Which Free Antivirus Should You Choose ?

A long time ago, Norton Antivirus was the norm and like everyone else I bought a copy. I have had my share of experience with infected computers. I still remember the time when I cleaned out my pc manually with all the duplicate files the virus had planted all over the pc.

Then there were free antivirus and I gleefully downloaded it to make use of it. There was only one that time too, and I think it was Avg if I am not mistaken.

-Avast

This is my preferred free antivirus software. The registration process is a little slow as you have to wait for them to send you the product key. But that said, it has quite a smooth operation and doesn't appear to slow down my pc much. Virus updates are also quite smooth which you can set to automatic. The only thing you might want to do is to turn off some of the audio alerts, especially the virus updated which can be really loud. Other functions are pretty standard.

Unfortunately I lost a bit of confidence in it recently when it did not pick up a virus which was residing in one of my network folders. How did I know about it? Avg picked it up when I was accessing my own network folder containing the virus and cleaned it out for me.

-Avg

So it appears avg might be stronger in picking up viruses or it could be it just scans more of the pc. This is the favored antivirus in my office. My boss bought a few licences and reused the product keys on other pcs.

For an antivirus, I believe it does its job fine. I just have the perception that its virus scans can be very slow and hog the system resources. This is something I do not like. Other than that, I do appreciate it cleaning up my pc though.

-Avira

I have 2 grievances against this antivirus. I don't care that this is the top downloaded free antivirus software. It bugs me with advertisements, which the others do not. What is up with that?

The other one is when it had problems downloading the virus update file. Although I have trained myself on it issues, I have not had to troubleshoot avast at all. I had to make sure that it had a clean reboot and no other programs were running before the update finally came through. That's the last of Avira for me.

My final vote goes to, AVG, but only because the rest cannot really match the standards I feel they should be at.

Source: http://goo.gl/xRgdY

Best Free Internet Security Software

The 'big boys' don't want you to know this but the truth is very simple: There is no reason to spend money on any internet security software because there are free products available that can meet or exceed the quality of purchased software! The only area where free security software lags is in the total security suites category. This means that you will not be able to find one free product to take care of all your security needs. But when you consider that these products are free you should not find this to be a disadvantage.

There are dozens of free security software programs available in many software classes such as antispam (SPAMfighter, MailWasher), antispyware (SpyCatcher, Spyware Terminator), content filtering (K9 Web Protection, Naomi), privacy protection (Browzar, CCleaner), password managers (KeyWallet, Roboform) and many more.

There are a variety of reasons these products are free. Some of them are slightly reduced function versions of commercial products, some of them were created to generate interest in the company that created them and others are available simply because there are actually people interested in the greater good of a more secure internet for all of us. Many of these free products are highly rated but they are not promoted because there is no money to be made in free software, so they rely on others to spread the word.

One of the best free security products that we have found is Comodo Antivirus. This is a full featured piece of software that can stand up to the likes of Norton Antivirus, NOD32 and McAfee. We have used it on all of our test machines and most of our other systems. Another great piece of software is also from Comodo and is their free Comodo Firewall. A recent review article declared it to be 'the best firewall free or paid'! You can find links to the best free firewalls, antivirus and other free security software (including those mentioned in this article) here: Free Internet Security Software. In addition, if you have never tried a password manager be sure to visit this sites free password manager page and try out Roboform. You will find Roboform to be very secure and a real timesaver.
source: http://goo.gl/09zDP

How to uninstall McAfee Antivirus from your computer?

Follow the given steps to get rid of McAfee Antivirus from your PC:
1. Access McAfee's files in your program files folder in Explorer. Look for C:\program files\mcafee.com\agent\app.
2. Delete all files contained in the folder. If you can't find the McAfee application, enter "mcafee" in the Search feature on your Explorer toolbar.
3. Go to the "Add and Remove Programs" in the Control Panel. Highlight "McAfee Security Center" and click on "Remove."
4. Close down all running programs and restart your computer. The computer will reboot and run a systems check.
5. If you want to reinstall the McAfee Security Center, insert the CD and follow the instructions. If after that you're still encountering problems, run "services.msc" on the Run command. Set the properties on all McAfee services to "Disabled" and set the recovery to "None."
6. Reboot the computer and remove the program with "Add and Remove Programs" as described in Steps 3 and 4.

How to uninstall Norton Antivirus?

You can simply remove Norton products through the Add/Remove Control Panel.

1) Click on Start, go to Control Panel
2) Double-click on Add/Remove Programs
3) Find the Symantec or Norton product listed and click on it.
4) Click on Remove
5) You'll see a screen similar to the one below. Click the Remove All button to start the removal process.
6) Once the removal process completes, you'll be asked to restart the computer. Go ahead and reboot your system.
7) After rebooting Norton should be removed from your system.

Kaspersky Lab warns of fake trial resetter app

Kaspersky Lab, a developer of secure content and threat management solutions, is warning users of key generators and software cracks that can steal information from computers.

The malware, identified as Trojan-PSW.MIL.Agent.wx, disguises itself as a Kaspersky Trial Resetter, which is used to reset a software evaluation period that has expired.

Instead of extending the evaluation period of a legitimate software, it steals information from the infected computer -- from passwords saved in a web browser to other installed applications.

Kaspersky Lab said Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the browser most targeted by the virus, followed by Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Opera.

The Trojan has so far stolen information from MSN accounts (400), Ebay accounts (175), Facebook accounts (169) and ICQ accounts (116), the company said.

"I hope these statistics will convince you that downloading pirated software is not a good idea," said Kaspersky Lab security expert Nicolas Brulez.

He added, "Users who thought they were downloading a crack for a security solution ended up being infected. It's also clear that saving your passwords within your browser isn't the best idea."

According to Brunez, a total of 1,109 computers -- or an average of 48 a day -- have been infected in 23 days. The malware was reportedly created on January 31 this year and was detected on February 6.

Germany is said to have the most number of infections at 29%, followed by Holland (11%), France (3%), Poland and United Kingdom (1% each). The remaining 55% are spread out across the globe, Kaspersky Lab said.

Nasty Fake Antivirus

According to multiple security researchers, fake antivirus software was the biggest cyber crimes in 2010 and continues to be a major on-line scam. When fake antivirus first appeared, it could really be categorized as "scareware" and was fairly innocuous. Fake AV popped up unexpectedly, told you that your system may be infected, and then launched a fake scanning engine. While some people were clearly duped, you could easily work your way out if you recognized the scam. No harm, no foul.

I recently saw a demonstration of a more modern version of fake antivirus. The bad guys have made this scam more effective and sinister. When the fake AV appears on your system now you notice a steady progression with no way out. First, it shuts down your real antivirus and removes the icon from your system tray. It then shuts down any applications you have open, claiming that they may be infected. Finally, it blocks any file with a .exe extention so you can't open any processes. This blocks all of the things you would normally try to alleviate the problem. I tried launching pre-installed antivirus software to perform a system scan, opening Windows Task Manager to kill a process, and going into Windows tools to restore the system configuration to an earlier recovery point. All of these actions were blocked. Oh and don't bother re-booting the system. This won't help either.

Basically, fake AV launches a denial-of-service attack, making your PC absolutely useless. It reminded me of the insidious pop-up spyware and adware from the early 2000s. With this type of attack, even users who know better are tempted to buy the fake AV in order to get their PC, and their precious data, back. If you can open a browser and are willing to fight on, there are numerous downloadable tools that claim to overcome fake AV. Guess what? Many of them are just another kind of malware. Cybercriminals know how to kick you when you are down.

If you do get infected, there is actually a relatively easy way out. You have to reboot your system in safe mode (press the F8 key as you do), go into system tools, and then restore your system to an earlier recovery point. When this action is completed, I recommend updating Windows and doing a full system scan with your real AV immediately.

I've read a lot of research indicating that many users either don't use AV at all or don't really maintain it. You could say that these folks deserve to be scammed but when their PCs become part of a global botnet it impacts us all. The bad guys are very good at what they do. The only chance we have is to stay smart, share information, keep our systems up to date, maintain strong defenses, and remain vigilant.

10 steps to avoid malware while browsing the Web

1. Don’t use a single password and PIN everywhere. No one uses same key for house, car, office, briefcase and deposit box. Generally, most of the people use different keys. Suppose one uses the same PIN everywhere, then an opportunity is being created for a thief to unlock every door.
2. Do not login (into) third party applications that ask for email logins. Third party applications are programs written to work within operating systems, but are written by individuals or companies other than the providers of the operating system.
3. Do not click on pop-ups that appear while browsing the web. Those pop-ups may contain malware which can be automatically downloaded to the PC. Pop-up ads are a form of advertising intended to attract web traffic or capture email addresses.
4. Do not be lazy to update your antivirus software. If antivirus software is not updated, then you are leaving your computer open for all kinds of malicious attacks from the minute of expiration of the software.
5. Do not click on the phishing mails, which shows that you have won something or saying that your account is at risk, which generally creates a sense of urgency. A Phishing mail usually asks for information’s such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity. No banks or trusted organizations will ask their users to do that.
6. Do not forget to delete system’s cache, passwords or history. Easiest place for a malware like software to hide in the system generally tends to be in the temporary folders where browser cache, passwords or history is stored. If one fails to check this, then the possibility of identity theft and stealing of bank and email information’s are inevitable. If possible try to reset your browser frequently.
7. Do not open a fraudulent email or spam mails. Clicking on a fraudulent email will allow the cyber criminals to easily access your computer. Also never access any account information like bank info through email links which can allow access to your account information. Also ensure to have a back up for emails like how you keep record of important hard copy documents. Make sure that all the attachments are scanned before opening them.
8. Do not forget to log out of any account that you have logged in, especially when you are at a cybercafé.
9. Do not download free stuff like screen saver, videos and pictures from other websites. Downloading free stuffs from unknown website can dangerously harm your computer. Suddenly the computer begins to slow down as malicious software’s come along with those downloads. And always access safe websites to download useful information or data.
10. Do not allow an unknown person in your social networking accounts like Twitter and Facebook. Social networking websites have become a craze in the modern generation. Hence, protecting one's identity and account is really important with increasing threats on the Internet.