Anti what?
Posted by: dropped packet [ITS Security] under Informative
January 27, 2010
How often has some one told you that you need anti virus on your computer? How important is this in reality? The answer is simple, VERY! It does not matter what brand or operating system you use you still need some protection. I know that brand X say they don’t get viruses that’s generally true though all brands and systems can catch a “cold”.
What Should I buy?
Well, that depends on what you would like the product to do. Many of the products offered today are “suites” they contain several products in one. When looking at a package you will see the following applications:
Anti-Virus
Web site inspector
Anti Spy-ware
Anti Mal-Ware
Personal Fire wall
Parental controls
Spam control
Do you need all this?
No. You will need a base package. What I like to run is anti-virus and anti-spy/Mal-ware. These three products should cover most areas. This will protect your computer from most of the bad stuff. Keep in mind that these products are all available together or as separate packages. I always suggest running separate applications to get the features you want.
What About a firewall?
Well some operating systems claim to have a firewall but I would not trust them for anything more then the most basic protection.
You did not say Spam control?
Well I feel that this is best left to the experts. The rules that determine the effectiveness of spam changes more than the viruses do. Unless you enjoy fine tuning your spam filters I always suggest using the spam control product provided by your mail provider. Otherwise you might check this comparative chart in the link below.
http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,4795,00.asp
Parental Control
Well this one is hard there are so many that it is had to choose. I suggest that you look at a company that there primary focus is web blocking. Remember that if your computer gets corrupt you can always reload it and start over , but with your children that is not possible.
Parental Controls Article
http://www.wellresearchedreviews.com/computermonitoring/?id=18&s=google&gclid=CLDF0rSMtZoCFQHyDAodBmQKdw
This is an excellent site for researching you anti-virus woes.
http://www.cert.org/other_sources/viruses.html