Free Tools to use with your PC to give you more protection against the elements.

The wording below is in my words and is only my "theory" on what I would do (or do actually do). It is not necessarily the right way to do things, however all the following programs can be used as stand alone in a manner as described by the program owners.

Zone Alarm
I have used Zone Alarm for years. It is basically a firewall that will regulate the comings and goings up & down your phone line. It will stop all those little attempts by hackers to have a peep in your PC (and it can happen many times a day on your PC & you probably are not aware).

I have just downloaded the latest version. The Professional version, a 15 day free trial & now that has ended it has reverted back to the lesser featured free version. But nonetheless, it appears to do its job well and is something "everybody" should have..

It can be a bit daunting for the first few days if you have not used it before as it will not let your PC do too much without your permission (ie in training mode). Ie if you go to print or check your email for the first time, a popup will appear checking with you if you are aware that what is happening is OK. (and it usually is) So hit "allow".

Go to the ZoneLabs website here and download. (about 10mb, so start downloading and then watch TV for an hour)

Mozilla Firefox
This is a web browser that enables you to surf the internet  (like you are doing now)
So if you are doing this now, why should you change to something a "little" less unfamiliar?
OK there are not too many differences in the Browsers (how they work), but Firefox is built by the world community and is free. It has security features to protect you from the "elements", it is fast, it can stop "pop up windows". You can clear unwanted browsing history. There are many add on features you can add on at your own discretion if required. It is only a 4.87Mb download and you can try it while you continue with your usual browser (which I bet is Microsoft Explorer "e" and is full of patches & security updates that hackers love to try to exploit). You can have a read about "firefox" and download the file here. (It is all about having a choice besides Microsoft, & Firefox is another choice)

You know those spam emails you get saying your bank needs your login details & pin number etc, and if you hover over the web address that says www.xbank.com-or whatever and the same address shows up in your internet browser (along the bottom bar), well you get to see the real web address in Firefox as the fraudsters are mainly "spoofing" their fake address' for IE browsers (as the majority have it due to no choice when they bought their PC)

Thunderbird email
Once again, no doubt you are familiar with your ms outlook express as your email.
I have been using Mozilla Thunderbird as my email program for several years now & love it. Once again it has been built by the World Community with security in mind.

You can download it and set it to use your existing details, making it easy to swap to for those who have limited PC experience. It helps combat spam and makes email a pleasure again. Try Here for Mozilla's Thunderbird

AVG Virus Protection

I used to run this virus protection program from a company called Grisoft and maybe I still should. I have had several virus's over the years & managed to kill them with various means. With most virus programs costing $40-$100 per year to have, this is an option that has many versions including a free one. For what I am proposing you do, it would be advisable for you to download & update the virus definitions off the website.

AdAware - (3.5 Mb) - Free for personal use
This is an amazing little tool that will shock you when you download & update definitions and run it. If you have never used it before & have been surfing the web for years, be prepared to see just what little gremlins have been deposited on your PC by various websites.

Well worth running it and giving your machine a good cleanout of all those tracking cookies that report on where you go on the internet & when. Get it here.

Spybot Search & Destroy - (5.6Mb) - Free for personal use

Similar to AdAware in what they do (clean out your PC) but it does it in a different way. So running both one after the other isn't such a bad thing. Get Spybot here.

Stinger (from the McAfee Virus protection people)
This is a standalone free trojan scanner that you should download & run if you notice your PC doing weird things.
This product is updated every once & a while as trojans get trickier. Get it here.

What I would be doing to give my PC a good clean out.

1. Download all the above "security" programs over several nights if need be, (and place them in a folder on your desktop)
 AdAware, Spybot, Stinger, AVG, Zone Alarm.

2. Run AdAware & Spybot (they may wish to go online to update the latest definitions)(Yes I know you only downloaded it yesterday, but it could be a month old) Depending on your PC's age and size /speed etc this may take 20 minutes to scan. (Select all & either quarantine or delete) (there may be 50-150+ interesting things found on your PC that you do not want there)(trust me, just get rid of them)

3. After picking yourself up off the floor at seeing all the dung you have accumulated, Run Stinger to look for any major trojan viruses or variants. May take 20 mins. Just kill anything it finds. (Chances are you will be fine here)

Toss up whether you use AVG or Zone Alarm next here.

4.Install AVG virus protection, gather updates off the internet & scan your PC. This could take 40mins?

5. Install Zone Alarm and go through the motions of "training it". This is more hands on as you will be clicking the "allow" button for your PC's actions.

This is under the assumption that all the "programs like trojans & Virus's" have been neutralised and they are not requesting the PC to do things , thus obtaining permission via Zone Alarm.

If you consider doing nothing, at least try AdAware on your PC

But for real protection of your Computer, come in and see Garry at Computer Sales NT and purchase a copy of Trend Micro. All in 1 Virus protection and Firewall protection.

I actually loaded & ran it over my PC the other day and was astounded at the amount of "trojans" I had accumulated that had not been picked up & destroyed by the "free" programs on offer. I have since turned off & removed AVG & Zone Alarm with my purchase.

If you have a bug that you are having trouble with, it may be well worth a visit to Computer Sales NT and let them run some of their more specialised programs over the drive to clean it out. Sometimes a few dollars spent is more than worthwhile.

Back to the Katherine Internet Start Page