Protect your PC - Free of cost !!- A guide to free antivirus , antispyware and firewall

In this cyberworld, viruses and spywares are no strangers to any PC users. But Most computer users never care to have an anitivirus or antispyware and even if someone wants to have one they would never like to spend 40$ – 50$ for such a pack.I have listed some essential and free virus/spyware tools. Just because these tools are free doesnt mean these are not effective, AVG although free is recommended and used by most PC users in the world.

Some users may tend to go for pirated versions of Norton/Mcafee but most of these cracked/hacked versions of these antivirus softwares themselves have spywares built in with them.So it is always safe to download these tools from their respective websites.

Antivirus Tools:

1.AVG ( http://www.grisoft.com )

AVG Free edition is one of the widely used free antivirus tool, it provides almost all features of paid versions. AVG free edition has real time protection,automatic updates, full system scan and scanning selected areas of your computer. It also has email scanninga and scanning inside compressed files.The only difference from professional edition of AVG is the cuctomer care support, otherwise there is no difference in the service.This is fully functional software unlike most trial softwares, and the software is valid as long as you wish to have it.

Other notable Antivirus softwares include :

2.Free Avast! 4 Home Edition (http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html)

3.If interested checkout some of other antivirus partners for Windows who offer free trials from 90 days to 1 year.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/downloads/default.mspx

Antispyware Tools :

1. Windows Defender : It is the most(more than 25 million users) used free antispyware tool from Microsoft, It offers full real time protection, anti spyware scans and also automatic updates every day.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

2. Ad-Aware SE Professional : This is one of the widely used anti-spyware tools minus real time protection, this is serious disadvantage otherwise Ad-Aware works just fine.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

3. Ewido anti spyware : Same as Ad-Aware , but gives a 30 day trial of its auto-protect option.

http://www.grisoft.com

Firewalls :

Zone Alarm is the widely used free firewall. It provides all basic features of any paid verion of firewalls.

(http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp)

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For any info mail me kj.dinesh@gmail.com K J Dinesh

Microsoft's WGA(windows genuine advantage program) has raised more than a few eyebrows.When I first came across this news I was literally shocked that this issue hasnt gained needed attention.When Google is suing Microsoft over its MSN search default why no such antitrust suite has been filed against Microsoft bemuses me..

Ok let me explain what the real problem is , Microsofts Genuine advantage program which requires you to install an activex to verify ur Windows installation(to find pirated versions), calls back home (fancy word the online community coined for this issue) ie ur windows contacts Microsoft server everytime you start your machine.Though Microsoft says it collects no personal info, what shocks many is that this practice of microsoft has come out only after a year(since july 2005), until now no antispyware softwares or companies could detect this beahavior and Microsoft hasnt given an option for opting out of this problem.Only after a popular techie's blog exposing this issue Microsoft issued an statement in this regard.Microsoft gives a funny reason that in case if their validation tool fails and starts giving false positives, this approach will help them to shutdown the WGA program..

Now after much controversy Microsoft says that their sw wont call home everytime you rebot , well now only once in 14 days.. my question is if I have validated my software once what is the need for verifying after that??

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K J Dinesh, kj.dinesh@gmail.com , +919940392919

Zero day attack...

According to eWeek, there is a critical flaw in Microsoft Word that is being leveraged successfully to compromise fully patched Windows systems. The issue is designated as a zero-day attack because individuals responsible for the security incident are taking advantage of a flaw that was previously unknown.

Victims, it is reported, receive an e-mail that appears legitimate with an enclosed Word document. Once opened, the Word document launches a Trojan-like program that opens a back door into the affected system. Also troubling is the fact that neither the corrupt attachment nor the malware that it executes are currently being detected by anti-virus products. For all intents and purposes, attackers can gain full control of a compromised system using the method described in the article.

As there is currently no patch for the vulnerability being exploited, the recommended course of action for both home and corporate users is to be vigilant and reject any unexpected e-mail messages with Word attachment, even if they appear to come from legitimate sources.

It seems Microsoft is working on this and may release a patch on 13 jun 2006.But Antivirus vendors may introduce new updates much sooner.