Edition – The Best Secondary Malware Tool”, on this site.

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Panda Security Set to Announce Further Global Expansion

Panda Security intends to maintain its position as global technology leader and consolidate international expansion.

Panda Security, the well known computer security provider, headquartered in Spain and with additional offices in 44 countries, will announce tomorrow  that it has bought 100 percent of its Swedish, Finnish and UK franchises, furthering the aggressive investment plan started in 2007 with a view to consolidating the company’s international assets.

Regular readers will remember Panda’s release of its groundbreaking, free security application, Panda Cloud Antivirus earlier this year.

Panda Cloud Antivirus protects users while they browse, with the fastest protection against the newest viruses thanks to its cloud-scanning from PandaLabs’ servers.

With Panda Cloud Antivirus, Panda Security introduced a new protection model that utilizes a thin-client agent and server architecture which processes and blocks malware more efficiently than locally installed signature-based products.

By moving the entire malware scanning and determination process to the cloud and applying non-intrusive interception techniques on the client architecture, Panda Cloud Antivirus is able to provide advanced protection against new and unknown viruses with a lightweight thin-client agent that barely consumes any PC resources.

Quick highlights:

FREE, antivirus thin-client service for consumers which is able to process and block malware more efficiently than locally installed signature-based products.

The immediate benefits to users thanks to Panda’s new protection model are: 100x faster protection against new malware and 50 percent less impact on PC performance, compared to the industry average.

Utilizing its proprietary in-the-cloud scanning technology called Collective Intelligence, to automatically identify and classify new malware strains in near real-time (less than six minutes.

This same process takes up to 48 days with traditional AV products, according to a recent study from the University of Michigan.

If you’re ready to give cloud computing a test drive, I can’t think of a better free application to test your wings in the cloud, than Panda Cloud Antivirus. It’s a whole new concept in computer security. Here’s your chance to be a trendsetter!

Download at: Cloud Antivirus

My good buddy and fellow tech Blogger Rick Robinette, at What’s On My PC, has already completed a substantial test run on Cloud Antvirus, so be sure to read his report – Panda Cloud Antivirus – Is It Netbook ready?

Stretch Your Software Dollars – 26 Free Applications For Hard Economic Times

Times are tough, the economy is in the tank, and if anything, times will get much tougher long before they get better.

We are all now faced with the task of trimming expenses this year, and software applications that cost hundreds of dollars are not going to be number one on our list of must haves.

Luckily, they don’t need to be.

There’s a wealth of tried and tested free software out in the wild blue of the Internet that will meet virtually every need you’re likely to have this year. Take a look at the following recommended free downloads that will help you communicate, get needed work done, have some fun, and manage and protect your system while you’re surfing the Internet.

To download the application/s of your choice, simply click on the application name.

Process those words:

OpenOffice:

OpenOffice 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages including Microsoft Word.

AbiWord:

AbiWord is a free light weight word processing program similar to Microsoft Word. It is suitable for a wide variety of word processing tasks.

WordWeb:

WordWeb is a one-click English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows that can look up words in almost any program. It works off-line, but can also look up words in web references such as the Wikipedia encyclopedia.

Manipulate and correct your pics – put them online:

FastStone Image Viewer:

This is one of my favorite photo applications, with good reason. It’s not just a viewer, but an image browser, converter, and an editor as well. You’ll find the interface intuitive and very easy to use. This program is loaded with features including, renaming, cropping, color adjustments, lossless JPEG transformation, drop shadow effects, image frames, scanner support, histogram and much more.

IrfanView:

IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista. Unusual name – terrific application.

Google Picasa:

A free software application that helps you locate and organize all the photos on your computer, edit and add effects to your photos with a few simple clicks and share your photos with others through email, prints and on the web.

Play those tunes:

Audacity:

Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. Definitely the best of breed.

iTunes:

According to Apple this is the world’s best digital music jukebox. Download music, TV shows, movies, and more.

Winamp:

A multimedia player that supports numerous audio and video formats. It also plays streamed video and audio content, live and recorded, authored worldwide.

Watch your favorite videos:

Miro:

Miro is a free application for channels of internet video (also known as ‘video podcasts and video rss). Miro is designed to be easy to use and to give you an elegant full screen viewing experience.

VLC:

A highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg …) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

Free FLV Converter:

This free software let you search YouTube and dailyMotion videos without opening your browser and you can even watch the videos using the built-in video player.

Free Video To iPhone Converter:

Convert video files to Apple iPhone MP4 video format. Convert the whole movie or select a partition from the movie to convert (trim video).

iPod Video Converter:

Free iPod Video Converter provides an easy and completed way to convert all popular video formats to iPod video.

Better browsing:

FireFox:

FireFox includes tons of useful features such as tabbed browsing, built-in and customizable search bars, a built-in RSS reader and a huge library of extensions developed by thousand of developers.

Opera:

Opera introduces Speed Dial which vastly improves navigation to your favorite sites. In addition, there’s Fraud protection, anti-phishing detection keeps browsing safe and secure.

Web of Trust (WOT):

WOT is a free Internet Browser add-on (my personal favorite), that has established an impressive 4.5/5.0 star user rating on CNET. WOT tests web sites you are visiting for spyware, spam, viruses, browser exploits, unreliable online shops, phishing, and online scams, helping you avoid unsafe web sites.

Protect your system:

Spyware Doctor Starter Edition:

This free version of the award winning program, with its easy to use interface, is used by millions of people worldwide to protect their computers; it’s reported there are a million+ additional downloads every week.

AVG Anti-Virus:

AVG Anti-Virus Free now incorporates protection against spyware through a new combined anti-virus and anti-spyware engine as well as a “safe-searching component” which has been incorporated into the new AVG Internet Security Toolbar. This program scans files on access, on demand, and on schedule and scans email incoming and outgoing. For those on Vista, you’re in luck, it’s Vista-ready

Comodo Firewall Pro:

The definitive free firewall, Comodo Firewall protects your system by defeating hackers and restricting unauthorized programs from accessing the Internet. I have been using this application for 10 months and I continue to feel very secure. It resists being forcibly terminated and it works as well, or better, than any firewall I’ve paid for. This is one I highly recommend. Amazing that it’s free!

Staying in touch:

Windows Live messenger:

The next generation MSN Messenger. It comes with everything that were already available in Messenger, and a new i’m Initiative that makes helping your favorite charity as easy as sending an instant message.

Pidgin:

A multi-protocol Instant Messaging client that allows you to use all of your IM accounts at once. Pidgin can work with: AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, IRC, MSN, Yahoo!, MySpaceIM and many more.

Trillian:

A fully featured, stand-alone, skinnable chat client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC.

System Tools:

CCleaner:

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it’s fast; normally taking less than a second to run.

Glary Utilities:

Glary Utilities, a free all-in-one utility, is a terrific collection of system tools and utilities to fix, speed up, maintain and protect your PC. Personal experience with this application for the last 8 months has convinced me that a typical user can really benefit by having this application on their system. With this free program you can tweak, repair, optimize and improve your system’s performance; and its ease of operation makes it ideal for less experienced users.

Revo Uninstaller:

Revo Uninstaller is a superior program to uninstall programs from your computer. This free program with its advanced and fast algorithm scans before, and after you uninstall an application. After the program’s regular uninstaller runs, you can remove additional unnecessary files, folders and registry keys that are usually left over (those “orphaned” registry entries we talked about earlier), on your computer. This feature is a definite plus.

Don’t Know These Basic Computer Security Precautions? -You’re In Trouble

Basic Computer Security Precautions You Need To Know

Those of us who are involved in Internet and system security know, and have known for a considerable time, that cyber-crooks are unrelenting in their chase to steal your money, or to cause havoc of all descriptions on unaware computer users machines with malware of every stripe and color: Trojans, Spyware, Viruses, Phishing Scams, and Identity Theft.

Anti-malware developers are constantly challenged to stay ahead of the curve, develop new techniques, appliances and applications to protect Web sites, and attached devices, including your computer and operating system, from hackers, cyber-crooks, malware and soon to become apparent, terrorists.

Generally, understated in this battle, is the responsibility individual computer users have to to educate themselves with respect to the constantly evolving threats on the Internet. Web sites that carry advertising seem to be unreasonably concerned with not upsetting the status quo. I don’t carry advertising here and my income is not dependant on this site so…….

Listen up – just as you have a responsibility to care for and protect the neighborhood in which you live, you have the same responsibility to care for, and protect, your Internet neighborhood. You do not have choices in this – opting out is not an option!

In dealing with Internet security issues, I’m often frustratingly reminded of the “head in the sand syndrome” exhibited by undereducated computer users – if I ignore it will go away, if I ignore it then it can’t be real, if I ignore it will get better soon.

If you are one of those “it will get better soon” believers, here’s a News Flash for you – it will not get better soon; it will only get worse – much worse.

We live in a world where it’s permissible to blame misfortune on the unknown “someone else”. It’s always someone else’s fault. Here’s the unvarnished truth – if your computer gets infected while connected to the Internet, or you fall victim to an email scam, it’s simple; it’s virtually certain it’s your fault.

If you are unfamiliar with the security issues we now all have to deal with on the Internet, you have a responsibility to educate yourself, and as a start you must take the following steps to insure you, and your computer, will be safe while you surf the Internet.

Minimum security precautions:

Patch your operating system. Download and install all available patches and service packs by connecting to Windows Update.

It is now beyond dispute that 50% of unpatched and unprotected systems will be infected with malicious code within 12 minutes of being connected to the Internet.

Install a firewall.

Windows XP comes with a basic firewall, and if you are running Windows Vista, it comes with a more robust firewall (Windows Firewall) than XP, as well as anti-spyware utilities (Windows Defender). However, a common consensus is; third party applications are usually more effective. Keep in mind that the XP firewall offers only minimal protection.

Choosing a firewall.

There are a number of free firewalls that are worth considering. The following are two that do the job particularly well.

Comodo Firewall Pro:

The definitive free firewall, Comodo Firewall protects your system by defeating hackers and restricting unauthorized programs from accessing the Internet.

I have been using this application for 14 months and I continue to feel very secure. It resists being forcibly terminated and it works as well, or better, than any firewall I’ve paid for. This is one I highly recommend. Amazing that it’s free!

ZoneAlarm:

The free version of ZoneAlarm lacks the features of ZoneAlarm Pro’s firewall. Its program control asks you regularly whether to allow programs; for some this can be intrusive and annoying.

Install anti-virus software: There is no doubt that an unprotected computer will become infected by viruses and malware within minutes of first being connected to the Internet. There are many free versions of anti-virus software available and the programs that have a well justified reputation are listed below.

avast! 4 Home Edition:

This anti virus app is a real fighter, scanning files on demand and on access, including email attachments. Let’s you know when it detects mal-ware through its shield function.

An important feature is a boot-time scan option, which removes mal-ware that can’t be removed any other way. I’m now running this application on a Windows 7 machine – works perfectly!

Avira AntiVir Personal Edition Classic:

This anti-virus program offers comprehensive protection with an easy to use interface.

In the ten months I have been testing Avira I have been impressed with its performance, and I have come to rely on it as my primary anti-virus program.

I highly recommend this one.

Install Anti-spyware and Adware Software: It’s not only a virus that can put your computer down for the count, but a multitude of nasties freely floating on the Internet. Listed below are a number of free programs that offer very good protection against malware.

Spyware Terminator:

Having tested virtually all of the major anti-spyware applications over the past year or more, I’ve settled, for now, on Spyware Terminator primarily due to its strong real-time protection against spyware, adware, Trojans, key-loggers, home page hijackers and other malware threats.

Spyware Terminator excels in strong active protection against known and unknown threats. If anything, I find it perhaps a little overly aggressive. On the other hand, better this than the alternative.

Spyware Doctor Starter Edition:

Spyware Doctor Starter Edition from PC Tools is an excellent choice, as a secondary line of defense.

This free version of the award winning program, with its easy to use interface, is used by millions of people worldwide to protect their computers; it’s reported there are a million+ additional downloads every week.

Be aware however, there is no real-time protection offered with this version and for this reason I recommend this application as a secondary scanner only.

Ad-Aware:

Many software reviewers consider Ad-Aware 2008 Free as the best free adware remover available.

It does a relatively good job of protecting against known data-mining, Trojans, dialers, malware, browser hijackers and tracking components.

The only downside with the free version is real-time protection is not included.

If you are now on the Internet, and you have not yet taking the precautions as outlined above, you are extremely vulnerable and it is critical that you take the following precautions:

Stop surfing the Web and patch your operating system. Only then download the protective software as noted above, or software that you are familiar with that will do an appropriate job of protecting your computer.

Do not visit any other websites until you have done this.

Additional security precautions:

Establish a password for the administrator account. Only you should have access to the administrator settings on your PC. Unfortunately, XP installs with open access to the administrator’s account. Be sure to change this.

Create a new password protected user account. Using this account for your general day-to-day activities adds another layer of protection to your computer. A user account does not have the same all-access permissions as your administrator account, and in many cases this extra layer of protection will restrict malware from gaining a foothold on your PC.

For information on even more free computer security applications, see “ The Best Free Spyware, Virus, and Browser Protection” on this site.

Remove Avira Notifier – Here’s How

Is the Avira AntiVir Personal popup notifier bugging you? See how guest writer Glenn Taggart got rid of this nagging distraction.

I recently downloaded Avira AntiVir Personal – Free Antivirus as my primary antivirus program. I had been using version 8.2.

Recently my favorite security tech guru, advised me that version 9 was now ready for download. I couldn’t immediately find an update to version 8.2 so I used my trusty Revo Uninstaller to uninstall version 8.2 and made a clean install with version 9.

For those of you who don’t use Avira, I’m the poster child, card carrying member for their product. I have tried several antivirus programs and Avira works the best in my opinion.

That being said, Avira has one drawback – A nagging notifier to upgrade to the premium version pops up every time you update the Avira database.

Well, you don’t think g would put up with a popup do ya? Heck no!

To disable this pesky notifier, simply follow these directions:

For XP and Vista Users:

1. Start-> Control Panel

2. Administrative tools-> Local security policy

3. Click on Software Restriction Policy-> Action (at the top)-> create new restriction policies

4. Right-click additional rules (on the right side)-> new path rule

5. Click Browse and navigate to C:\Program Files\(Avira)\AntiVir Desktop\ and double-click avnotify.exe

6. Set the security level to Disallowed-> apply-> ok

If you had Avira previously installed and have already disallowed this, you need to change the thread to match (which for me meant changing AntiVir Personal Classic to AntiVir Desktop).

It’s a beautiful thing my friends!

You can download Avira AntiVir Personal at Download.com.

Guest Writer: This is a guest post by Glenn Taggart of The Crazy World of G, who brings a background as a high level super user, to the Blogging world.

Why not pay a visit to Glenn’s site at The Crazy World of G.

Free Antivirus – Download PC Tools Free Edition 6

I have to admit, PC Tools is one of my favorite software developers. Currently, on my Windows 7 RC machine, I am running PC Tools Firewall Plus (free edition – checkout tomorrows posts for a review of this application), ThreatFire (free edition), and Spyware Doctor (free edition) – this last one as a secondary malware scanner.

I think you can gather from this that I am a devotee of both freeware and open source software. No kidding, huh?

I’m always heartened by good corporate citizens like PC Tools (one of the best), who offer free versions of their outstanding products to the Internet community, in an effort to keep all of us safer than we might otherwise be.

So, when I decided to test drive PC Tools Free AntiVirus, I was expecting to have the same great experience I have had with the various other free tools available from this security provider. I was not disappointed.

PC Tools Free AntiVirus has an excellent reputation (shared by me), as a first class security application, based on it’s ability to detect, quarantine, disinfect and destroy Viruses, Trojans and Worms.

Having tested virtually all of the major antivirus applications, and updates, over the last several years, I’m comfortable recommending the free version of this application as a front line antivirus defender. In the time I have been testing PC Tools Free AntiVirus on my test bed systems, I have been very impressed with its performance.

This strong antivirus program offers all of it’s comprehensive protection within an easy to use interface and it should meet, and even exceed, all of your requirements.

Quick facts:

Virus, worm, Trojan protection – Protects your PC as you are working, surfing and playing

Scan and Remove – Detects, quarantines, disinfects and destroys Viruses, Trojans and Worms

Smart Updates – Automatically checks for frequent updates against the latest threats

IntelliGuard™ Protection – IntelliGuard™ protects your computer against threats in real-time

- File Guard

- Email Guard

FREE. No catches, limitations or time-limits.

If you’re looking for a free antivirus application that’s easy to navigate, and one that takes the worry out of updating the definition database, then PC Tools Free Edition 6 is worth considering.

System Requirements: Windows – Vista 32-bit, XP, 2000

Download at: PC Tools

Online Malware Scanners – An Extra Layer of Protection

The one thing we know for sure about today’s malware is; it’s very smart. It’s so smart that it often recreates its own component parts even if it has been deleted. How smart is that?

Today’s malware generally writes itself into multiple parts of the operating system and in many cases it can hide it’s files, registry entries, running process and services, making the infection virtually invisible.

Experienced computer users’ have come to realize that the Internet is alive with predators intent on installing damaging programs, (Spyware, adware, viruses and Trojans), on vulnerable computer systems. However, the sad reality is, the majority of computer users are undereducated when it comes to recognizing the dangers and threats that the Internet poses to their computers, and to their personal privacy.

The installation of such malware invariable leads to a critically disabled PC, or in the worst case scenario, allows hackers access to important personal and financial information.

There are plenty of good anti-malware products, but no one anti-malware tool is likely to identify and remove all of the millions of rogue malware that infest the cyber world.

So to ensure maximum safety, it’s important to have layered defenses in the ongoing fight against malware. As part of the mix of security solutions, online scanners offer an extra layer of protection that’s required in the current Internet environment.

Online Scanner Benefits:

Generally fast and easy to use

Threat signatures and heuristic detection algorithms are always up to date

Provides deep scanning of archive files, runtime packed executables and email messages

Can detect malware that some AV solutions cannot detect

Avoids conflicts with existing security software

Acts as a double-check on the accuracy of your onboard AV solutions

Disadvantages

Fewer scanning options than locally installed AV solutions

Not all scanners disinfect or remove found malware

The following are Online Scanners that have developed a good reputation for accuracy; be sure to read the Terms of Use or Privacy Statements carefully.

Panda NanoScan

McAfee FreeScan

Symantec Security Check

Panda Security

Trend Micro’s HouseCall

ESET Online Scanner

Kaspersky

What’s Hot in the Download World? – Checkout the Top 20

There must be a gazillion sites on the Internet that offer application downloads, of one type or another – OK, that’s a slight exaggeration.

My favorite download site though, by a substantial margin, is CNET’s Download.com – although it is not the only download site I use.

I trust the programs I download from this site to be free from adware, spyware, and the multitude of other malware that floats freely on the Internet. Because of CNET’s adherence to a strict policy of offering untainted downloads, regular readers of Tech Thoughts are aware, that when I review an application, if the program is available for download at Download.com, I direct interested readers there.

If you have ever wondered what applications make it to the top of CNET’s vast repository of software, then take a look at the top 20 downloads for the week ending May 10, 2009.

Here’s a look at what’s hot:

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

Avira AntiVir Personal – Free Antivirus

Advanced SystemCare Free

Avast Home Edition

Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition

Orbit Downloader

LimeWire

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

WinRAR

YouTube Downloader

Camfrog Video Chat

Download Accelerator Plus

VersionTracker Pro

FrostWire

GOM Media Player

IrfanView

Free YouTube to MP3 Converter

PhotoScape

FLV Player

Virtual DJ Software

If you don’t find anything in this list that interests you, check out CNET’s main site.

Free Avira AntiVir Personal – A Real Virus Killer!

Are you looking for a free application that monitors your interactions with your operating system to ensure that if a malicious program is detected it will be stopped dead in its tracks?

How about an application that offers on demand scans for viruses, Trojans, backdoor programs, hoaxes, worms, dialers and other malicious programs? Or a free program that allows you to repair, delete, block, rename and quarantine programs, or files.

Well you’re in luck. Avira AntiVir Personal will meet, and even exceed, all of your requirements. This anti-virus program offers all of this comprehensive protection within an easy to use interface.

In the time I have been running Avira on my systems, including a system with Windows 7 Release Candidate, I continue to be impressed with its performance, and I have come to rely on it as my primary anti-virus application. I highly recommend this one.

As an indication of this programs popularity, Download.com reports, it is the leading antivirus software, offered for download on this site.

Fast facts:

Highly Configurable

Protection from viruses, worms and Trojans

Protection against expensive dialers

Protection from hidden rootkits

Protection from phishing

Extensive malware Recognition

Monitors every action executed by the user or the operating system

Reacts promptly when a malicious program is detected.

Automatic updates of antivirus signatures, engine and software – I have to admit, I love this feature

Now in Version 9.0.0.394

Quick Summary:

Easy to download, easy to install, easy to configure, easy to use.

System requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Win 7, UNIX

Download at: Download.com

Note: Free for home-users only.

If you find the nag screen (notifier) annoying, take a look at “Disable Avira Notifier”, on this site.