How Effective Is Free Antivirus And Spyware Software?

The free antivirus programs are most definitely not better than any other. They are passable and decent, but some paid antivirus programs are so much better. Kaspersky is great, as well as Nod32. Twice as good as the free anti-virus programs, but not without a nominal fee. Spyware programs are a different story. Ad Aware, AVG AntiSpyware, Spy ware Doctor, Spybot Search and Destroy, and SuperAntiSpyware are all great free spyware programs.
The most important thing, however, is your behavior. If you behave properly, you don't need any type of antispyware or antivirus programs. The problem is, almost no one on the internet behaves properly these days. In either case, if you aren't willing to pay, I recommend using one of the mentioned free antivirus programs (preferably AVG or Avast) and a couple of the antivirus programs (one of which will be actively blocking spyware, as well as to run full scans of your computer at least once a month. The second will be used for a secondary full spyware scan along with the first.
Also, you should watch your behavior. Do not click links in your email. If you want to go to a URL someone (even someone you know) has sent you, type the URL out in the address bar. Be very careful about downloading anything. You should make absolute sure that it is safe. Some websites can infect your computer by using Active X controls, so also be very careful about what Active X controls you allow when surfing.
Most of the computers are infected because of clicking on the links in popular social networking sites like facebook and myspace. Avoid watching pornography sites since most of the adult sites ask the user to download a codec to view the downloaded video file and spread spyware in the computer.
Most of the computers are also infected because of using P2P Software like Lime wire. Lime wire, infact most P2P software is plagued with spyware/malware, which in turn will mess your system up incredibly. There is an older version of Lime wire which contains no spyware.However, it’s the systems you download music from which will have the major source of Virus' and spyware to help mess up your system and time.
When you download a track from limewire,you do so by downloading it off someone else PC, in turn they could be infected, passing on the infection to you. Also with it being P2P, they will have access to your system and all of the music that you have, not very safe hey!
If you want to download music, I would suggest doing it off a legit music site, like I tunes or HM V for example, this way you’re getting music pretty cheap and staying safe in the process. There are even some sights that for a small sum, let you download as many songs as you want over 28days.
My advice is keeping it safe, even if it’s an old PC you don't really care about. Piracy laws have really been clamped down, and you never know, the officers could come knocking on your door.

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About the Author:

I am working as a technology and security consultant. Checkout the site http://www.geeksjunction.com for details on virus and spyware removal.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/security-articles/how-effective-is-free-antivirus-and-spyware-software-779962.html

Virus, Spyware, Malware - Threat to Your Online Identity?

It's very disappointing how a once fast-running computer suddenly turns into a slow-as-turtle machine that keeps freezing and restarting. Worse, you don't remember doing anything stupid that might probably caused the problem. All you could recall is that you clicked on a few ads that suddenly popped out on your screen while you were surfing the net. Well, your computer might be infected by a virus or spyware. But don't fret; it's not like the end of the world especially with today's online virus removal software that can wipe your fears away and give you back that speedy PC in no time.

Most of us just tend to ignore system changes in our computers, which can lead to very serious problems if left untreated. When it comes to virus removal techniques, there are many computer support services that can promptly do the trick. Malware, spyware and other harmful spies that can breach your system's security can be easily detected with an installation of a powerful antivirus that can delete these threats. On the other hand, if you are an inexperienced newbie in the field of computer repair, you can instantly opt for online help that will surely give you an answer in a matter of minutes. Rather than waiting for your computer technician to do the job for days and days at a very costly rate, you can rely on computer support services online that will resolve your computer's problems in no time. This will also guarantee PC security 24/7 with its breakthrough technology in detecting and eliminating bugs, viruses and system errors in your computer while preserving your system as it is and keeping your important files safe. Viruses can easily corrupt large amounts of data, worse the entire operating system without the user's knowledge. Don't let this kind of horror happen to your computer just because you were trying to save a few bucks on doing things yourself, when in fact you can entrust your computer problems to reliable online PC support services that will be ready to assist you at any time of the day. Worry nothing about privacy issues with your computer's identity and data when dealing with these companies because they can diagnose PC problems with your system only upon your permission, plus you get to monitor every single action or change that has been performed in your PC while they do their job.

It's a fine line between safety and danger that viruses always succeed in blurring. These viruses are for real, and they won't stop doing damage until something powerful has caught them. A strong weapon against them is installing antivirus into your system that will detect and delete all these threats to keep your computer on running fast and clean. A team of online PC support experts can fix this problem right on the dot for you so that you will never have to worry about PC security as you will be protected from these dangerous software that can silence your computers for good.

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About the Author:
VTechCare was founded with the mission to provide our clients with reliable, trustworthy and high quality online computer repair and computer support services at the most reasonable rates possible.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/virus-spyware-malware-threat-to-your-online-identity-669191.html

Antivirus Spyware

Antivirus spyware is spyware that passes itself off as a spyware remover. The internet explorer antivirus, otherwise known as the IE antivirus, is yet again, a rogue spyware remover. This fake spyware software will annoy you with incessant pop ups saying that your computer is infected with spyware and that you need to download some programs to clean it all up. You can pick this spyware up from various spots on the web.

-One big area is if you are trying to watch movies that were just released online. Some sites are pretty safe, but sometimes you'll pick something up in a download or viewing.

-You may open a file in a media player, and you may need to download and additional fake codes is a real spyware program designed to spy on the user.

-If you are or were using internet explorer, spyware may have infiltrated your system through a weakness in the ActiveX controls. In past experience, I have found that internet explorer has been very weak to spyware, malware and adware because of this weakness in the ActiveX controls. Firefox is probably your best bet for defending against this threat. Chrome is also a good choice.

-A good thing about Firefox is that it will actively protect your computer when you visit a known bad or malicious website. Before it shows you the content, it warns you that you are about to view a known bad site that may possibly contain spyware and or malicious programs.

-You can pick up an antivirus spyware program like IE antivirus from accidentally being redirected to a known bad website. Known as browser hijacking, the IE antivirus program commonly uses this as a vector to infect your computer.

A big sign to tip you off is if you are getting a lot of pop ups while you are not browsing the internet. These pop ups are likely from the antivirus spyware showing you a scan and a link for you to download some other bogus software.

A computer containing this antivirus spyware is running a big risk. The spyware is constantly collecting information,slowing your processing speed and internet connection. To remove the virus manually would be a complicated procedure involving tampering with the registry in your computer.

I recommend a spyware blocker such as Spyware Doctor and a registry cleaner such as Registry Mechanic. Both are made by PC Tools and are excellent at what they do.

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About the Author:

I recommend Spyware Doctor. It has worked for me where other products have failed and actively protects my computer system from spyware attacks.



Find more about Spyware Doctor and how to improve your computer's performance at http://makepcfaster.blogspot.com/



Helping make your PC faster. - Paul Abrams

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/security-articles/antivirus-spyware-719404.html

How to Remove Spyware

Introduction to Spyware

Spyware is a software program that stealthily collects information about the user’s activities on the computer and reports back to the spyware software creator. The most common sources of the spyware are files sharing programs, online gaming, screens savers and downloading software from insecure websites. Once spyware are enters the computer they change the behavior of the computer. A spyware can be installed in a computer by different ways. Sometimes it can be installed with the popular shareware programs. A spyware infected computer may show following changes.

Symptoms of Spyware

• Web browser’s home page is changed automatically.
• New toolbars are installed.
• Antivirus and Anti spyware programs frequently complains that your system is infected with the spyware, malware or Trojan horses.
• It takes a long time to start or resume your computer programs.
• Excessive pop-up ads are installed in the computer automatically.
• Computer becomes very slow to response and internet connectivity also takes time.
• Unwanted search results appear when you search something.
• New desktop shortcuts are created.
• If your system is infected with spyware then you may notice bounced back emails or emails being sent without your knowledge.
• Keyboard loggers can capture the password and user name and send back to the spyware software creator.

How to Remove Spyware

A spyware program is very different in behavior and symptoms from the viruses. Following are some of the programs that help you manage detect, remove and protect your system from the spyware.

Panda Security Suite
Trend Micro Anti spyware program
Zone Alarm Pro
McAfee Antivirus + Anti spyware program
Pest Patrol
Spyblocker
Spycop

Additionally from the following spyware resources you can check if your system is infected with the spyware.

http://www.spychecker.com/
http://www.tom-cat.com/spybase/spylist.html
http://www.infoforce.qc.ca/spyware/

Prevention

With some preventive measures you can protect your system from being infected from the spyware, malware, adware and keyloggers. These safety tips include safe emailing, safe surfing, securing browser’s settings, using spyware detection and prevention software, blocking pop-up ads, blocking files sharing applications and regularly scanning your computer with the anti spyware and antivirus software programs.

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About the Author:

B. Bashir manages Networking Tutorials and regularly writes articles on various topics such as Computer Networking, IP Address NetworkWireless Networking, Computer Hardware, Certifications, How Tos, Network Glossary Overviewand Computer tips.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/security-articles/how-to-remove-spyware-192327.html

Antivirus Infocenter

There are many problems from viruses. It could infect and destroy our data. Should we angry to these viruses. I think it's better we study what viruses are. This infocenter give us all of information about viruses. This list below we could see trough out.

Antivirus Review
PC Tools Antivirus
AVG Antivirus
Kaspersky Antivirus
McAvee Antivirus
Norton Antivirus
BitDefender Antivirus
Panda Antivirus
Clam Antivirus
NIH Antivirus