 |
- Anti-Virus & anti-spyware
- Note: most anti-virus tools do not play well together.
So if you install AVG or Avast, be sure to first uninstall McAfee,
Norton/Symantec, or whatever other antivirus tool you you used to have.
However, all the anti-spyware tools we've tested seem to work
well together. So we recommend that you install just one
anti-virus product, but go ahead and install several anti-spyware products.
- Anti-Virus:
- Grisoft AVG Antivirus
- competes with McAfee, Norton/Symantec, etc.
- Free (or here) for personal home use,
otherwise $39 for 2 years
(or here
or here).
- This is the product that we recommend most often.
- Avast 4 anti-virus
- Another alternative to McAfee, Norton/Symantec, etc.
- Free for non-commercial home use, otherwise $49 for 1 year, $58 for 2 years.
- Avast's biggest advantage over AVG is that Avast will install in Safe Mode, and AVG won't.
- Its disadvantages are a funky user interface and requirement for periodic re-registration (free but bothersome).
- Avira AntiVir (a/k/a free-av.com)
- Another alternative to McAfee, Norton/Symantec, etc., which is free for personal, non-business use.
- They have a paid product for business use, price unknown.
- ClamAV is also free, but it is not suitable for novices.
- Trend Micro HouseCall, Panda Activescan & BitDefender Online
free online virus scanners.
|
Note: These "online" scanners require an internet connection to work.
We have more experience with Panda ActiveScan than Trend HouseCall, but both are
reputable. Panda works well (though it is slow), but it only works with Internet
Explorer, not with Mozilla Firefox or Netscape, and it no longer removes
the malware which it detects. HouseCall works with both Internet Explorer
and FireFox, and it does try to remove the malware, so it has become our
new favorite. We've not used BitDefender, but it gets good reviews.
The best thing about these scanners is that they are exceptions
to the general rule that antivirus products don't play well together.
You can use "online" virus scanners to "get a second opinion"
about whether your computer has a virus infection, regardless of what other
anti-virus product you use. | |
- A Sept. 2005 PC Magazine article reviewed
the top three anti-virus tools which are free for personal/home use.
| The author, Neil Rubenking, is a
true expert, one of the very best in the business.
I disagree with PC Mag's previous designation of Norton AntiVirus and McAfee VirusScan
as "Editors' Choices," but this article is excellent. | |
- Anti-Spyware/Adware:
- SpyBot
- Spyware/adware removal & prevention tool.
- Free for everyone! (but please consider making a donation)
- Microsoft Windows Defender (previously called Microsoft Antispyware)
- Free for everyone, but doesn't work on any version of Windows earlier than XP+SP2.
- LavaSoft Ad-Aware (or here, or here)
- Spyware/adware removal tool. (Definitions files here: for aaw-2007, or for aaw-se)
- Free for non-commercial use, otherwise $27 for 1 year or $37 for 2 years.
|
The new Ad-Aware 2007 unfortunately won't install in safe mode (and sometimes not in normal mode, either).
So you might prefer the older Ad-Aware SE.
| |
- SpywareBlaster
- Spyware/adware prevention tool.
- Free for everyone! (but please consider making a donation)
- Trend Micro free on-line spyware scanner
- Free, but requires an internet connection to work.
- Webroot SpySweeper
- SpySweeper is the best-respected non-free spyware/adware removal
tool. Cost is $30 for 1 year.
|
I do not recommend this for home use, because
the combination of Spybot + Ad-Aware + MS Windows Defender + Spyware Blaster
is more effective and is also free. But for business use SpySweeper
might make sense because the cost is about the same as Ad-Aware,
and some reviews say it is more effective than Ad-Aware alone. | |
- Other resources:
- AIM Fix zaps AOL Instant Messenger viruses
- Terrific free tool, by Jay Loden
-
- Vundo & TR/Spy.Agent.132660 removal advice
- on the GeeksToGo forums
- HiJackThis infection analysis tool
- and other anti-malware links and tools
- FreeByte.com has links to even more anti-virus tools
- SpywareWarrior.com
and www.benedelman.org are two good web sites for more info about fighting spyware
- Warning: Don't get tricked into installing one of these fake anti-spyware products!
|
|
 |
 |
- Spyware databases (look up that free program before you try it!)
-
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Other
- A "startup manager" (to control which programs run when Windows starts)
is very, very useful for Windows:
- Startup Control Panel -
terrific free tool by Mike Lin (use the Standalone EXE version).
This is the startup manager which we recommend most often.
- StartRight -
a fancier free tool, which can reorder and "space out" the startup programs with configurable delays
- Startup Delayer -
apparently similar to StartRight (but I've not tried it)
- Startup Cop - the original startup manager is no longer free
- Or you can just use XP's built-in msconfig tool (Start -> Run -> "msconfig" -> [OK])
- Process Explorer
- Wonderful free tool from SysInternals.com, like Task Manager but much better
- Belarc Advisor
- Display an amazingly comprehensive inventory of the hardware and software on your PC
- VLC Media Player
- A nice free DVD player for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and other operating systems
- ClearType Tuner
- For Windows XP only (not Vista!), Microsoft's ClearType Tuner can make a noticable improvement in your LCD screen readability
- Free up some disk space
- What you can safely delete after a Microsoft Windows update
- What computer should you buy?
- Dave's advice - worth what you paid for it, anyhow
- Hitachi/IBM Drive Fitness Test
- Determine whether your hard disk drive is failing
| Or you may prefer to download a mfg-specific diagnostic tool from
Maxtor,
Western Digital,
Seagate,
Fujitsu,
or Samsung. (Toshiba doesn't have one.)
Note: beware of returning hard disk drives with sensitive data for warranty replacement,
without first "wiping" or "zeroing" the drive. Most of the manufacturers' diagnostic programs (above)
can wipe a drive, or you can use an MS-DOS tool like CopyWipe, or a standalone tool like DBaN.
Why does it matter? Read this horror story (or here).
| |
- Test your computer's RAM memory with MemTest86+, or Optcomp's version, or OCZ's version:
| All three are variants of MemTest86
(a/k/a MemTst86), the canonical test tool for verifying that an Intel or AMD-based computer's
RAM memory works reliably. Malfunctioning RAM memory is a common cause of computer instability,
so if your computer is crashing frequently, you should test the memory with MemTest86.
(It is also a good idea to test after upgrading the RAM memory in your computer.)
Like Drive Fitness Test, MemTest86 runs as a standalone program which is booted from diskette
or CD-ROM, so you can run it even if Windows won't run. Just insert the diskette or CD and
reboot the computer. MemTest86 will run continuously until you stop it. Generally you should let
it run for several "passes," or at least overnight. If it reports no errors then your RAM memory
is probably good. | |
- These three tiny Windows setting-adjustment tools from Steve Gibson help make Windows less insecure:
- DCOMbobulator,
UnPlug n' Pray, and
Shoot The Messenger.
- Test your web browser
- Test SSL, Javascript, Cookies, etc. in Internet Explorer, FireFox, Opera, Safari, etc.
- QuickTime without iTunes
- If you don't have an iPod, you don't need iTunes.
- BBC's defanged RealPlayer
- Supposedly includes less adware-ish junk than the notorious regular RealPlayer.
(Don't feed the beast!)
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- You probably just want the the PDF reader, not the album starter.
- Remote access tool (based on UltraVNC SC)
- Used by Geeks Alive! Computer Rescue, to support our customers remotely. (Use only as instructed.)
- Dave's Home page
- Lots of handy links: searches, dictionaries, maps, Cary weather, etc.
|
|
