The Hindu Business Line : Layers of protection

Home users on a limited budget can look to free security products to build their own security suite, with a combination of free antivirus, free anti-spyware, Windows firewall and free online scan.

Generally no anti-virus product can detect all malware, so one needs to build layers of protection.

Here are some free anti-virus products available on the Internet. Avira AntiVir personal (Size 23.89MB) This provides protection against virus, trojans, worms, backdoors, Dialers, etc. It provides high rates of virus and malware detection using search engines and heuristic search processes.

It supports 2000/XP/Vista and is only for private and not for commercial purposes. Its features include: AntiVir Guard to provide On-Access Scan (real-time protection) for continuous monitoring of all file access attempts and Rootkit protection for detecting hidden malware installed in your computer system.

It provides simple installation steps and an easy-to-use interface. It is a free downloadable manual in PDF format. You can download it from http://www.freeav. com/en/download/index.html

Avast Home Edition 4.8.1229 (Size 25.18 MB)

This is designed exclusively for home users and non-commercial use. You need to register and obtain your free licence key by e-mail. It supports, among other things, memory-resident scanning, Boot-time scan support, Anti-rootkit protection, Anti-spyware protection and Real-time protection.

One drawback is that Task scheduler (for running scheduled scans) is not incorporated in home edition. It supports Windows 95/98/me/NT/2000/XP/Vista and you can download it from http:// www.avast.com/eng/download-avasthome. html

Apart from your regular anti-virus software, you can scan your system with free security online scans available on the Internet. Here are some you can try: Bitdefender Online scanner - www.bitdefender.com/scan8 Kaspersky Online Virus Scanner - www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner Trend Micro HouseCall - http:// housecall.trendmicro.com/

If your anti-virus software does not have anti-spyware support then you may need to install one of the following anti-spyware software Ad-aware 2008 Free - http:// lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php Google Pack - (Select "Norton Security Scan" and "Spyware Doctor").

One can install a good anti-virus software, say Avira AntiVir personal (recommended), and any one or both of Ad-aware 2008 Free and Google Pack. Every month, please check your system security level by using any of the free online scans.

Here are some do's: Regularly check whether the definition files of Anti-virus and Anti-spyware products are updated.

It is advisable to have only one AV software installed and to make sure the real-time scanner of anti-virus product is always `On.'

If you have more than one Antivirus product installed, make sure only one realtime scanner is enabled.

Confirm that your popup blocker is enabled on your Internet browser. Windows updates are must. Without Windows updates the antivirus software cannot perform effectively.

So, please make sure "Automatic updates" and "Windows Firewall" (or thirdparty firewall software) are always turned `On.'

M. SAMPATH

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