Nowadays, everybody use their personal computers for storing data which when lost creates a lot of trouble for us. In order to prevent spyware and viruses from entering our computer system we need to properly examine the sites before entering them. We should never give our personal information to any online site, like credit card numbers, even if we are asks for it, as we might become an identity theft victim. We should check the URL of the site before entering it.
If it starts with “https” then it is very secure, otherwise if it starts with “http” then the security of our computer may be compromised. The only information we should provide is our name or e-mail address. We should also be careful about certain e-mails that ask for our personal information. It could be a part of a scam called phishing where when we provide our details a spyware gets attached to our computer. (Adams, 2007)
Worms and viruses spread very rapidly in our computer without our knowledge. Thus, we should install antivirus softwares and firewalls to stop unauthorized entries in our computers, before we install any other programs on it. Before purchasing an antivirus software or firewall we should know about its abilities and limitations through customer reviews. The virus and spyware programs are extremely smart ones and can even get past along some antivirus softwares and firewalls. Some cyber criminals are selling certain software to us with the promise that they are going to protect our computers but in reality these softwares are actually harming our system.
Thus, we should always use reliable softwares from reputed companies and not just from any online site or download them from anywhere. To ensure the safety and protection of our computer we should always install those antivirus software and firewalls, which automatically updates itself for at least a year after we install it. This guarantees that our software is of the latest version and thus, cyber criminals will have difficulty in penetrating their system to enter our computers.
A number of antivirus softwares and firewalls are available in the market, some for free and some with a price tag. One such antivirus software, which can be used for protecting our computers, is the Avast Antivirus. It protects our computers from Trojan horses, viruses and worms. The official website of Avast is www.avast.com. The Avast 4.8 Home Edition is free to use, updates itself automatically, gives warning about license renewal, has user friendly interface, uses very little system resource, easy to install, has a Virus Recovery Database and Real Time Internet Monitor and detects almost every form of viruses and Trojan horses. (Avast, 2009)
The Cisco Pix Firewall has been rated as the best firewall in recent years. The official site of Cisco is www.cisco.com. It has many versions depending on the size of company, Cisco Pix 501, 506E, 515E, 525 and 535 Firewall. Its price also varies from $500 to $50000. It gives high performance, strong security, it is affordable, efficient, easy to install, run and almost impenetrable. It works on a real time, embedded, non-Unix security algorithm and does Stateful packet inspection. Their higher model also supports the Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. The adaptive security algorithm or ASA that is used by Cisco PIX Firewall also makes it one of the quickest firewalls available. (Cisco, 2006)
References
Adams, G. (2007). Protecting Your Computer From Viruses, Spyware, And Other Security Threats. Web.
Avast; 2009; FREE antivirus software with spyware protection: avast! Home Edition; avast. Web.
Cisco; 2006; Cisco PIX 500 Series Security Appliances; Cisco. Web.