Antiadware/antispyware software is a basic security requirement. Forget buggy resource hogs like Windows Defender; there are two free programs that, when used together, will do a good job of cleaning up any problems that might invade. Download and install Lavasoft’s Adaware and Spybot Search & Destroy from Safer Networking (links on my website) and you’ll be in pretty good shape. Again, you’ll need to stay on top of properly installing, updating and manually scanning with these free programs, but it’s worth the minor hassles involved.
For those who absolutely cannot stand (or, are incapable of remembering) to manually update and run scans, a paid “security suite” may be the answer. My favorites are Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 (http://www.kaspersky.com) and ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite (www.zonealarm.com). These packages include antivirus, antispyware and firewall programs, as well as frilly fluff like antispam and parental controls. The ZoneAlarm suite also has instant messaging protection.
Choosing a browser is a no-brainer. There are only two choices for any serious Internet use: Firefox and Opera. Internet Explorer, even the “better” version 7, is not an option in my playbook. I’ve seen so many instances of IE7 causing conflicts with Outlook and Access, as well as generating cryptic error messages, that every time I work on a machine that has IE7, it gets uninstalled. It’s not my job to try to force buggy products to perform properly, so I figure, “Why bother?” Use Firefox or Opera and spend your time surfing instead of hassling around.
My preferences for email programs lean towards Outlook (not Outlook Express), simply because of its contact management and calendaring features, and Mozilla Thunderbird. Still, Outlook requires some security tweaking. Thunderbird has a better security track record than any of the Microsoft products. I believe that using POP3 email programs such as Thunderbird is superior to using webmail interfaces where you actually go to your service providers website to handle email. This is because most webmail interfaces do not use your installed antivirus programs to scan incoming mail, leaving you to rely instead on whatever flavor of antivirus scanning that your provider may have in place. Thankfully, as time goes on this is becoming less of a concern as providers, due to pressure from customers, improve their webmail antivirus offerings. Still, I don’t like it. Webmail is also pretty clunky when it comes to advanced functions such as managing large mailing lists and maintaining contact information.
Due to yet more marketing hype from software companies, many people have become convinced that they need antispam filtering, even though they may receive only a handful of emails each day. I don’t use spam filtering, because too many good emails are blocked and too many bad emails get through. This is because spam filters use rules-based techniques employing primitive artificial intelligence algorithms, in which the filters attempt to search for and block content containing predetermined objectionable words, phrases and email addresses. They then attempt to balance these things against the rest of the content and determine what to let through. A more reliable option is to learn how to use the “delete” key.
Next week: more Internet security basics.