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Posts Tagged ‘Antivirus Software’
February 22nd, 2010 | Author: admin
You could compare using the Macintosh to life in Toronto: your surroundings are beautiful, and you can leave your door open at night. Cross over the Erie to Detroit, and you have a fair idea what life is like for a Windows user: life in a happening (not to mention musical) town while armed with a Taser, a shotgun, and quadruple-locked front doors with Robocop out front. And you’re still worried. Not that crime or a police force do not exist over the border in Toronto, it’s just that they are a little hard to find, is all. How rare is a Mac virus attack? Consider the latest Trojan virus for the Mac that wasn’t even really a problem after all: it was a game called Lose/Lose. The game tried a new concept: making matters a little interesting by raising the stakes. Basically to look at, the game is a 80′s era Space Invader flick. When you shoot an alien spaceship though, you end up deleting an important system file. When the alien hits the mothership though your entire system gets deleted. This isn’t really a virus that comes onto your system by stealth to do this. It is a proper game, that is supposed to raise awareness about how when you kill, even in a game, a part of you dies inside. But a maker of Macintosh antivirus software, Symantec, likes to classify this as a real threat, a Trojan. Symantec’s view is that while the game Lose/Lose may not actually do anything by stealth, it is an open source program that any virus writer could easily modify to do some real harm.
The Windows platform has so far documented about 20 million kinds of virus; the Apple platform, a couple of hundred at best. Only corporate users of the Macintosh platform really ever pay much attention to Macintosh antivirus software. Everyone said that Snow Leopard, the latest Macintosh OS, would have a native anti-anivirus tool called Basic – considering how hackers were beginning to turn their attention on the Mac. In reality though, Snow Leopard only had the old Apple XProtect to defend against two specific Trojans. But Apple is beginning to worry; Mac updates to the operating system these days include a standard malware scan.
Let us look at some of the best Macintosh antivirus software out there. Consider Kaspersky for the Mac. It works particularly efficiently on today’s multicore Macs and there is a special feature to help keep Macintosh computers from transferring any infections to a corporate network. Intego VirusBarrier X5 has a contemporary and modern design, and ClamXav is very effective freeware. In the end, it is impossible to read anything about the Macintosh and malware, without coming across constant pondering over why one should bother at all. Most antivirus software slow down the computer so much, that even on the Windows platform, one would do well to weigh the possibility of a virus infection, againstthe bothersomeness of a antivirus-slowdown. Perhaps everyone would do well to not think of Macintosh antivirus software until they actually find themselves in a virus-infected situation.
February 7th, 2010 | Author: admin
Pretty much everyone counts on their computer day-in and day-out. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, or whether you use a PC or a Mac, you want your little wonder machine to be ready for any task you have in mind. The reality is computers are basically our right hands these days. We all use them to send out routine emails, have conference meetings via webcam, surf the web for products we want, and write up documents for work. To be without them even for a single day can be one heck of a headache. This is why antivirus software for Windows is so important at this point.
As you likely already know, all computers offer Windows software now. That whole issue in the past about Macs not being compatible with Windows is long gone. While this can certainly be a good thing, it can also really cause some major issues. I am talking about viruses. For some reason the majority of them are created to attack PCs. This is even a selling point of Macs now days. Well, no one is telling you to look over all PCs, and only purchase Mac computers. Everyone has different goals for their computers, as well as different price ranges. In reality, PCs are not near as expensive. Just remember that when you acquire an IBM, Dell, Gateway or Toshiba, that you remember to attain some good antivirus software for Windows as well. Chances are you will need it to keep your personal data safe from those who may try to hack your system, or merely screw up your hard drive.
One way to seek out antivirus software for Windows is by surfing the web for the latest and greatest deals. Products like Norton anti virus software can be quite beneficial when it comes to keeping hackers and negative downloads out. However, before you go ahead and purchase any antivirus software for windows programs, you should do some smart price comparing. Also, keep in mind that many computers come with some sort of anti-virus software installed on them when you purchase.
There are other ways to protect your PC from virtual harm. First of all, you should avoid pop up windows. Naturally they want you to click on them so that they can make a profit, but you should refrain. After all, something could get downloaded to your computer. Finally, always be careful of shady emails. Do not open them! If you know they are not from anyone important, mark them as junk and delete them. Often opening them can infect your PC with viruses. So the keys to keeping your computer healthy are playing it smart and installing the latest antivirus software for windows.
February 3rd, 2010 | Author: admin
Microsoft is not a quitter; when they come to market with a product, and it isn�t a hit, (think Microsoft Zune), they stick it out for the long haul, until they finally get it right. So why is it that their great hopes in OneCare, Microsoft�s proprietary Windows antivirus software, was alive and going ahead full steam one day, and just suddenly terminated the next? Microsoft was not even doing badly with OneCare to want to quit. Could it be that Microsoft only did this only because they changed their minds about making it a paid program to go up against Norton or Kaspersky? That they want want to give it away like Windows Media Player or Internet Explorer? Is Microsoft just making it a part of Windows itself and upending the plans of a dozen Windows antivirus software companies?
It is available to download for free now. If you think about it, Microsoft Security Essentials is one of the best out there, even if it is pretty basic. All the reviews put it right up there with the antivirus software majors McAfee or Norton or Kaspersky at catching viruses and other nasties. Sometimes it does the established players one better too – with no false positives either, what is more. And it doesn�t even bring your computer to a crawl when it is doing its scan, like those products do.
People hate unnecessarily resource-hungry programs; think Outlook, or think any major Windows antivirus software weighed down with useless parental controls, alternative firewalls, and backup systems. Microsoft does not smuggle in bloatware with Security Essentials, because everything on the operating system comes from the company already anyway. The Snow Leopard on the Macintosh has a malware engine integrated right into the OS, and Security Essentials does enough of a job that you never have to look at a third-party product again. Security Essentials for Microsoft is available as a free download off their site.
Now why exactly is Microsoft doing all of this for free? One possible explanation could be the way Microsoft is moving quickly to take advantage of the cloud, just the way Google is. You keep hearing news like how Google Docs was just hacked into bymiscreants, and how Gmail went off the air for long time earlier this year. Perhaps Microsoft would like to hedge its risks before it steps out on the cloud, and feel safe that computers the world over will help protect Microsoft�s Cloud reputation. And Microsoft�s product has better root kit removal, and much higher scan speed too.
So does this mean that this is the end of the road for paid retail Windows antivirus software? It certainly looks like the beginning of the end for them.
January 27th, 2010 | Author: admin
You have to wonder sometimes; when you buy a computer, you don’t have to have a media player, or an Internet browser, or a calculator or anything to get some basic use of it; but basically, Microsoft wants you to have a decent out-of-the-box experience getting everything done that you would commonly need to do with a computer. So how did they expect you to use a computer without even basic antivirus software, in a world where they say there are about 20 million individual pieces of virus and other malware out there just waiting to worm their wormy way into your computer? Shouldn’t they include basic Microsoft antivirus software for computer security like they include WordPad or CD burning? This isn’t just about how they should do the decent thing for their customers; this is also about the whole image of the Windows brand.
When a computer gets virus-infected you don’t even really know what it is most of the time; your computer just slows down a lot or acts erratic. And if you don’t know a lot about computers, you’re just going to blame Windows. Apple keeps trumpeting how virus infections on the Mac are practically unheard of, and the Mac experience is all about just getting work done. Across the pond in England, enough people are fed up with the general Windows experience that one in four computers sold now is a Mac. It looks like the Macintosh is approaching critical marketshare momentum and it will be unstoppable soon. So now, to protect the Windows image from further tarnish next to a very safe (and shiny) Mac OS, Microsoft has decided on the thing it should have a long time ago – free Microsoft antivirus software; they call it Microsoft Security Essentials.
Microsoft has indeed had an antivirus product for a few years now; it is called , or rather was called, Microsoft Live OneCare; but it cost just as much as the other paid packages, so it was nothing remarkable. What we have now today, is free. If so, why doesn’t Microsoft just include it with Windows and end it there? Why do they make you search for it, download it and install it yourself? Well it could be the kind of experience Microsoft has had in the past with Netscape and Real Player. When they put out Windows with Internet Explorer included for free ten years ago, Netscape sued them for being anticompetitive; if they put out Windows 7 with free Microsoft antivirus software included, they are surely going to have a bunch of antivirus software manufacturers, Symantec, Kaspersky , snarling away at their heels. So, all said, this should be quite a good call.
So what is this free Microsoft antivirus software like? Is it a case of you get what you pay for, which in this situation is nothing? Microsoft Security Essentials is easy to download, and after a Windows Genuine Advantage check, it pretty much installs and updates itself on autopilot. The user interface is neat and simple: there are no complicated-looking options like with Kaspersky or Norton. It updates on its own, as a part of the whole Windows Automatic Updates Function, and there’s pretty much nothing you have to do. I installed it personally on a computer infected with an AutoRun.inf worm, and Windows Security Essentials caught it right away and cleaned my computer up. I personally thought that Microsoft’s product was sure to be less of a problem in slowing my computer down like some other antivirus products, but there I was disappointed. My Core2 Quad did slow down somewhat, and there were annoying flickers on the screen. These went away as soon as I uninstalled it. It looks like Microsoft with its special inside knowledge of Windows still can’t make antivirus software completely problem-free. And you know, it does come for free, and it seems to be no less effective than the others.. I wonder when it is going to send all the other paid programs packing.
January 25th, 2010 | Author: admin
If you spend a significant amount of time surfing the internet (and who doesn’t these days?) then it’s absolutely imperative that you protect your computer from the various threats your online presence opens you up to. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to ensure safe browsing sessions. A bit of common sense coupled with the best antivirus software should do the job very nicely.
Choosing the best antivirus software largely comes down to personal preference, so I’m not going to sit here and debate the merits or demerits of each particular program. Instead, I’m going to tell you which kinds of protective features you should look for, and let you make the final choice on your own. Even though I’m not going to endorse a specific product, I do want to tell you to forget about free programs like AVG, Avira, and Avast. Though these programs have some support in the online community, they are also frequently blamed for missing viruses, not being able to quarantine or remove infections, and not stopping other types of malicious attacks. Yes, you’ll save a few bucks by going with one of these free downloads, but your computer will still be fat risk.
Okay, so what about the best antivirus software features that I promised to tell you about? Well, here are some of the things you should definitely look for. First, the program should come with an adequate database of current and past viruses, trojans, and malware, and that database should be updated frequently. This feature is a no-brainer because an out-of-date program will not provide you with the kind of protection you need.
Second, the product should also come with a firewall to protect you against immediate threats while online. This is something you need to be very careful about, as not every program has this capability. Typically, you’ll need to upgrade to the “internet security” package rather than just the antivirus software, but the extra money is definitely worth it. A firewall can help protect you against “phishing” sites or other sites that try to install a script as soon as you land on the page.
The best antivirus software programs also have tools that guard against identity theft. These include such things as a virtual keyboard that you can pop out to securely type in passwords, and controlled access to identity data contained in sensitive files on your computer. These are options you certainly won’t find in free programs, and you’ll be glad to have them at your disposal if someone ever tries to steal your financial data.
Before you go spend money on computer protection, it would pay to make sure you’re getting the best antivirus software features in return. A virus can wreak untold havoc on your system, so it’s definitely in your best interest to take all necessary precautions right now!
