Free internet security options

Wednesday, 02 December 2009

Your home internet connection is under attack like never before.  Viruses, trojans, malware and identity theft scams are multiplying on a daily basis, and a whole industry dedicated to fighting those threats has multiplied in return.  You could spend a fortune on your internet security - most commercially available products require you to renew your licence every twelve months.  Luckily there are some very good and reliable security options that will cost you absolutely nothing, and this article examines the best of them.

Free Internet Security

Free Malware Protection

Malware is a generic term for malicious software, such as trojans and keyloggers and other intrusive or just plain annoying software that infiltrates your computer, often with the intention of relaying information back to a potentially hostile third party.  Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is an effective free program that will find these nasties and eradicate them from your system.  Find it at www.malwarebytes.org

You could  also consider Spybot, a free spyware removal tool that will find and remove malicious programs from your computer.  It's regularly updated, and easy to use.  Find it at www.spybot.info

Free Firewall Protection

A firewall is a program which sits between your computer and the outside network, allowing you to venture out but preventing unwanted visitors from getting in.  Sygate Personal Firewall offers a very high standard of protection to home users, is easy to set up and is entirely free.  Find it at www.sygate.com

Free Anti-Virus Protection

Avast! is a great free anti-virus program, providing a high standard of protection in return for registering by email every 12 months.  It regularly updates itself, and all updates are free too.  You may find the alarm sounds and spoken messages it sends you every time it updates irritating, but fortunately there's an option to turn those off.  Find it at www.avast.com

Windows software security update

One final security precaution that you can take is to set your PC to automatically update your Windows software with security patches as they are released.  This is important, as many security breaches are caused by loopholes in the software.  Again, this is an entirely free service provided by Microsoft (once you've purchased Windows, of course).

Internet security is something you definitely don't want to be a cheapskate about, but with these free  internet security services, you can enjoy peace of mind without breaking the bank.